The FIFA World Cup 2018 held in Russia will be the 21st FIFA World Cup. It is scheduled to take place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018.
It is going to be the first time after 2006 that a European country hosting a FIFA World Cup. The tournament will involve 32 national teams. The 31 teams qualify through qualifying competitions and the automatically qualified host team.
A total of 64 matches are going to be played in 12 stadiums located in 11 cities. The finals of the World Cup 2018 will take place in Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium on July 15, 2018.
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Qualified Teams for World Cup 2018:
As of a total number of 32 countries have qualified for the 2018 edition of FIFA World Cup. From which 20 countries competed at the previous edition of the tournament in 2014.
Serbia returns to the tournament after missing 2014 World Cup. Poland and Saudi Arabia qualified for the first time since 2006. Whilst Egypt returns to the World Cup finals after 28 years. On the other hand, Iceland and Panama are making their world debut. This makes them the smallest country in terms of population to reach the World Cup.
Teams that have qualified from the five continents out of six are as follows:
AFC (Asia) – Australia, Iran, Japan, Korean Republic, Saudi Arabia
CAF (Africa) – Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia
CONCACAF (Central, North America, and Caribbean) – Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama
CONMEBOL (South America) – Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay
UEFA (Europe) – Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Iceland, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland
Venues:
Russia proposed the following host cities and their stadiums for the 2018 World Cup:
| Moscow | Luzhniki Stadium | Capacity – 81,000 |  |
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| Otkrytiye Arena | Capacity – 45,360 |  |
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| Saint Petersburg | Krestovsky Stadium | Capacity – 68,134 |  |
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| Kaliningrad | Kaliningrad Stadium | Capacity – 35,212 |  |
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| Kazan | Kazan Arena | Capacity – 45,379 |  |
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| Nizhny Novgorod | Nizhny Novgorod Stadium | Capacity – 44,899 |  |
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| Samara | Cosmos Arena | Capacity – 44,918 |  |
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| Volgograd | Volgograd Arena | Capacity – 45,568 |  |
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| Saransk | Mordovia Arena | Capacity – 45,015 |  |
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| Rostov-on-Don | Rostov Arena | Capacity – 45,000 |  |
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| Sochi | Fisht Olympic Stadium | Capacity – 47,659 |  |
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| Yekaterinburg | Central Stadium | Capacity – 35,696 |  |
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Draw:
The draw for World Cup 2018 will be held on December 1, 2017, at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow. The 32 teams will be drawn in eight groups of four.
For the draw, the teams will be allocated into four pots, based on the FIFA World Rankings of October 2017. Pot 1 will contain the hosts Russia and seven best teams. Pot 2 with the next best eight teams, and so on for Pots 3 and 4.
The schedule and timings for World Cup 2018 is as follows:
Schedule:
Group A
| Pos | Teams | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Uruguay | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| 2 | Russia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 1 | 0 | 2 | -5 | 3 |
| 4 | Egypt | 0 | 0 | 3 | -4 | 0 |
| 14/06/2018 | 20:30 | Russia | 5-0 | Saudi Arabia |
| 15/06/2018 | 17:30 | Egypt | 0-1 | Uruguay |
| 19/06/2018 | 23:30 | Russia | 3-1 | Egypt |
| 20/06/2018 | 20:30 | Uruguay | 1-0 | Saudi Arabia |
| 25/06/2018 | 19:30 | Uruguay | 3-0 | Russia |
| 25/06/2018 | 19:30 | Saudi Arabia | 2-1 | Egypt |
Group B
| Pos | Teams | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Spain | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 2 | Portugal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Iran | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Morocco | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
| 15/06/2018 | 20:30 | Morocco | 0-1 | Iran |
| 15/06/2018 | 23:30 | Portugal | 3-3 | Spain |
| 20/06/2018 | 17:30 | Portugal | 1-0 | Morocco |
| 20/06/2018 | 23:30 | Iran | 0-1 | Spain |
