As is often the case these days, organisers not only want to put on a memorable sporting extravaganza, but are also desperate to showcase the best of what their country has to offer for their own gain.

Russia has extensive experience in the exercise of self-promotion after Sochi hosted the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, an event designed to change all the negative perceptions of a nation often decried as a dictatorship masked as a democracy.

They may have achieved that to some extent then, but it is even more pertinent now. The FIFA World Cup, after all, is an entirely different beast.

Putin and Russia’s Government began with a sizeable task. Russia, let’s not forget, is a country often ostracised by the West and further afield for its diplomacy - or lack of - during the President’s tenure.

It is a country which has dominated sports news headlines across the world for all the wrong reasons following their orchestrated manipulation and corruption of the anti-doping system, honed over several years and their home Winter Olympics.

It is also a nation whose bid for the 2018 World Cup was considered a high-risk option by FIFA inspectors before the infamous December 2010 vote. Judging from afar, they are making a mockery of that tag.

That is not at all surprising. With politics in mind, Putin was never going to let this World Cup be a disaster plenty thought it might be.

It is no wonder FIFA President Gianni Infantino, seen cosying up to Putin on numerous occasions since Russia was awarded the event, has spoken so highly of the level of cooperation they have enjoyed with the Government.

Those on the ground have been nothing but effusive in their praise for how the tournament has been staged. Thousands and thousands of people from all over the planet have flocked to soak up the atmosphere, frolicking and partisanship that only a World Cup can provide.

Putin and FIFA have also benefited from the performance of the hosts, the tournament’s lowest-ranked team who have defied the pre-event pessimism splashed over the Russian media.

The joy surrounding the national team, who have changed previous hopelessness into hope with their performances, has allowed the Russian President to pass through controversial measures with barely a whiff of discontent.

New pension reforms in Russia, with the age of retirement increasing by eight years for women and five years for men, being rolled out to coincide with the host nation’s thumping 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the opening match is a case in point.

Fears in the lead-up to the global showpiece centred on hooliganism, doping and racism, yet few, if any, have materialised, granting Putin a further opportunity to paint a picture of a warm and welcoming Russia.

Further politicking awaits for Putin, who is scheduled to meet United States counterpart Donald Trump in Helsinki on July 16, the day after a World Cup final which, remarkably, the host nation came closer to being involved in than few had anticipated. The lowest ranked team in the competition, Russia surpassed expectations by reaching the quarter-finals before being knocked out tonight on penalties by Croatia. 

It was not only Russia who came into this World Cup needing to alter perceptions. FIFA too were still under extensive scrutiny, unable to shake off the ghosts of its corrupt past.

World football’s governing body has endured a more difficult ride than their hosts, with criticism over the decision to use their flagship event to trial video assistant referee technology coupled with paltry fines handed out to countries for disciplinary breaches generating negative headlines.

Yet they have largely been buried amid a flurry of positivity, led by Infantino.

"I think words cannot describe the feelings so far," the FIFA President said in an interview with Russia's official state news agency TASS.

"I think we have to invent new words to describe this World Cup. It’s really fantastic. Everything is great, the atmosphere is incredible, the people are unbelievable, the matches are great.

"I think Russia has really set a new benchmark."

Those comments must be taken with a considerable pinch of salt but FIFA are right to bask in the moment. After all, Qatar in four years’ time is unlikely to reach the same heights and Russia 2018 will inevitably prove too tough an act to follow.

As plenty have pointed out, Russia hosting a great tournament is not unexpected. But that does not mean we should forget what has gone before.

The "systematic manipulation" of the anti-doping mechanism at Sochi 2014 may have been consigned to the history books by Russia and replaced by World Cup fever but there are athletes across the world who continue to remain resentful towards the country.

The likes of United States Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart and others even urged FIFA - who closed their investigation into the Russian players implicated in the McLaren Report - to strip the World Cup from Russia as punishment for the doping scandal.

Their calls were always going to fall on deaf ears but their views represented a sentiment prominent in the anti-doping world and supported by a spate of athletes.

Concerns over the anti-doping system at the tournament were also raised by the likes of Tygart but, so far, there have not been any positive tests. Cynics would say they would be concealed rather than revealed anyway.

Unfortunately for those cheated by the Russian system, those concerns have been superseded by the air of optimism lingering around the country as a result of hosting what many are calling one of the greatest World Cups ever held.

"I’m told and I can see it from the way the people act in the streets, the volunteers with their smiles, with their faces, that they come across as open, as hospitable, as normal people, who want to have [a] party, who want to have fun, like everyone when you speak about football," added Infantino.

"That’s what it is about. 

"And that’s the image that we want to portray in football and that’s the image of Russia as well, which fully fits into this.

"No more fearing about Russia and about whatever violence, or discrimination or God knows what. Nothing of this has happened. Nothing is more far from reality."

It was always going to be this way. The players who have been part of this extraordinary World Cup might have put smiles on so many faces, but the largest grin belongs to Putin, who has seen the tournament so far achieve what he hoped it would.