体坛英语新闻：Brazil, Russia confirm pre-World Cup friendly

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Brazil will meet 2018 World Cup hosts Russia in a friendly next March as both teams fine-tune their preparations for football's showpiece tournament.

The venue has yet to be confirmed but the fixture will be played in Moscow on March 23, the Brazilian Football Confederation said in a statement on Tuesday.

"We think it's important to get a feel for Russia before choosing our final squad," Brazil's national team coordinator Edu Gaspar said.

The clash will come four days before Brazil confront 2014 World Cup champions Germany in Berlin.

Brazil qualified for the World Cup by finishing top of the South American zone's CONMEBOL group, with 12 wins and just one loss from 18 matches.

The World Cup will be played in 11 Russian cities from June 14 to July 15 next year.