FIFA World Cup 101

Every 4 years the most anticipated sporting event brings together the world for FIFA’s World Cup. The 2018 FIFA World Cup is the 21^st FIFA World Cup, an international soccer (football) tournament played by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The trourmanet takes place this year in Russia starting from June  14^th and will end with the final match on July 15^th, 2018. 

World Cup 101

Here are some more facts about the World Cup to help you understand how it’s all put together:

• The tournament takes place for one whole month. 64 total matches will be played between the dates of June 14^th to July 15^th, 2018.
• The matches will be played in 12 venues located in 11 cities across Russia. The final will take place on July 15^th at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
• The 2018 World Cup mascot is a wolf named Zabivaka, which was chosen via online voting
• The World Cup features 32 countries that have qualified through other tournaments with all other countries of the World.
• The players must play for the country where they were born or have citizenship. If players have citizenship in multiple countries, those players always play for the country where they were raised.
• The World Cup starts with the teams divided into 8 groups for round-robin action named after the first 8 letters of the alphabet.
• Teams earn three points for a win, one point for a tie. Goal differential and total goals scored are used to break ties in the standings.
• The top two teams in each group will advance to the elimination rounds.
• The 20 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight national teams. Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Germany and Italy, with four titles each; Argentina and inaugural winner Uruguay, with two titles each; and England, France, and Spain, with one title each.
• The World Cup is the most prestigious association soccer (football) tournament in the world as well as the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world, even more than the Olympic Games. 

Injuries and Star Stories

Unfortunately there are many Soccer Stars that have injuries each year. We will have to keep our eyes on the injury reports and hope our favorite players don't get injured. 

 

Going for Gold

The teams are full of amazing athletes, and there is always amazing stories. The total prize money for 2018 World Cup is 400 million US dollars!! The World Cup is the most wanted trophy in Sports history… let the drama begin!

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