FIFA World Cup 2014 was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men’s national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in 2007. It was the second time that Brazil staged the competition, the first being in 1950, and the fifth time that it was held in South America. Fans and pundits alike consider this edition of the World Cup to be one of the best ever held.
FIFA World Cup 2014 Award
Champions Runners- Up Third Place Fourth Place
Germany (4th title) Argentina Netherlands Brazil
Golden Ball Silver Ball Bronze Ball
Lionel Messi Thomas Müller Arjen Robben
Golden Boot Silver Boot Bronze Boot
James Rodríguez
(6 goal) Thomas Müller
(5 goal) Neymar
(4 goal)
Golden Glove Best Young Player Award FIFA Fair Play Trophy
Manuel Neuer Paul Pogba Colombia
FIFA World Cup 2014 Group Stage
Group A
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points
1. Qualified Brazil (Host) 3 2 1 0 7 2 +5 7
2. Qualified Mexico 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7
3 Croatia 3 1 0 2 6 6 0 3
4 Cameroon 3 0 0 3 1 9 −8 0
Group B
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points
1. Qualified Netherlands 3 3 0 0 10 3 +7 9
2. Qualified Chile 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 6
3 Spain 3 1 0 2 4 7 −3 3
4 Australia 3 0 0 3 3 9 −6 0
Group C
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points
1. Qualified Colombia 3 3 0 0 9 2 +7 9
2. Qualified Greece 3 1 1 1 2 4 −2 4
3 Ivory Coast 3 1 0 2 4 5 −1 3
4 Japan 3 0 1 2 2 6 −4 1
Group D
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points
1. Qualified Costa Rica 3 2 1 0 4 1 +3 7
2. Qualified Uruguay 3 2 0 1 4 4 0 6
3 Italy 3 1 0 2 2 3 −1 3
4 England 3 0 1 2 2 4 −2 1
Group E
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points
1. Qualified France 3 2 1 0 8 2 +6 7
2. Qualified Switzerland 3 2 0 1 7 6 +1 6
3 Ecuador 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
4 Honduras 3 0 0 3 1 8 −7 0
Group F
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points
1. Qualified Argentina 3 3 0 0 6 3 +3 9
2. Qualified Nigeria 3 1 1 1 3 3 0 4
3 Bosnia 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 3
4 Iran 3 0 1 2 1 4 −3 1
Group G
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points
1. Qualified Germany 3 2 1 0 7 2 +5 7
2. Qualified United States 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
3 Portugal 3 1 1 1 4 7 −3 4
4 Ghana 3 0 1 2 4 6 −2 1
Group H
Position Team Played Win Draw Loss GF GA GD Points
1. Qualified Belgium 3 3 0 0 4 1 +3 9
2. Qualified Algeria 3 1 1 1 6 5 +1 4
3 Russia 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2
4 South Korea 3 0 1 2 3 6 −3 1
Round of 16 matches
Date Team 1 Result Team 2
28 June 2014 Brazil 1 – 1 (a.e.t.)
3 - 2 (penalties) Chile
28 June 2014 Colombia 2 – 0 Uruguay
29 June 2014 Netherlands 2 – 1 Mexico
29 June 2014 Costa Rica 1 – 1 (a.e.t.)
5 - 3 (penalties) Greece
30 June 2014 France 2 – 0 Nigeria
30 June 2014 Germany 2 – 1 (a.e.t.) Algeria
1 July 2014 Argentina 1 – 0 (a.e.t.) Switzerland
1 July 2014 Belgium 2 – 1 (a.e.t.) United States
FIFA World Cup 2014 Quarter Final matches
Date Team 1 Result Team 2 Stadium
4 July 2014 France 0 – 1 Germany Maracanã Stadium
4 July 2014 Brazil 2 – 1 Colombia Estádio Castelão
5 July 2014 Argentina 1 – 0 Belgium Arena BRB Mané Garrincha
5 July 2014 Netherlands 0 – 0 (a.e.t.)
4 - 3 (penalties) Costa Rica Arena Fonte Nova
FIFA World Cup 2014 Semi Finals
Date Team 1 Result Team 2 Stadium
8 July 2014 Brazil 1 – 7 Germany Estádio Mineirão
9 July 2014 Netherlands 0 – 0 (a.e.t.)
2 - 4 (penalties) Argentina Arena Corinthians
Third place play-off
12 July 2014 17:00 BRT (UTC−3), Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília
Brazil | 0 – 3 | Netherlands |
Van Persie 3′ (pen.) Blind 17′ Wijnaldum 90+1′ |
FIFA World Cup 2014 Final match
13 July 2014 16:00 BRT (UTC−3), Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro
Germany | 1 – 0 (a.e.t.) | Argentina |
Mario Götze 113′ |
World Cup 2014 Top Goal Scorer List
