The 2014 FIFA World Cup (Brazilian Portuguese: Copa do Mundo FIFA de 2014) was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in 2007. It was the second time that Brazil staged the competition, the first being in 1950, and the fifth time that it was held in South America. Fans and pundits alike consider this edition of the World Cup to be one of the greatest ever held.
| Copa do Mundo da FIFA Brasil 2014  | |
|---|---|
The official emblem Juntos num só ritmo (All in one rhythm) | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Brazil |
| Dates | 12 June – 13 July |
| Teams | 32 (from 5 confederations) |
| Venue(s) | 12 (in 12 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Germany (4th title) |
| Runners-up |  Argentina |
| Third place |  Netherlands |
| Fourth place |  Brazil |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 64 |
| Goals scored | 171 (2.67 per match) |
| Attendance | 3,429,873 (53,592 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  James Rodríguez(6 goals)[1] |
| Best player(s) | Lionel Messi[2] |
| Best young player |  Paul Pogba[3] |
| Best goalkeeper | Manuel Neuer |
| Fair play award | Colombia |
31 national teams advanced through qualification competitions to join the host nation in the final tournament (with Bosnia and Herzegovina as the only debutant). A total of 64 matches were played in 12 venues located in as many host cities across Brazil. For the first time at a World Cup finals, match officials used goal-line technology, as well as vanishing spray for free kicks.[9] FIFA Fan Fests in each host city gathered a total of 5 million people, and the country received 1 million visitors from 202 countries.[10] Every World Cup-winning team since the first tournament in 1930 – Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Uruguay – qualified for this tournament. Spain, the title holders, were eliminated at the group stage, along with England and Italy. Uruguay were eliminated in the round of 16, and France exited in the quarter-finals. Host nation Brazil, who had won the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, lost to Germany 7–1 in the semi-finals and eventually finished in fourth place.
In the final, Germany defeated Argentina 1–0 after extra time to win the tournament and secure the country's fourth world title, the first after German reunification in 1990, when as West Germany they also beat Argentina by the same score in 90 minutes in the World Cup final. Germany became the first European team to win a World Cup staged in the Americas,[11] and this result marked the third consecutive title won by a European team, after Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010.
GROUP A Jun 12 Sao Paulo Brazil v Croatia 3-1 Jun 13 Natal Mexico v Cameroon 1-0 Jun 17 Fortaleza Brazil v Mexico 0-0 Jun 18 Manaus Cameroon v Croatia 0-4 Jun 23 Brasilia Cameroon v Brazil 1-4 Jun 23 Recife Croatia v Mexico 1-3 P W D L Gls Pts BRAZIL 3 2 1 0 7-2 7 MEXICO 3 2 1 0 4-1 7 Croatia 3 1 0 2 6-6 3 Cameroon 3 0 0 3 1-9 0 GROUP B Jun 13 Salvador Spain v Netherlands 1-5 Jun 13 Cuiaba Chile v Australia 3-1 Jun 18 Porto Alegre Australia v Netherlands 2-3 Jun 18 Rio de Janeiro Spain v Chile 0-2 Jun 23 Curitiba Australia v Spain 0-3 Jun 23 Sao Paulo Netherlands v Chile 2-0 P W D L Gls Pts NETHERLANDS 3 3 0 0 10-3 9 CHILE 3 2 0 1 5-3 6 Spain 3 1 0 2 4-7 3 Australia 3 0 0 3 3-9 0 GROUP C Jun 14 Belo Horizonte Colombia v Greece 3-0 Jun 14 Recife Côte d'Ivoire v Japan 2-1 Jun 19 Brasilia Colombia v Côte d'Ivoire 2-1 Jun 19 Natal Japan v Greece 0-0 Jun 24 Cuiaba Japan v Colombia 1-4 Jun 24 Fortaleza Greece v Côte d'Ivoire 2-1 P W D L Gls Pts COLOMBIA 3 3 0 0 9-2 9 GREECE 3 1 1 1 2-4 4 Côte d'Ivoire 3 1 0 2 4-5 3 Japan 3 0 1 2 2-6 1 GROUP D Jun 14 Fortaleza Uruguay v Costa Rica 1-3 Jun 14 Manaus England v Italy 1-2 Jun 19 Sao Paulo Uruguay v England 2-1 Jun 20 Recife Italy v Costa Rica 0-1 Jun 24 Natal Italy v Uruguay 0-1 Jun 24 Belo Horizonte Costa Rica v England 0-0 P W D L Gls Pts COSTA RICA 3 2 1 0 4-1 7 URUGUAY 3 2 0 1 4-4 6 Italy 3 1 0 2 2-3 3 England 3 0 1 2 2-4 1 GROUP E Jun 15 Brasilia Switzerland v Ecuador 2-1 Jun 15 Porto Alegre France v Honduras 3-0 Jun 20 Salvador Switzerland v France 2-5 Jun 20 Curitiba Honduras v Ecuador 1-2 Jun 25 Manaus Honduras v Switzerland 0-3 Jun 25 Rio de Janeiro Ecuador v France 0-0 P W D L Gls Pts FRANCE 3 2 1 0 8-2 7 SWITZERLAND 3 2 0 1 7-6 6 Ecuador 3 1 1 1 3-3 4 Honduras 3 0 0 3 1-8 0 GROUP F Jun 15 Rio de Janeiro Argentina v Bosnia-Herzegov. 2-1 Jun 16 Curitiba Iran v Nigeria 0-0 Jun 21 Belo Horizonte Argentina v Iran 1-0 Jun 21 Cuiaba Nigeria v Bosnia-Herzegov. 1-0 Jun 25 Porto Alegre Nigeria v Argentina 2-3 Jun 25 Salvador Bosnia-Herzego. v Iran 3-1 P W D L Gls Pts ARGENTINA 3 3 0 0 6-3 9 NIGERIA 3 1 1 1 3-3 4 Bosnia-Herzegovina 3 1 0 2 4-4 3 Iran 3 0 1 2 1-4 1 GROUP G Jun 16 Salvador Germany v Portugal 4-0 Jun 16 Natal Ghana v United States 1-2 Jun 21 Fortaleza Germany v Ghana 2-2 Jun 22 Manaus United States v Portugal 2-2 Jun 26 Recife United States v Germany 0-1 Jun 26 Brasilia Portugal v Ghana 2-1 P W D L Gls Pts GERMANY 3 2 1 0 7-2 7 UNITED STATES 3 1 1 1 4-4 4 Portugal 3 1 1 1 4-7 4 Ghana 3 0 1 2 4-6 1 GROUP H Jun 17 Belo Horizonte Belgium v Algeria 2-1 Jun 17 Cuiaba Russia v South Korea 1-1 Jun 22 Rio de Janeiro Belgium v Russia 1-0 Jun 22 Porto Alegre South Korea v Algeria 2-4 Jun 26 Sao Paulo South Korea v Belgium 0-1 Jun 26 Curitiba Algeria v Russia 1-1 P W D L Gls Pts BELGIUM 3 3 0 0 4-1 9 ALGERIA 3 1 1 1 6-5 4 Russia 3 0 2 1 2-3 2 South Korea 3 0 1 2 3-6 1 SECOND ROUND Jun 28 Belo Horizonte Brazil v Chile (3-2)1-1 Jun 28 Rio de Janeiro Colombia v Uruguay 2-0 Jun 29 Fortaleza Netherlands v Mexico 2-1 Jun 29 Recife Costa Rica v Greece (5-3)1-1 Jun 30 Brasilia France v Nigeria 2-0 Jun 30 Porto Alegre Germany v Algeria aet 2-1 Jul 01 Sao Paulo Argentina v Switzerland aet 1-0 Jul 01 Salvador Belgium v United States aet 2-1 QUARTERFINALS Jul 04 Fortaleza Brazil v Colombia 2-1 Jul 04 Rio de Janeiro France v Germany 0-1 Jul 05 Salvador Netherlands v Costa Rica (4-3)0-0 Jul 05 Brasilia Argentina v Belgium 1-0 SEMIFINALS Jul 08 Belo Horizonte Brazil v Germany 1-7 Jul 09 Sao Paulo Netherlands v Argentina (2-4)0-0 3rd/4th PLACE PLAY-OFF Jul 12 Brasilia Brazil v Netherlands 0-3 WORLD CUP FINAL Jul 13 Rio de Janeiro Germany v Argentina aet 1-0