FIFA World Cup 2018 Live Online: FIFA world
cup is one of the most entertaining events on this planet. The country that
hosts the world cup enjoys greater benefits from a swift boost in tourism even
though their players missed to qualify/compete in the tournament. FIFA World
Cup is one of the prestigious football tournaments with so many viewers all
across the globe and is one of the popular events for Sports in the globe.
This
World Cup will be conducted every 4 years once except in 1942 and 1946 because
of the Second World War. There will be a preliminary tournament conducted over
every three years before FIFA which is the qualification phase and the
qualified teams will be selected for the international tournament including the
host nation.
So far, 19
tournaments have been conducted in which eight different national teams have
won the match including Brazil (five times), Italy (Four times), Germany (Three
times), Argentina (Two times), Uruguay (Two times), England, France, and Spain
(One time). Cosmonauts revealed the logo for the FIFA World Cup at the
International Space Station which is one of the important news which is
showcased around the globe.
The selection of a host country has for FIFA world
cup changes over time. It was a time till 2002 where the tournament hosting
countries were restricted to American continents and Europe alone. Thereafter,
it was hosted in the Asian countries
FIFA World Cup 2018 is the 21st international tournament for football with a
total of 32 teams (at the national level) is to be held in Russia starting from
June 14th to 15th of July 2018. The winners of the FIFA
World Cup are determined by playing a total of 64 games in 11 cities (12
venues). The finals will be held on July 15th at Luzhniki Stadium
(Moscow).
5 Interesting Facts of FIFA
Following
listed are 5 interesting facts of FIFA World Cup which shows why FIFA World Cup
is so popular around the Globe.
● The first FIFA World Cup was
conducted in the year 1930 at Uruguay with a total of 13 teams who took part in
this tournament. Four teams from Europe, Seven teams from South America, two
teams from North America and Uruguay were the first world champions who took
part in the 1930th FIFA World Cup Tournament.
● Golden Ball Trophy was won by the one
and only goalkeeper named Oliver Kahn.
● South America with 9 titles and
European Countries with 10 titles has produced a record of World Championship
among the overall 19 tournaments.
● Roger Milla was the oldest goal
scorer in 1992 and he is the oldest player (42 years) in the World Cup History.
●
Norman
Whiteside (17 years) was the youngest player in 1982 tournament in the World
Cup History.
Host Selection Process
According to
2016 World Cup, it is estimated that more than 715.1 million people have
watched the FIFA Final Cup which leads to a huge success of this tournament. It
is clear that with the universal popularity, the world cup moved to other
countries making it as a global event in the process. FIFA came up with a
bidding process which helped in the selection of the host.
The bidding
process follows the following set of steps and guidelines:
●
FIFA
generally floats an expression of interest. It is similar to an invitation to
bid to the member associations of FIFA.
●
The
Member Association/ country who is interested will specify their interest in
bidding for hosting the specific event. The Member nations will be provided a
span of 3 weeks to express their interest in hosting the event.
●
Upon
receiving the Expression of Interest, FIFA sends out all the bidding
information, manual and related documents and agreements to the respective
bidders. The bidders can evaluate it and complete it. Interested parties will
have 6 weeks’ duration to complete the application.
●
FIFA
thereafter conducts a workshop for the interested parties explaining all the
nuances of the process.
●
Member
associations after evaluating the documents have to provide the completed
agreement in accordance with the Bidding manual provided.
●
Member
associations thereafter submit the bids specifying to the instructions laid in the
bidding manual. There is duration of 1 year between the agreement and bid
submission process for analyzing the investment and infrastructure required to
finalize the bid. Also, this gives a chance for the countries to drop out
without prejudice.
●
FIFA
receives the bid documents submitted by all the member nations and indulge in
evaluating the bid submissions. Upon careful scrutinization, FIFA identifies
the successful candidate for further approval and recommendations.
● FIFA thereafter announces the
successful host for the year.
Thus, FIFA World Cup is one of the most aspiring events which
attract tourism. It is also likely to have more viewers around the globe to
watch this prestigious event.
