SHOWS:HELSINKI, FINLAND (JULY 16, 2018) (YLE HOST BROADCASTER - ACCESS ALL) 1.

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN AND U.S.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP WALKING INTO ROOM, STANDING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS 2.

WHITE FLASH 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING: "Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Well first of all Mr.

President I'd like to congratulate you on a really great World Cup.

One of the best ever from what everybody tells me, one of the best ever, and also for your team itself doing so well. (PAUSES FOR TRANSLATION) I watched quite a bit, and in the United States we call it soccer, and I watched quite a bit of it and I watched the entire final and the semi-finals and they were really spectacular games but it was beautifully done.

So congratulations on that." STORY: U.S.

President Trump opened the long-awaited meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin by congratulating him on what he called a 'really great' World Cup, as the two leaders sat down in Helsinki on Monday (July 16).

The World Cup wound up on Sunday with France beating Croatia 4-2 in the final in Moscow.

President Trump told President Putin the World Cup was 'one of the best ever'.

He said he had been watching some of the games, including the entirety of the final.