2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round
The final round of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup is the knockout stage of the competition. The top four teams from the preliminary round groups shall qualify in the single-elimination tournament. The losers in the semifinals will play for the bronze medal. Teams from Groups A and B shall play at the Palacio de Deportes de la Comunidad de Madrid in Madrid, while those from Groups C and D shall play at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona. The third place game and the final shall be held at the Madrid arena.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round
The order of games for the round of 16 and quarterfinals shall be determined after the teams are known.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Round of 16, United States vs. Mexico
This would be the third game between the United States and Mexico in the World Cup; the United States won the first two games in 1963 and 1967. The most recent competitive game between the two was an American victory at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Round of 16, United States vs. Mexico
Team USA rolled past Mexico in the first game of the final round. Stephen Curry scored 20 points, including 6 three point field goals, for the United States. Gustavo Ayón recorded 25 points and 8 rebounds for Mexico.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Round of 16, France vs. Croatia
This would be France's and Croatia's first World Cup game against each other. The French had previously won their last competitive match at FIBA EuroBasket 2009.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Round of 16, Dominican Republic vs. Slovenia
This would be the first competitive game between the Dominican Republic and Slovenia.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Round of 16, Spain vs. Senegal
This would be Spain's and Senegal's first World Cup game against each other. Spain had previously defeated Senegal at the 1980 Olympics, their last competitive game between the two of them.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Round of 16, New Zealand vs. Lithuania
This would be the second competitive game between New Zealand and Lithuania at the World Cup; the Lithuanians had won the first meeting at the 2010 FIBA World Championship.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Round of 16, Serbia vs. Greece
This would be Serbia's and Greece's first World Cup game against each other. Greece had previously won their last competitive match at FIBA EuroBasket 2011.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Round of 16, Turkey vs. Australia
This would be the second competitive game between Turkey and Australia at the World Cup; Turkey had won the first meeting at the 2006 FIBA World Championship.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Round of 16, Brazil vs. Argentina
This would be the second consecutive time that these two teams will meet in a World Cup round of 16; Argentina won in 2010. Argentina won in the last competitive game at the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Quarterfinals, Lithuania vs. Turkey
This would be the third time Lithuania and Turkey played against each other at the World Cup. Turkey won their first two games, both at the 2006 FIBA World Championship.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Quarterfinals, United States vs. Slovenia
This would be the third competitive game between the United States and Slovenia. The Americans have won both previous meetings, at the 2006 and 2010 FIBA World Championship.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Quarterfinals, Serbia vs. Brazil
This would be the second time in this tournament that these two teams met. Brazil earlier defeated Serbia in the preliminary round.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Quarterfinals, Spain vs. France
This would be the second time in this tournament that these two teams met. Spain earlier defeated France in the preliminary round.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Semifinals, Lithuania vs. United States
This would be the second consecutive time that both teams would meet in a World Cup semifinal; in 2010, the Americans won en route to the championship. The last time the two teams met was a USA victory in the 2012 Olympics.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Semifinals, France vs. Serbia
This would be the second time in this tournament that these two teams met. France earlier defeated Serbia in the preliminary round.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final round, Final
In the final Serbia hit their first seven shots from the field and jumped out to a quick 15-7 lead. The advantage was short lived as the U.S went on a 14-0 run with all the points scored by Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Irving finished the first half with 18 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the field. He made all four of his three point attempts in the first half. DeMarcus Cousins, subbing for Anthony Davis who picked up two quick fouls, dominated the boards. As a team, the Americans made 12 of their first 16 treys.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification
The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification began in earnest at the 2011 Caribbean Championships, a qualifier to the 2012 Centrobasket, which was in itself a qualifier to the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship. The winners of the 2012 Olympic basketball tournament, the United States, qualified outright. The USA joined the host nation Spain, which was earlier elected to host the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup in July 2009.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification
Qualification would be via each of FIBA's zones, with each zone allocated at least two berths, with additional berths given according to the strengths of the teams within each zone. In this setup, FIBA Europe got six berths, FIBA Americas had 4, FIBA Africa and FIBA Asia, 3 teams each, and FIBA Oceania, 2 berths.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification
The continental championships in each FIBA zone doubled as a qualifying tournament. The top teams in each tournament qualified to the Basketball World Cup.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification
In addition, after the continental championships were done, four more wild cards berths were awarded by FIBA to complete the 24-team tournament.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification
This was the final set of qualification tournaments under this method. FIBA announced that the next edition of the World Cup would be held in 2019, the number of participating teams raised from 24 to 32, FIBA Asia and FIBA Oceania combined into one region for purposes of qualifying for the World Cup, and that qualifying will be done in a home and away format.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, Method
