World Cup 2014 · History

The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th edition of the men’s world championship organised by FIFA and was played in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014. FIFA awarded the hosting rights to Brazil on 30 October 2007, when it was the only candidate. The country had already staged the FIFA World Cup in 1950. The 64 matches were played at 12 stadiums in 12 host cities: seven of the venues were newly built and five were renovated. The tournament ended with Germany beating Argentina 1-0 after extra time in the final at the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro.

Teams and the draw

Thirty-two national teams from FIFA’s five continental confederations reached the finals. Brazil qualified automatically as hosts, and the other 31 places were decided in qualifying competitions. Bosnia and Herzegovina were the only team appearing at a World Cup for the first time. The final draw took place on 6 December 2013 at the Costa do Sauípe resort in the state of Bahia. It split the teams into eight groups of four, and the top two in each group went through to the round of 16. The 2014 tournament was also the first World Cup finals to use goal-line technology and the vanishing spray that referees use to mark the distance at free kicks.

Group stage

The opening match was played on 12 June 2014 at the Arena de São Paulo, where Brazil came from behind to beat Croatia 3-1. The Japanese referee Yuichi Nishimura took charge of the game. Spain, the defending champions, went out in Group B after a 5-1 defeat by the Netherlands in Salvador on 13 June and a 2-0 loss to Chile at the Maracanã on 18 June. Their 3-0 win over Australia in Curitiba was not enough to lift them above third place, with three points. Group D held three former world champions, but Costa Rica topped it with seven points, ahead of Uruguay on six, Italy on three and England on one. In the Uruguay-Italy match, Uruguay’s Luis Suárez bit the Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. FIFA banned Suárez for nine international matches, suspended him from all football-related activity for four months and fined him 100,000 Swiss francs.

Knockout rounds

On 28 June in Belo Horizonte, Brazil drew 1-1 with Chile after extra time and won the round-of-16 tie 3-2 on penalties. The same day, Colombia beat Uruguay 2-0 in Rio de Janeiro. The Netherlands came from behind to beat Mexico 2-1 in Fortaleza, and Costa Rica beat Greece 5-3 on penalties in Recife after a 1-1 draw. France won 2-0 against Nigeria in Brasília. Three of the ties went to extra time: Germany beat Algeria 2-1 in Porto Alegre, Argentina beat Switzerland 1-0 in São Paulo, and Belgium beat the United States 2-1 in Salvador. In the quarter-finals on 4 and 5 July, Germany beat France 1-0 at the Maracanã and Brazil beat Colombia 2-1 in Fortaleza. Brazil lost Neymar in that game, as an injury ruled him out of the rest of the tournament. Argentina beat Belgium 1-0 in Brasília, and the Netherlands beat Costa Rica 4-3 on penalties in Salvador after a goalless draw.

Semi-finals and third place

On 8 July 2014 at the Mineirão in Belo Horizonte, Germany beat Brazil 7-1. Miroslav Klose scored in that semi-final, his 16th goal across his World Cup appearances. It took him past Ronaldo, with whom he had shared the record of 15, and the match was also his fourth World Cup semi-final. The next day in São Paulo, Argentina and the Netherlands drew 0-0 after extra time, and Argentina won the shoot-out 4-2. On 12 July in Brasília, the Netherlands beat Brazil 3-0 in the third-place match. It was the first time the Dutch had finished third at a World Cup, and it left the host nation in fourth place.

The final

The final was played on 13 July 2014 at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro in front of 74,738 spectators, with the Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli in charge. Germany and Argentina were level at 0-0 after 90 minutes. In the 113th minute, during extra time, substitute Mario Götze scored the only goal of the match. It gave Germany their fourth world title, after the wins of 1954, 1974 and 1990, and it was the first time a European team had won the World Cup in the Americas.

Awards and figures

FIFA gave the Golden Ball for the tournament’s top player to Lionel Messi of Argentina. The Golden Boot went to Colombia’s James Rodríguez, who scored six goals. Germany’s Manuel Neuer won the Golden Glove for goalkeepers, France’s Paul Pogba received the young player award, and Colombia won the FIFA Fair Play Award. The tournament produced 171 goals in 64 matches, an average of 2.67 per game, and the total attendance was 3,429,873, an average of 53,592 per match. The FIFA Fan Fests in the host cities drew around five million people, and Brazil received about one million foreign visitors from 202 countries during the 2014 World Cup.