"We are taking with us the ball that, I think, will be on the field in the very first game," Artemyev said at the pre-flight press conference.
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According to the astronaut, his colleague Anton Shkaplerov, a member of Expedition 54/55, will return the football to Earth.
15 March 2018, 17:32 GMT
Artemyev, at the request of his son, will also bring a stuffed toy with him, the wolf called Zabivaka ("someone who scores a lot of goals" in Russian), which was chosen as the World Cup mascot.
Russia is hosting the tournament, which is set to kick off in June.