Qualification Process 2018
A
national association football team has to go through certain qualification
process in order to make their way into FIFA World Cup finals. Gradually out of
210 countries, only 32 infiltrate through the qualification procedure and make
it into finals (with Russia qualifying automatically for being the host
country). The whole procedure initialized in March 2015 itself. The allocation
process for all the confederations is discussed by the prestigious FIFA
Executive Committee. Afterwards it was decided that the allocation process of
2014 would be followed in 2018 and 2022 World Cup Finals as well. There are
certain formats which are followed in the qualification process namely League
and Knockout Format depending upon the confederations. In the League format,
two teams form groups and thereby play matches called round-robin matches
whereas in the Knockout format, the two teams play two-legged matches.
Confederations can choose either of the formats. During a league format, in
case there is a tie, the teams are compared upon certain criterion which is set
by the confederation which also requires the approval of FIFA committee. In the
case of a knockout format, the team with the highest aggregate scores matches
ahead to the upcoming round. Extra time is also given for penalty shoot outs.
FIFA World Cup Group Stages
The
European Section for the FIFA 2018 World Cup comprises of a group stage as well
as a play-off round. This provides 13 Union of Football Association (UEFA)
members for 32-team final tournament to be held in Russia. One of the nine
members of Union of Football Association (UEFA) for 2018 FIFA World Cup
qualification is Group D. The group comprises of countries like Austria,
Serbia, Wales, Moldova, Republic of Ireland and Georgia. The draw match for the
first round that is the group stage was conducted as a part of FIFA 2018 World
Cup Preliminary Draw on July 25, 2015. The draw took place in Konstantinovsky
Palace located in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, Russia. The winners in the group
will qualify directly for the FIFA 2018 World Cup finals. The runner-ups in the
nine groups would march ahead in the play-offs. Here, they will be required to
be drawn into four home-and-away ties. The eight teams are segregated into
groups of four pairings which is played from November 9 to November 14, 2017.
The same play-offs procedure will also decide the other four qualifiers.
Finally the allocation slots are provided to different confederations and teams
of eight groups are categorized into 4 where the top two go into the knockout
format.
FIFA World Cup Branding/Logo/Mascot 2018
FIFA has
been known to bring in the most creative mascots every time. The mascots are
incorporated into these tournaments to alleviate the fun factor of the entire
event. A variety of vegetables, fruits and even animals have been chosen as
mascots for the FIFA tournament. This is done in order to instill streaks of
positivity, zeal and enthusiasm into the ambiance and to enthrall fanatics,
team members and the entire crew which is participating in the event. These
official mascots apart from entertaining the crowd and promoting the event also
become ambassadors of countries. The Commercial Affiliates of FIFA World Cup
through licensing and merchandising programs use these mascots extensively for
promotion.
 |
| FIFA World Cup 2018 Mascot |
Every FIFA World Cup tournament introduces the most innovative
mascots ever. The official mascot for the FIFA World Cup 2018 to be held in
Russia is Zabivaka which translates into “the one who scores” in Russian. The
mascot is represented by a friendly wolf who undoubtedly is an epitome of
radiance, charm and sportsman spirit. Apart from entertaining the crowd, the
wolf has also become the ambassador representing the country of Russia.
Millions of people cast their votes on FIFA.com during the most engaging and
creative voting processes and chose the wolf as the official mascot.
FIFA Broadcasting Rights/ Sponsors/ Partners
The
broadcasting rights for the Indian television have been revealed lately for the
broadcasting channels of the FIFA World Cup 2018. The qualifier matches will broadcast on 14th November 2017 on Sony Six and Sony Six HD. The TV
channel also holds the broadcasting rights of the EURO Cup 2016 for the Indian
homes. This will enable the Indian football fans with an extensive coverage of
the Football league qualifiers.