Each FIBA zone has a default number of berths, generally following the strengths of the national teams there. These berths, plus four wild cards and the host total in 24. However, a berth is subtracted from the FIBA zone of the Olympic champion; in this case, the United States' gold medal in 2012 reduced FIBA Americas' number of berths from five to four, with the United States qualifying as a result of their 2012 Olympic gold medal.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, Method
A total of 117 national teams participated in qualifying. This number included teams that participated but were later suspended (Lebanon and Panama), and excluded hosts Spain, which still participated in qualifying matches, and the United States, which qualified automatically and no longer participated in qualifying matches.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, Method
While the different FIBA zones employed any method in qualifying, all conducted their continental championships as qualifying tournaments. Therefore, these continental championships, along with the qualifying for these championships, serve as qualifying matches. In total, 606 qualifying matches were played to determine the qualified teams; excluding the Olympics, 568 matches were played.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, Method, List
*Previously a part of Yugoslavia that had 11 appearances, and won in 1970, 1978 and 1990. * *Previously a part of the Soviet Union that had 9 appearances, and won in 1967, 1974 and 1982.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, 2012 Summer Olympics
The United States defeated Spain in a rematch of the 2008 gold medal game. The United States qualified automatically to the World Cup, taking one of FIBA Americas' five berths.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, FIBA Africa
The 2013 FIBA Africa Championship in the Ivory Coast served as the qualifying tournament. With three outright berths, the top three teams qualified. This meant the finalists and the winner of the third-place playoff progressed.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, FIBA Africa, FIBA Africa Championship
Egypt, which qualified after making their last appearance in 1994, and perennial qualifiers Angola got the first two berths for FIBA Africa after advancing to the final of the 2013 FIBA Africa Championship. Senegal defeated host team Ivory Coast on the third-place playoff via a last-second four-point play to take Africa's last outright berth.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, FIBA Americas
The 2013 FIBA Americas Championship in Venezuela served as the qualifying tournament. With four outright berths, the top four teams qualified. This meant the semifinalists progressed.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, FIBA Americas, FIBA Americas Championship
On 7 September 2013, Puerto Rico secured their classification to the World Cup after defeating hosts Venezuela 86–85 after extra time in the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship. The next day, the Dominican Republic eliminated Uruguay to qualify; this is the first appearance of the Dominicans in the World Cup since 1978. On the next game, Argentina's victory over Canada ensured that they and Mexico, the 2013 FIBA Americas Champions, qualify, thereby eliminating the Canadians and host Venezuela; the Mexicans returned to the World Cup after their last appearance in 1974. Brazil was chosen as a wild card for the World Cup after having previously lost all three games against Canada, Puerto Rico and Jamaica.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, FIBA Asia
The 2013 FIBA Asia Championship in the Philippines served as the qualifying tournament. With three outright berths, the top three teams qualified. This meant the finalists and the winner of the third-place playoff progressed.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, FIBA Asia, FIBA Asia Championship
Iran and the Philippines became the first teams to qualify via the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship in Manila by advancing to the final. Iran made their second consecutive appearance while the Philippines qualified for the World Cup after 35 years of missing the tournament, their last appearance being in 1978 when they hosted the event. Korea, whose last appearance was in 1998, took the third and last automatic Asian berth after winning third place in the said tournament.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, FIBA Europe
The EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia served as the qualifying tournament. With six outright berths, the top six teams qualified. This meant the semifinalists and the participants in the fifth-place playoff progressed. Spain, which has qualified already, participated, finishing within the top six. With this, the seventh-placed team took its place.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, FIBA Europe, FIBA EuroBasket
On 18 September 2013, France secured their third consecutive qualification to the World Cup after beating hosts Slovenia in the EuroBasket 2013 quarterfinals. On the next day, Slovenia qualified after beating Serbia in the 5th–8th Semifinals, while Croatia defeated Ukraine, and Lithuania defeated Italy to both grab tickets to the final tournament. On 20 September 2013, Ukraine qualified for the first time ever after defeating Italy. On the next day, Serbia bounced back from two consecutive losses to win against Italy that led them to the FIBA World Cup after snatching the last outright remaining berth at the EuroBasket 2013. Finland, Greece and Turkey were selected as wild cards for the World Cup berth on 1 February, with Finland, along with newcomers Ukraine, marking their FIBA World Cup debut.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, FIBA Oceania
The 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship was a two-legged tie between Australia and New Zealand. Since FIBA Oceania had two outright berths, this meant both teams were already qualified in the 2014 Basketball World Cup provided a team didn't forfeit a match.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, Wild card
FIBA selected four wild cards after all of the continental championships were done. FIBA was prohibited from selecting more than three teams from the same continental zone and from selecting teams that did not participate in qualifying either through choice or FIBA-mandated suspension.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, Wild card
On 31 October, FIBA announced that fifteen teams submitted wild card applications. These were:


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, Wild card
