It’s just 10 days since France beat Croatia 4-2 on Luzhniki’s hallowed turf to clinch the famous trophy in the showpiece match to bring down the final curtain on perhaps the most exhilarating major international tournament in living memory.

The heady heights of a wild and wonderful World Cup seem already confined to a distance past, but the fate of what the tournament left behind is looking ahead to a bright future already as the host stadiums continue to provide a beacon of legacy.

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A handful of purpose-built stadiums have already seen action and other stadiums are gearing up to host their latest matches and welcome in a new generation of football fan inspired by the World Cup.

Nizhny Novgorod Stadium

Sitting by the Volga River just 400km from the Russian capital Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod held six World Cup matches at its purpose-built stadium, including England's 6-1 rout of minnows Panama and finalists Croatia's penalty shootout victory over Denmark in the last 16.

The city got its first taste of football action since eventual winners France's 2-0 win over Uruguay in the quaretr-finals when 18,000 saw the home side lose 2-1 to Tyumen. Nizhny will add another chapter to its young but burgeoning football history when the city holds the Russian Super Cup between Russian champions Lokomotiv Moscow and CSKA Moscow on Friday May 27. 

Volgograd Arena

Standing on the banks of the Volga River and in view of The Motherland Calls statue, the stadium saw perhaps the best gates of all World Cup stadia post-tournament when 30,000 fans packed the venue to watch Rotor Volgograd’s first game of the National Football League.

And they didn’t go home disappointed when the new occupants of the stadium secured a 1-0 win versus Luch. They may have some way to go until the club can again reach the heights of their 1995 win over Manchester United on away goals in the UEFA Cup.