The sponsors
and partners for the FIFA 2018 are:
●
Adidas
●
Coca-Cola
●
Wanda
Group
●
Gazprom
●
Hyundai
and Kia Motors
●
Qatar
Airways
● Visa
The FIFA World
Cup 2018 sponsors and partners include:
●
Budweiser
●
HI
sense
●
McDonalds
●
VIVO
●
Hand
Shake For Peace
●
FIFA
Football For Hope
● FIFA.com
The rights
which the sponsors or partners are able tailor are:
●
The
Official Marks used are done by sponsors.
●
The
official news and publications on their official website which covers the
happenings of the stadium.
●
The
execution of a sponsorship program which extensively acknowledges the support
of the FIFA World Cup 2018.
●
Protection
for the ambush marketing techniques.
●
Offering
opportunities for hospitality partners.
● Offering promotional and advertising
opportunities and enabling access to the FIFA World Cup advertising unit.
The sponsors
and partners are provided with an advantage to tailor the sponsorship programs
according to the market strategies. They have the right to individually publish
the logo of the FIFA World Cup if needed and provide them the opportunity to
differentiate themselves from their partners and can get actively involved in
creative publications.
Last FIFA Cup Winners Team List
In 2014, the
FIFA World Cup which was conducted in Brazil was won by the ever strategically
organized Germany! The finals was a grueling game of Germany VS Argentina where
Germany had defeated Argentina by 1-0 with the only goal being scored by Mario
Gotze, who had volleyed the ball into the nets by initially collecting the ball
from the left of his chest from Andre Schurlle. The German team who won
themselves to the top in 2014 includes:
●
Manager- Jaochim Low
●
Captain-
Phillip Lahm
●
Roster-
1. Midfielder- Mesut Ozil
2. Midfielder- Thomas Muller
3. Midfielder- Mario Gotze
4. Midfielder- Toni Kroos
5. Midfielder- Marco Reus
6. Midfielder- Julian Draxler
7. Midfielder- Sami Khedira
8. Midfielder- Joshua Kimmich
9. Midfielder- Andre Schurlle
10. Midfielder- IIkay Gundogan
11. Defender- Benedikt Howedes
12. Defender- Mats Hummels
13. Midfielder- Bastian Schweinsteiger
14. Midfielder- Lukas Podolski
15. Forward- Miroslav Klose
16. Goal Keeper- Ron- Robert Zieler
17. Defender- Erik Durm
18. Defender- Per Mertesacker
19. Midfielder- Jerome Boateng
20. Goal Keeper- Manuel Neuer
21. Goal Keeper- Roman Weidenfeller
22. Defender- Shkodran Mustafi
Most Successful Teams
 |
| Brazil has won 5 Title FIFA |
 |
| Most Successful Teams FIFA |
Over the
years, in 20 tournaments, over 75 nations have played in the tournament at
least once of which 12 had made it to the finals and 8 have won the title.
Brazil has won the title 5 times, named as the most successful team of all
time. Germany and Italy have won the title 4 times each and other winners are
Argentina and Uruguay, winning 2 titles each. England, France and Spain won the
titles, one each. The winning team gets their names engraved on the FIFA World
Cup Trophy.
Current Champions of FIFA World Cup 2014
Germany
National Football Team is the current champions of 2014 FIFA World Cup making
it the first title of the reunified German team and also the first European
team to win in South America.
