“I think this match should be held on the day of the final,” Prokopyev told journalists.
He added that the equipment on board was “extremely fragile” and expensive, and it is more likely the crew will imitate a game rather than play an actual one. When asked which countries will be represented, the cosmonaut answered that the squads will be “international.”
Prokopyev also said he would be supporting Russia at the World Cup, but would also cheer for title holders Germany along with his fellow crew member, European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst.
Expedition 56-57, which includes Prokopyev, Germany's Gerst and US astronaut Serena Aunon-Chancellor, will take a ball with them before launching from Earth on Wednesday to spend 187 days on the ISS.
Earlier in May, the official ball of the tournament was brought to the ISS by cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev and delivered back to Earth by Anton Shkaplerov. This ball is set to be used during the opening match of the World Cup.
Russia will host the FIFA World Cup for the first time in history from June 14 to July 15, with the games set to be held in 11 cities across the country.