GETTY
Both Downing Street and the Kremlin fear ISIS-backed terror groups operating in the former Soviet Union are planning to launch a series of “spectacular attacks” during the competition.
The two countries are at the top of the jihadi hit-list because of the hundreds of bombing attacks which have been carried out by the UK and Russia in Syria.
Intelligence sources have told the Daily Star Sunday that security around the England team will be at the highest level ever for a World Cup.
Goalscorer Harry Kane and the rest of the squad will be based in a hotel – about 20 miles from St Petersburg.
They will be guarded by a mixture of serving and former members of the special forces, sources have confirmed.
The ForRestMix club: England's proposed base for World Cup 2018
ForRestMix club
“There are at least five separate Islamist terrorist groups operating in Russia at the moment”
British intelligence source
A team of military contractors, composed largely of former members of the SAS and SBS, have already made a study of the hotel and its surroundings.
It is understood serving members of the SAS will be armed and will have Russian authority to shoot to kill if the team is attacked.
The Russian security forces will also have members of its internal security services monitoring activity in the area.
One British intelligence source said: “There are at least five separate Islamist terrorist groups operating in Russia at the moment.
GETTY
“All are capable of delivering high casualty attacks. “We know they are planning to target the World Cup and any country which has conducted operations in Syria and Iraq will be a target.
“Security for the English football team will be very high. It will be provided by British military personnel who are very adept at close personal protection.
“A number of security contractors will be used and there will also be elements of the Russian security forces involved.
“All staff at the hotel where the team are based will be vetted.
"The hotel will be searched several times before the team arrive and there will be a number of covert security teams operating in the pine forests surrounding the hotel.”
The most recent terrorist attack in Russia left 15 dead when a bomber blew himself up in a St Petersburg supermarket last month.
There have been more than a dozen terrorists attacks in Russia since 2010 which have left almost 50 people dead and more than 100 injured.