Top Scorers (2014)
The top 10 best Scorers of FIFA 2014 are:
●
James
Rodriguez ( Colombia)- 6 Goals
●
Thomas
Muller (Germany)- 5 Goals
●
Neymer
(Brazil) – 4 Goals
●
Lionel
Messi (Argentina) – 4 Goals
●
Robin
Van Persi ( Netherlands) – 4 Goals
●
Karim
Benzema ( France) - 3 Goals
●
Andre
Schurrle ( Germany)- 3 Goals
●
Arjen
Robben ( Netherlands)- 3 Goals
●
E
Valencia ( Ecuador)- 3 Goals
●
Xherdan
Shaqiri ( Switzerland) – 3 Goals
●
Toni
Kroos ( Germany)- 2 Goals
●
Oscar(
Brazil)- 2 Goals
●
Abdelmoumene
Djabou ( Algeria)- 2 Goals
●
Memphis
depay ( Netherlands) – 2 Goals
●
Ivan
Perisic (Croatia)- 2 Goals
●
Gervinho
( Ivory)- 2 Goals
●
Asamoah
Gyan ( Ghana)- 2 Goals
●
Islam
Sanchez (Chile)- 2 Goals
●
David
Luiz ( Brazil) – 2 Goals
●
Tim
Cahill ( Australia) – 2 Goals
●
Wilfred
Bony ( Ivory) – 2 Goals
●
Luis
Suarez ( Uruguay) – 2 Goals
●
Mario
Mandzukic ( Croatia) – 2 Goals
● Jackson Martinez ( Colombia)- 2 Goals
Best Players
The top 10
best players of FIFA 2014 are:
1.
Lionel
Messi (94)
2.
Cristiano
Ronaldo (92)
3.
Franck
Ribery (90)
4.
Falcao
(90)
5.
Andres
Iniesta (89)
6.
Robin
Van Persie (89)
7.
Xavi
(89)
8.
Zlatan
Ibrahimovic (89)
9.
Arjen
Robben (88)
10. Bastian Schweinsteiger (88)
As the records
go, the best young player of 2014 FIFA World Cup was Mario Gotze (Germany) of
21 years, current FIFA ratings: 85 and potential rating of 92, followed by
Neymar (Brazil) of 22 years with a current FIFA rating of 84 and a potential
rating of 91.
The best
goalkeeper of the 2014 FIFA World Cup named was Gianluigi Button followed Iker
Casillas and Manuel Nueur.
FIFA World Cup 2018 Venue/Stadiums in Russia
With
football addicts all geared up for the World Cup Season 2018 in Russia; here is
some detailed information about the venues where those interesting matches will
be taking place. There are around 12 stadiums with extravagant structure and a
large seating capacity which is under construction right now and will be ready
most probably by the end of the year. It is high time for fans to get
familiarize with the names of these arenas and the cities where they are all
located. An interesting fact about the names of these stadiums is that the host
country has decided to name these stadiums in connection to the cities and local
culture where they are located or with football culture.
● Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow - This
stadium in the capital is the place where the opening and final match will be
played with 5 other matches in between.
●
Saint
Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg
●
Fisht
Stadium, Sochi
●
Ekaterinburg
Arena, Ekaterinburg
●
Kazan
Arena, Kazan
●
Nizhny
Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
●
Rostov
Arena, Rostov-on-Don
●
Samara
Arena, Samara
●
Mordovia
Arena, Saransk
●
Volgograd
Stadium, Volgograd
●
Spartak
Stadium, Moscow
● Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad
FIFA World Cup Squad of Teams
Football
is the most loved sports of all and one can find enthusiasts in every corner of
the world. Everyone wants their country to reach the tournament but only 32
teams are able to make it. But, whether our country reaches or not, we still
have our favorite teams. For some, it’s Neymar’s Brazil, Ronaldo’s Portugal, or
Messi’s Argentina. Qualification Rounds are still not over, and only 3 names
have been finalized so far whose entry to Russia are sure. First of them is the
host country Russia, second is Brazil and third is Iran.
 |
| FIFA World Cup 2018 Group A |
 |
| FIFA World Cup 2018 Group E |
 |
| FIFA World Cup 2018 Group H |
Football
lovers surely have a rough idea which teams have brighter chances to reach the
tournament. Analysis of the games played by countries in their respective
continental games tells us about the countries clearing their road to Russia.
Some of the names from Europe with good chances to win are- Portugal, Italy,
Netherlands, France, England, Germany. From South America- Argentina, Chile,
Ecuador, Uruguay holds some good chance. From Africa- Ghana, Ivory Coast and
Egypt are hopeful of reaching the tournament. From Asia- Saudi Arabia and
Australia have their chances bright. New Zealand and Tahiti have luck on their
side in reaching to the final platform of the tournament.
