Volgograd is packed with history, much of it heartbreaking, but its difficult past has earned it a special place in Russian hearts.
Around 1.8m Russians died here during the Battle of Stalingrad fighting the Nazis and the new stadium where the match takes place is overlooked by the famous 'Motherland Calls' statue that honours them.
It was renamed in 1961 after the river that flows through it and is twinned with Coventry because of its shared war-time pain.
The stadium has cost £280m to build and at first glance when you arrive you'd be forgiven for thinking that the architect took inspiration from Beijing's 'Bird's Nest' Olympic stadium.
Of the 11 host cities at this tournament, Volgograd is the poorest, with an average monthly salary here of around £223 and a local economy that is struggling.
The local steel works, Red October, produces all the metal needed for the Russian Army's T-14 Armata tank, though it is closed for the duration of the tournament because the authorities didn't want negative headlines about air pollution.
So the workers can watch the football, they just won't be getting paid. A small protest is planned there on Monday morning.
So what can England fans expect here? Will they be made welcome? If our experience is anything to go by the answer is an overwhelming 'YES!'
The locals here simply aren't used to having visitors and very few speak any English at all, but that hasn't stopped people bounding up to us to shake hands, chat and ask what we think of their new stadium.
The English Premier League is broadcast live here every weekend with Russian commentary, so everyone knows the English players and Harry Kane is particularly popular. He is what they call a 'zabivaka', a goal scorer, and they genuinely seem to idolise him here.
There have been reports in UK newspapers about England fans not being allowed to wear their jerseys or display their country's flag here. From what we've seen over the past week in Russia that is absolute nonsense.
The only request the locals have made is that visitors respect the war memorials in this extraordinarily tough old town that drove back Hitler's armies and changed the path of World War Two in the process.
Winston Churchill presented Josef Stalin with a British-made steel sword at the Tehran conference in 1943 to mark the sacrifices made by the people here and to this day the 'Sword of Stalingrad' remains on display.
Walking the streets here you feel safe and welcome and people are genuinely curious to hear where you are from, though one Russian lady - eager to practise her English - was disappointed when she heard I am Irish and my colleague is from New Zealand.
"That's nice," she said, "but where can I practise English with real English people?"
