FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia

FIFA World Cup 2018

When it comes to football, who does not know what FIFA is! Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) was founded on 21^st May 1904 with its Headquarter located at Zurich, Switzerland. According to FIFA, the World is divided into 6 parts- Africa, Asia, Oceania, South America, North and Central America & the Caribbean.

21^st FIFA World Cup for Men’s National Teams is going to get started from 14^th June 2018 to 15^th July 2018 in Russia, after Russia was awarded the hosting rights on 2^nd December 2010. There are 12 host cities all situated in European Russia to manage the travel time. This is the first time ever the FIFA World Cup is happening in Eastern Europe and overall 11^th time that it held in Europe.

Host Selection:

The bidding process for 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup Venue officially began in March 2009. There were 11 bids from 13 different countries. Two joint bids of Belgium- Netherlands and Portugal- Spain were also submitted. Mexico also submitted the bid but withdrew on 28^th September 2009. Indonesia’s bid was cancelled because of lack of Government support. In this process, Russia and Qatar won the bid for 2018 and 2022 World Cup respectively.

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FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia Qualification:

In the history of FIFA World Cup, this was the first time when 6 FIFA confederations organized series of tournaments to decide 31 out of the 32 teams along with the automatic addition of Host country as a 32^nd team in March 2015.

32 qualified teams: Russia(Host), Iran, Japan ,Mexico, Belgium, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Germany, England, Spain, Nigeria, Costa Rica, Poland, Egypt, Iceland, Serbia, Switzerland, Portugal, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia, Panama, Senegal, Tunisia, Croatia, Sweden, Denmark, Australia, Brazil, France, Morocco and Peru.

All the 32 teams were divided into 4 pots with 8 teams each. This draw was held on 1^st December 2017 in Moscow in State Kremlin Palace. The teams were kept in pots according to their FIFA World Ranking. Each team should name a preliminary squad of 35 members out of 25 players should be the final squad.

There are going to be 36 Referees and 63 Assistant Referees along with the first time use of Virtual Assistant Referees (VAR).

Stadiums:

Samara Arena, Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Volgograd Arena, Volgograd Arena, Volgograd Arena, Rostov Arena, Kaliningrad Stadium, Kazan Arena, Spartak Stadium, Fisht Stadium, Saint Petersburg Stadium and Luzhniki Stadium.

Belgium and Portugal faced an International Friendly Match ahead of FIFA World Cup on 2^nd June 2018 which was draw with 0-0. Belgium’s star player Kevin de Bruyne would be an asset for Belgium. He has played 59 Internationals with 10 goals since 2010.

Schedule:

Total of 64 Matches will take place out of which the 1^st Match will be played between Russia and Saudi Arabia on 14^th June in Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow. The Finals will be played between Winner of Match 61 and 62 in Luzhniki Stadium only on 15^th July 2018. Playoff for 3^rd Place will be played between Loser of Match 61 and 62 in Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg on 14^th July 2018.

It’s going to be super fun for next 1 month! Let’s see if Germany is able to defend its champion’s cup or no. Let’s play football. Let the heart race begin!!