Schedule of FIFA World Cup 2018
Schedule
for the World Cup has been released by the Federation. A total number of 64
matches will be played by 32 teams in 12 venues in Russia. 32 countries have
been divided into 8 groups- A to H, with 4 teams in one group. Here’s the
schedule of the match.
Date
|
Local Time
|
Stadium
|
Match
|
Group
|
14 June 2018
|
18:00
|
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
|
Russia vs A2
|
A
|
15 June 2018
|
17:00
|
Ekaterinburg Arena, Ekaterinburg
|
A3 vs A4
|
A
|
15 June 2018
|
17:00
|
St Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg
|
B3 vs B4
|
B
|
15 June 2018
|
21:00
|
Fischt Stadium, Sochi
|
B1 vs B2
|
B
|
16 June 2018
|
13:00
|
Kazan Arena, Kazan
|
C1 vs C2
|
C
|
16 June 2018
|
19:00
|
Mordovia Arena, Saransk
|
C3 vs C4
|
C
|
16 June 2018
|
16:00
|
Spartak Stadium, Moscow
|
D1 vs D2
|
D
|
16 June 2018
|
21:00
|
Kaliningrad stadium, Kaliningrad
|
D3 vs D4
|
D
|
17 June 2018
|
18:00
|
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
|
F1 vs F2
|
F
|
17 June 2018
|
21:00
|
Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
|
E1 vs E2
|
E
|
17 June 2018
|
16:00
|
Samara Arena, Samara
|
E3 vs E4
|
E
|
18 June 2018
|
18:00
|
Fischt Stadium, Sochi
|
G1 vs G2
|
G
|
18 June 2018
|
21:00
|
Volgograd Stadium, Volgograd
|
G3 vs G4
|
G
|
18 June 2018
|
15:00
|
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
|
F3 vs F4
|
F
|
19 June 2018
|
21:00
|
St Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg
|
Russia vs A3
|
A
|
19 June 2018
|
18:00
|
Mordovia Arena, Saransk
|
H3 vs H4
|
H
|
19 June 2018
|
15:00
|
Spartak Stadium, Moscow
|
H1 vs H2
|
H
|
20 June 2018
|
15:00
|
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
|
B1 vs B3
|
B
|
20 June 2018
|
18:00
|
Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
|
A4 vs A2
|
A
|
20 June 2018
|
21:00
|
Kazan Arena, Kazan
|
B4 vs B2
|
B
|
21 June 2018
|
17:00
|
Ekaterinburg Arena, Ekaterinburg
|
C1 vs C3
|
C
|
21 June 2018
|
21:00
|
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
|
D1 vs D3
|
D
|
21 June 2018
|
19:00
|
Samara Arena, Samara
|
C4 vs C2
|
C
|
22 June 2018
|
15:00
|
St Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg
|
E1 vs E3
|
E
|
22 June 2018
|
18:00
|
Volgograd Stadium, Volgograd
|
D4 vs D2
|
D
|
22 June 2018
|
20:00
|
Kaliningrad stadium, Kaliningrad
|
E4 vs E2
|
E
|
23 June 2018
|
18:00
|
Fischt Stadium, Sochi
|
F1 vs F3
|
F
|
23 June 2018
|
21:00
|
Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
|
F4 vs F2
|
F
|
23 June 2018
|
15:00
|
Spartak Stadium, Moscow
|
B1 vs B3
|
B
|
24 June 2018
|
20:00
|
Ekaterinburg Arena, Ekaterinburg
|
H4 vs H2
|
H
|
24 June 2018
|
21:00
|
Kazan Arena, Kazan
|
H1 vs H3
|
H
|
24 June 2018
|
15:00
|
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
|
G4 vs G2
|
G
|
25 June 2018
|
18:00
|
Samara Arena, Samara
|
A4 vs Russia
|
A
|
25 June 2018
|
17:00
|
Volgograd Stadium, Volgograd
|
A2 vs A3
|
A
|
25 June 2018
|
20:00
|
Kaliningrad stadium, Kaliningrad
|
B2 vs B3
|
B
|
25 June 2018
|
21:00
|
Mordovia Arena, Saransk
|
B4 vs B1
|
B
|
26 June 2018
|
17:00
|
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
|
C4 vs C1
|
C
|
26 June 2018
|
21:00
|
St Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg
|
D4 vs D1
|
D
|
26 June 2018
|
21:00
|
Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
|
D2 vs D3
|
D
|
26 June 2018
|
17:00
|
Fischt Stadium, Sochi
|
C2 vs C3
|
C
|
26 June 2018
|
17:00
|
Spartak Stadium, Moscow
|
C4 vs C1
|
C
|
27 June 2018
|
19:00
|
Ekaterinburg Arena, Ekaterinburg
|
F2 vs F3
|
F
|
27 June 2018
|
21:00
|
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
|
E2 vs E3
|
E
|
27 June 2018
|
17:00
|
Kazan Arena, Kazan
|
F4 vs F1
|
F
|
28 June 2018
|
18:00
|
Samara Arena, Samara
|
H2 vs H3
|
H
|
28 June 2018
|
21:00
|
Mordovia Arena, Saransk
|
G2 vs G3
|
G
|
28 June 2018
|
17:00
|
Volgograd Stadium, Volgograd
|
H4 vs H1
|
H
|
28 June 2018
|
20:00
|
Kaliningrad stadium, Kaliningrad
|
G4 vs G1
|
G
|
30 June 2018
|
17:00
|
Kazan Arena, Kazan
|
1C vs 2D
|
(Round of 16)
|
30 June 2018
|
21:00
|
Fischt Stadium, Sochi
|
1A vs 2B
|
(Round of 16)
|
1 July 2018
|
17:00
|
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
|
1B vs 2A
|
(Round of 16)
|
1 July 2018
|
21:00
|
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
|
1D vs 2C
|
(Round of 16)
|
2 July 2018
|
21:00
|
Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
|
1G vs 2H
|
(Round of 16)
|
2 July 2018
|
18:00
|
Samara Arena, Samara
|
1E vs 2F
|
(Round of 16)
|
3 July 2018
|
17:00
|
St Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg
|
1F vs 2E
|
(Round of 16)
|
3 July 2018
|
21:00
|
Spartak Stadium
|
1H vs 2G
|
(Round of 16)
|
6 July 2018
|
21:00
|
Kazan Arena, Kazan
|
W53 vs W54
|
Quarter Final
|
6 July 2018
|
17:00
|
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
|
W49 vs W50
|
Quarter Final
|
7 July 2018
|
21:00
|
Fischt Stadium, Sochi
|
W51 vs W52
|
Quarter Final
|
7 July 2018
|
18:00
|
Samara Arena, Samara
|
W55 vs W56
|
Quarter Final
|
10 July 2018
|
21:00
|
St Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg
|
W57 vs W58
|
Semi Final
|
11 July 2018
|
21:00
|
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
|
W59 vs W60
|
Semi Final
|
14 July 2018
|
17:00
|
St Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg
|
L61 vs L62
|
Third Place
|
15 July 2018
|
18:00
|
Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
|
W61 vs W62
|
Final
|
FIFA World Cup 2018 Overview
One of
the most awaited and enthralling football tournaments which is looked up by
fanatics living in every nook and corner of the world. The game of hearts
played with legs has now reached the final stage of completion. But to begin
with, every fanatic must look into the sorting procedure of the world renowned
FIFA Confederation World Cup 2018 which has a million hearts beating for that
favorite player and that favorite team in their favorite game-football! The
FIFA World Cup 2018 will start from 14th November 2017 and a new set
of winners, a new set of top scorers will emerge. FIFA is among organization
which believes in developing football for everyone and everywhere. Unifying
different ethnicities, cultures and countries, FIFA has made all the fans
across the globe realize that football is more than just a game! Another
adrenaline rushing final awaits all of us with the top teams fighting to clinch
the winning title!