Rank Player Name Country Goals
1 James Rodríguez Colombia 6
2 Thomas Müller Germany 5
3 Lionel Messi Argentina 4
4 Neymar Brazil 4
5 Robin van Persie Netherlands 4
6 Enner Valencia Ecuador 3
7 Karim Benzema France 3
8 André Schürrle Germany 3
9 Arjen Robben Netherlands 3
10 Xherdan Shaqiri Switzerland 3
World Cup 2014 most Assist Provider List
Rank Player Name Country Assist
1 Juan Cuadrado Colombia 4
2 Daley Blind Netherlands 3
3 Thomas Müller Germany 3
4 Toni Kroos Germany 3
FIFA World Cup 2014 All-Star Team
As was the case during the 2010 edition, FIFA released an All-Star Team based on the Castrol performance index in its official website.
Position Player Country
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer Germany
Defender Marcos Rojo Argentina
Defender Mats Hummels Germany
Defender Thiago Silva Brazil
Defender Stefan de Vrij Netherlands
Midfielder Oscar Brazil
Midfielder Toni Kroos Germany
Midfielder Philipp Lahm Germany
Midfielder James Rodríguez Colombia
Forward Arjen Robben Netherlands
Forward Thomas Müller Germany
FIFA World Cup 2014 Dream Team
FIFA also invited users of FIFA.com to elect their Dream Team.
Position Player Country
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer Germany
Defender Marcelo Brazil
Defender Mats Hummels Germany
Defender Thiago Silva Brazil
Defender David Luiz Brazil
Midfielder Ángel Di María Argentina
Midfielder Toni Kroos Germany
Midfielder James Rodríguez Colombia
Forward Neymar Brazil
Forward Lionel Messi Argentina
Forward Thomas Müller Germany
Manager of the Tournament: Joachim Löw
Opening ceremony
On June 12, 2014, the 20th edition of the FIFA World Cup 2014 kicked off with an opening ceremony at Arena de São Paulo in São Paulo, Brazil. The event featured 660 dancers who performed a celebration of the country’s nature and its passion for football. Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte then took the stage, followed by Cuban-American rapper Pitbull and American singer Jennifer Lopez, to perform the tournament’s official song “We Are One (Ole Ola),” which had been released on April 8, 2014. After the ceremony, the opening match took place, with the host nation Brazil coming from behind to defeat Croatia 3-1.
FIFA World Cup 2014 Summary
31 national teams qualified through various competitions to join the host nation in the final tournament, with Bosnia and Herzegovina making their debut. The tournament featured 64 matches held across 12 venues in Brazil’s host cities. It marked the first use of goal-line technology and vanishing spray for free kicks in World Cup finals. FIFA Fan Fests across host cities attracted a total of 5 million attendees, while Brazil welcomed 1 million visitors from 202 different countries. Defending champions Spain were unexpectedly eliminated in the group stage. Hosts Brazil, who had previously won the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, suffered a shocking 7–1 defeat to Germany in the semi-finals and finished fourth overall.
In the final match, Germany defeated Argentina 1–0 in extra time, courtesy of Mario Götze’s half-volley in the 113th minute. This victory secured Germany’s fourth World Cup title, their first since reunification in 1990. It was a repeat of their 1990 win over Argentina with the same score line in regular time. Germany also became the first European team to win a World Cup held in the Americas, continuing a streak of European victories following Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010.
FIFA World Cup 2014 Venues
Stadium Capacity City
Maracanã Stadium 74,738 Rio de Janeiro
Arena BRB Mané Garrincha 69,432 Brasília
Arena Corinthians 63,321 São Paulo
Estádio Castelão 60,348 Fortaleza
Estádio Mineirão 58,259 Belo Horizonte
Arena Fonte Nova 51,708 Salvador
Estádio Beira-Rio 43,394 Porto Alegre
Arena Pernambuco 42,583 Recife
Arena Pantanal 41,112 Cuiabá
Arena da Amazônia 40,549 Manaus
Arena das Dunas 39,971 Natal
Arena da Baixada 39,631 Curitiba