World Cup 2018 · History

The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st edition of the men’s World Cup and the first held in Russia. It ran from 14 June to 15 July 2018, with 64 matches played across 12 stadiums in 11 host cities. France won it, beating Croatia 4–2 in the final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow for their second world title.

Hosting award and draw

The FIFA Executive Committee gave Russia the hosting rights on 2 December 2010 in Zürich. Russia won in the second round of voting with 13 of the 22 votes. Thirty-one teams came through qualifying and joined the hosts, making 32 in total. Twenty of them had played in Brazil in 2014, while Iceland and Panama were at the tournament for the first time. The final draw took place on 1 December 2017 at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow and was conducted by Gary Lineker and Maria Komandnaya. Russia 2018 was also the first FIFA World Cup to use the video assistant referee, known as VAR.

Group stage

The tournament opened on 14 June at the Luzhniki, where Russia beat Saudi Arabia 5–0. The biggest upset of the first round came in Group F. Germany, the defending champions, lost 1–0 to Mexico in Moscow on 17 June, with Hirving Lozano scoring in the 35th minute. On 23 June in Sochi they beat Sweden 2–1 thanks to a Toni Kroos goal five minutes into stoppage time. A 2–0 defeat to South Korea on 27 June then left them bottom of the group with three points. It was Germany’s first group-stage exit since 1938. Sweden and Mexico both finished on six points, and Sweden took first place on goal difference.

Round of 16 and quarter-finals

The knockout rounds began on 30 June in Kazan, where France beat Argentina 4–3. Antoine Griezmann scored a penalty and Benjamin Pavard added a volley before Kylian Mbappé scored twice in four minutes. On the same day in Sochi, two goals from Edinson Cavani gave Uruguay a 2–1 win over Portugal. On 1 July the hosts drew 1–1 with Spain at the Luzhniki and won the shoot-out 4–3, and Croatia beat Denmark 3–2 on penalties in Nizhny Novgorod after another 1–1 draw. Brazil beat Mexico 2–0 in Samara. In Rostov-on-Don, Belgium came from 2–0 down to beat Japan 3–2, with Nacer Chadli scoring the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Sweden beat Switzerland 1–0 in Saint Petersburg, and England beat Colombia 4–3 on penalties in Moscow after a 1–1 draw.

In the quarter-finals on 6 July, France beat Uruguay 2–0 in Nizhny Novgorod with goals from Raphaël Varane and Griezmann. In Kazan, Belgium knocked out Brazil 2–1, with an own goal from Fernandinho and a strike from Kevin De Bruyne. On 7 July England beat Sweden 2–0 in Samara with goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli. Russia went out the same evening in Sochi. They drew 2–2 with Croatia after extra time and lost the shoot-out 4–3.

Semi-finals and third place

On 10 July, Samuel Umtiti scored from a corner to give France a 1–0 win over Belgium at the Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg. The next evening at the Luzhniki, Kieran Trippier put England ahead with a free kick in the fifth minute. Ivan Perišić equalised in the 68th minute, and Mario Mandžukić scored the winner in the 109th minute of extra time to send Croatia into the final. On 14 July, again in Saint Petersburg, Belgium beat England 2–0 in the third-place match with goals from Thomas Meunier in the fourth minute and Eden Hazard in the 82nd.

The final

The final was played on 15 July 2018 at the Luzhniki Stadium in front of 78,011 spectators, with the Argentine Néstor Pitana as referee. Didier Deschamps’ France faced Zlatko Dalić’s Croatia. France went ahead in the 18th minute when Mandžukić headed a free kick into his own net, and Perišić equalised ten minutes later. Griezmann restored the lead from the penalty spot in the 38th minute. In the second half Paul Pogba made it 3–1 in the 59th minute and Mbappé made it 4–1 in the 65th, which made him the second teenager after Pelé to score in a World Cup final. Mandžukić pulled one back in the 69th minute, and the match finished France 4–2 Croatia.

Individual awards and figures

Croatia’s Luka Modrić won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Harry Kane won the Golden Boot with six goals for England. Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois received the Golden Glove, Mbappé was named Best Young Player, and Spain won the Fair Play award. The 64 matches produced 169 goals, an average of 2.64 per match, and drew a total attendance of 3,031,768, an average of 47,371 per match.