The 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup shall be held from June 14 to July 15 in Russia. Starting from June 14 to July 15, 2018, the greatest soccer players in the world shall gather together in Russia for yet another FIFA World Cup event. The tournament returns to Europe for the first time since it was held in Germany back in 2006.
Just like every year, there's no shortage of soccer-related stories as the event draws near. Is this going to be the year in which Lionel Messi finally wins the only major trophy he's been missing in his list of career achievements? It has been a 32-year famine for Argentina. That window of opportunity may be closing for Cristiano Ronaldo, who will try to power Portugal (the 2016 Euro winners) to another title. How's Neymar doing, who is recovering from a broken foot? Will he be fit enough to lead the Brazil team to its 6th World Cup title?
The host country Russia shall get the party started in Moscow on June 14 against Saudi Arabia, and by July 15 a new world champion shall be crowned.
Portugal versus Spain is one of the most intriguing of the early matchups, which takes place in Sochi on the second day of the tournament, whereas the two big favorites, Brazil and Germany, will begin their campaigns on the first Sunday against Switzerland and Mexico, respectively.
Telemundo and Fox have the TV broadcast rights for this edition of the World Cup, which means that the games will air on Telemundo and NBC Universo in Spanish, and on Fox and Fox Sports 1 in English. You can also stream all the World Cup games in either English or Spanish on fuboTV.
About the FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup is a quadrennial international football tournament in which the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA compete for the number 1 spot and the prize, the World Cup trophy.
The final tournament will be held on July 15 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
VENUES
Overall, 64 matches shall be played in 12 stadium venues located in 11 cities in Russia.
Out of the 12 stadiums to be used for the tournament, three of them (Luzhniki, Sochi, and Yekaterinburg) have been thoroughly renovated and the rest of the 9 stadiums are brand new. For hosting this tournament, $11.8 billion has been spent.
The two biggest stadiums in Russia, the Luzhniki Stadium (in Moscow) and the Saint Petersburg Stadium shall be used the most - 7 matches are to be held at each of these stadiums.
Samara, Sochi, Kazan and Nizhny Novogrod will host 6 matches, including one quarter-final match each.
The Otkrytiye Stadium (in Moscow) and Rostov-on-Don will host 5 matches each, including one round of 16 match each.
Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd and Yekaterinburg will host 4 matches each, and none of these cities will host knockout stage games.
LOGO BRAND
The 2018 tournament logo was inspired by Russia's rich artistic tradition and its history of bold achievement and innovation, according to Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko. Sepp Blatter, FIFA President, said that it reflected the "heart and soul" of the country.
MATCH BALL
Introduced on November 9, 2017 and presented in Moscow by Lionel Messi, the official match ball of the 2018 FIFA World Cup is called "Telstar 18", based on the name and design of the very first Adidas World Cup ball back in 1970.
The name ‘Telstar' is a combination of the words ‘television' and ‘star'.
MASCOT
Since 1966, each FIFA World Cup has its own mascot representative. The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia mascot will be a wolf called Zabivaka, its name translated from Russian meaning "The Goalscorer".
TICKETING
The first wave of ticket sales began on September 14 up to October 12, 2017. Fortunately, the general Russian visa policy shall not apply to both participants and fans of the World Cup, so they are allowed to enter Russia without a visa right before and during the competitions, regardless of their citizenship. A Fan ID would be required for fans attending the matches.
The ticket's design was revealed on April 6, 2018, which contained security features including a barcode, a hologram beside the stadium sector map, and the name of the ticketholder.
TV BROADCASTING RIGHTS
FIFA sold the television broadcasting rights for the 2018 FIFA World Cup event to a variety of local broadcasters.
In the United States, the 2018 World Cup will be aired by Fox Sports and Fox Sports 1 (English), and Telemundo and NBC Universo (Spanish).
In the United Kingdom, soccer fans can tune in to BBC and ITV.
GROUPS
Below are the following countries divided into groups A to H:
Group A: Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
Group B: Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran
Group C: France, Australia, Peru, Denmark
Group D: Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria
Group E: Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
Group F: Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea
Group G: Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England
Group H: Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan
Want to know more details per team, like who's their coach and star player, when's their best years, how they qualified for the 2018 World Cup, and the latest news about each country? Then check out this informative article by Independent.co.uk.
SCHEDULE
A total of 64 games will be played to determine the winner of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.
Below you will find the 2018 FIFA World Cup's complete schedule, scores and TV channels:
Date: June 14 to July 15, 2018
English-speaking TV channels: Fox, Fox Sports 1 (USA); BBC and ITV (UK)
Spanish-speaking TV channels: Telemundo, NBC Universo
Live Streaming: fuboTV
Source: https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches