2014 World Cup

In 2014 Brazil hosted the 20th FIFA World Cup from 12 June to 13 July with Germany being crowned champions for the fourth time after beating Argentina one-nil in the final during extra time.

Brazil is synonymous with the World Cup. It is the only nation to have qualified to play in the final stages of all 21 tournaments since the event was first played in Uruguay in 1930. Brazil is also the only five-time winner of the World Cup, its closest rivals being Italy and now Germany with four titles each.

Brazil won the World Cup in Sweden in 1958, Chile in 1962, Mexico in 1970, the United States in 1994, and Japan and Korea in 2002. Brazil was the first country to win the World Cup outside of its own continent, and has won the cup in Europe and Asia, as well as North and South America. The only other countries to win outside its own continent are, Spain, when it won the previous cup in South Africa, and Germany which becomes the first non-South American country to win in the Americas.

Brazil hosted the 1950 World Cup, the fourth cup and first tournament to be played after World War II, and in 2014 hosted the 20th FIFA World Cup when the national team came what was seen as a disappointing fourth.

32 teams played in Brazil between 12 June and 13 July 2014, in what was the Brazilian winter. Due to the size of Brazil, FIFA allowed the country to nominate twelve cities to host the games, the most ever. The Final was played at the iconic Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, 13 July, Germany beating Argentina 1-0.

The 32 teams to play at the 2014 FIFA World Cup were (and what happened):

Algeria – Knocked out in the round of 16
Argentina – Finalist – Runner-up
Australia – Knocked out at the group stage
Belgium – Quarter finalist
Bosnia-Herzegovina – Knocked out at the group stage
Brazil – Semi finalist- 4th place
Cameroon – Knocked out at the group stage
Chile – Knocked out in the round of 16
Colombia – Quarter finalist
Costa Rica – Quarter finalist
Croatia – Knocked out at the group stage
Ecuador – Knocked out at the group stage
England – Knocked out at the group stage
France – Quarter finalist
Germany – Finalist – 2014 World Champions
Ghana – Knocked out at the group stage
Greece – Knocked out in the round of 16
Honduras – Knocked out at the group stage
Iran – Knocked out at the group stage
Italy – Knocked out at the group stage
Ivory Coast – Knocked out at the group stage
Japan – Knocked out at the group stage
Mexico – Knocked out in the round of 16
Netherlands – Semi-finalist – 3rd place
Nigeria – Knocked out in the round of 16
Portugal – Knocked out at the group stage
Russia – Knocked out at the group stage
South Korea – Knocked out at the group stage
Spain – Knocked out at the group stage
Switzerland – Knocked out in the round of 16
USA – Knocked out in the round of 16
Uruguay – Knocked out in the round of 16

The 2014 tournament was the first to be held in South America since Argentina in 1978, and following on from South Africa it is the first time that consecutive World Cup’s had been held in the Southern Hemisphere.

Plans for the 2014 cup included the building of new stadiums in Cuiabá, Manaus, Natal, Recife, Salvador and São Paulo, while six existing stadiums were upgraded for the tournament, including Maracanã that also hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2016 Olympic Games and the Olympic socces which Brazil won.