| 25/06/2018 | 23:30 | Spain | 2-2 | Morocco |
| 25/06/2018 | 23:30 | Iran | 1-1 | Portugal |
Group C
| Pos | Teams | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | France | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 2 | Denmark | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Peru | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Australia | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
| 16/06/2018 | 15:30 | France | 2-1 | Australia |
| 16/06/2018 | 21:30 | Peru | 0-1 | Denmark |
| 21/06/2018 | 17:30 | France | 1-0 | Peru |
| 21/06/2018 | 20:30 | Denmark | 1-1 | Australia |
| 26/06/2018 | 19:30 | Denmark | 0-0 | France |
| 26/06/2018 | 19:30 | Australia | 0-2 | Peru |
Group D
| Pos | Teams | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Croatia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| 2 | Argentina | 1 | 1 | 1 | -2 | 4 |
| 3 | Nigeria | 1 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 4 | Iceland | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 1 |
| 16/06/2018 | 18:30 | Argentina | 1-1 | Iceland |
| 16/06/2018 | 20:00 | Croatia | 2-0 | Nigeria |
| 21/06/2018 | 23:30 | Argentina | 0-3 | Croatia |
| 22/06/2018 | 20:30 | Nigeria | 2-0 | Iceland |
| 26/06/2018 | 23:30 | Iceland | 1-2 | Croatia |
| 26/06/2018 | 23:30 | Nigeria | 1-2 | Argentina |
Group E
| Pos | Teams | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Brazil | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Serbia | 1 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 3 |
| 4 | Costa Rica | 0 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 1 |
| 17/06/2018 | 17:30 | Costa Rica | 0-1 | Serbia |
| 17/06/2018 | 23:30 | Brazil | 1-1 | Switzerland |
| 22/06/2018 | 17:30 | Brazil | 2-0 | Costa Rica |
| 22/06/2018 | 23:30 | Serbia | 1-2 | Switzerland |
| 27/06/2018 | 23:30 | Serbia | 0-2 | Brazil |
| 27/06/2018 | 23:30 | Switzerland | 2-2 | Costa Rica |
Group F
| Pos | Teams | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Sweden | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2 | Mexico | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Korea | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Germany | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 3 |
| 17/06/2018 | 20:30 | Germany | 0-1 | Mexico |
| 18/06/2018 | 17:30 | Sweden | 1-0 | Korea |
| 23/06/2018 | 20:30 | Germany | 2-1 | Sweden |
| 23/06/2018 | 23:30 | Korea | 1-2 | Mexico |
| 27/06/2018 | 19:30 | Mexico | 0-3 | Sweden |
| 27/06/2018 | 19:30 | Korea | 2-0 | Germany |
Group G
| Pos | Teams | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Belgium | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9 |
| 2 | England | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | Tunisia | 1 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 3 |
| 4 | Panama | 0 | 0 | 3 | -9 | 0 |
| 18/06/2018 | 20:30 | Belgium | 3-0 | Panama |
| 18/06/2018 | 23:30 | Tunisia | 1-2 | England |
| 23/06/2018 | 17:30 | Belgium | 5-2 | Tunisia |
| 24/06/2018 | 17:30 | England | 6-1 | Panama |
| 28/06/2018 | 23:30 | England | 0-1 | Belgium |
| 28/06/2018 | 23:30 | Panama | 1-2 | Tunisia |
Group H
| Pos | Teams | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Colombia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 2 | Japan | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 | Senegal | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Poland | 1 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 3 |
| 19/06/2018 | 17:30 | Poland | 1-2 | Senegal |
| 19/06/2018 | 20:30 | Colombia | 1-2 | Japan |
| 24/06/2018 | 20:30 | Japan | 2-2 | Senegal |
| 24/06/2018 | 23:30 | Poland | 0-3 | Colombia |
| 28/06/2018 | 19:30 | Senegal | 0-1 | Colombia |
| 28/06/2018 | 19:30 | Japan | 0-1 | Poland |
| Round of 16 | ||||
| 30/06/2018 | 19:30 | France | 4-2 | Argentina |
| 30/06/2018 | 23:30 | Uruguay | 2-1 | Portugal |
| 01/07/2018 | 19:30 | Spain | 1(3)-1(4) | Russia |
| 01/07/2018 | 23:30 | Croatia | 1(3)-1(2) | Denmark |
| 02/07/2018 | 19:30 | Brazil | 2-0 | Mexico |
| 02/07/2018 | 23:30 | Belgium | 3-2 | Japan |
| 03/07/2018 | 19:30 | Sweden | 1-0 | Switzerland |
| 03/07/2018 | 23:30 | Colombia | 1(3)-1(4) | England |
| Quarter-finals | ||||
| 06/07/2018 | 19:30 | France | 2-0 | Uruguay |
| 06/07/2018 | 23:30 | Belgium | 2-1 | Brazil |
| 07/07/2018 | 19:30 | England | 2-0 | Sweden |
| 07/07/2018 | 23:30 | Russia | 2(3)-2(4) | Croatia |
| Semi-finals | ||||
| 10/07/2018 | 23:30 | France | 1-0 | Belgium |
| 11/07/2018 | 23:30 | Croatia | – | England |
| Third place | ||||
| 14/07/2018 | 19:30 | Belgium | – | Loser of Match 2 |
| Final | ||||
| 15/07/2018 | 20:30 | France | – | Winners of Match 2 |
- The time is according to IST.