Of those fifteen, Italy and Germany withdrew before the meeting in Barcelona on 3 February, citing financial reasons. Germany indicated that it was willing to pay up to 300,000 euros for a place but that the sum required by FIBA to receive a place at the World Cup was more in the range of 1 million euros. Gianni Petrucci, chairman of the Italian federation stated that to make an offer in excess of 800,000 euros for a spot would be unethical.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, Wild card
On 30 January, a report from Spanish sports newspaper El Mundo Deportivo said that China and Russia also withdrew from wild card contention. There had been no official confirmation from either FIBA or the Chinese or Russian federations on the reported withdrawal. A day later, it was confirmed that the Chinese indeed withdrew from the wild card race, as they could not form a viable team.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup qualification, Wild card
On 1 February, FIBA announced that its Central Board awarded the wild cards to Brazil, Finland, Greece and Turkey.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads
The 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup included teams with rosters of 12 players each; a team may opt to have one naturalized player from its roster. The rosters were finalized at the team managers' meeting, at the night prior to the first game.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads
Player ages are as of 30 August 2014, the first day of the tournament.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group A, Brazil
Brazil announced 10 of its final 12-man squad on 18 June 2014. The remaining two members were drawn from the Brazil team that competed at the 2014 FIBA South American Championship in Venezuela in late July. A 14-player roster was named on 6 August. The 12-player squad was revealed on 13 August 2014.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group A, Egypt
A 16-player preliminary roster was named on 29 July. On 14 August 2014 the roster was cut down to 14. On 22 August the 12-player roster was announced.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group A, France
France initially announced a 24-man preliminary roster, and announced seven cuts on 13 June 2014. On 21 July, one of the players on the 17-man roster, Alexis Ajinça, announced that he would not play in the World Cup because his wife was expected to give birth during the tournament. Three days later, Kevin Séraphin announced that his NBA team, the Washington Wizards, would not release him for the World Cup because he was recovering from a knee surgery; Séraphin was replaced on the training roster by Ian Mahinmi.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group A, France
The roster was trimmed down to 14 on 10 August 2014 and to 13 a day later. On 12 August 2014 the 12-player roster was announced. Nando de Colo was ruled out of the world cup due to a fractured hand on 17 August 2014. Charles Lombahe-Kahudi was named as the replacement on 19 August 2014. Kim Tillie replaced Ian Mahinmi, who was ruled out due to a left shoulder injury.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group A, Iran
Iran announced an initial 15-man training roster on 26 July 2014 and cut the roster to 13 on 9 August 2014. The final roster was announced on 27 August 2014.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group A, Serbia
On 23 July 2014, coach Aleksandar Đorđević announced a preliminary squad for the World Cup. Due to injury Vladimir Lučić, Vasilije Micić, Ognjen Kuzmić and Nemanja Dangubić canceled their participation at the end of July. On 19 August 2014 Nemanja Nedović was ruled out due to a foot injury. On 24 August 2014, Vladimir Micov left the national team, before the final roster was published two days later.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group A, Spain
Spain announced its final 12-man roster on 1 July 2014.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group B, Argentina
Argentina announced nine of its final 12-man roster in June 2014. However, three of the initially named players were ruled out of the competition. First, on 7 July, Juan Pedro Gutiérrez was ruled out of the World Cup due to an injury. By the end of the month, Carlos Delfino was ruled out due to a foot injury that had caused him to miss the entire 2013–14  NBA season with the Milwaukee Bucks and the San Antonio Spurs notified Manu Ginóbili, who was recovering from a stress fracture, that they would not release him for the World Cup.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group B, Argentina
The remaining members came from the squad that played at the 2014 FIBA South American Championship in Venezuela in late July. A 14-player squad was released on 7 August 2014.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group B, Croatia
Croatia announced its initial 24-man training roster on 26 June 2014, and cut the roster to 17 on 10 July. The roster was down to 15 on 7 August 2014. Croatia announced its final roster on 23 August 2014.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group B, Greece
Greece announced a 16-man preliminary roster on 14 July 2014. On 22 July, the agent for Kosta Koufos notified Greece coach Fotis Katsikaris that Koufos would not play in the World Cup; Katsikaris announced Andreas Glyniadakis as a replacement. The 12-player roster was announced on 23 August 2014.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group B, Philippines
A 16-man squad was announced on 28 February 2014. On 18 August 2014 the final 12-man roster was announced.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group B, Puerto Rico
A 15-player roster was announced on 9 August 2014. The final roster was published on 19 August 2014.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group B, Senegal
Senegal announced a 22-man preliminary roster on 7 July 2014. The squad was cut to 16 on 5 August. The 12-player roster was announced on 23 August 2014.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group C, Dominican Republic
A 14-player squad was announced on 10 August 2014. The final 12-player roster was published on 26 August 2014.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group C, New Zealand
New Zealand announced its preliminary 24-man roster on 26 June 2014. Seven cuts were announced on 11 July. They named their final 12-man roster on 20 August.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group C, Turkey
Turkey announced a 17-man training camp roster on 14 July 2014. Four other players, who were not at the training camp, were on the preliminary roster. Two were excused from camp, one was recovering from a minor surgery and one was on duty with the Turkey under-20 national team. By 14 August 2014, the roster was trimmed to 14. On 24 August 2014 the final roster was announced.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group D, Australia
Basketball Australia announced its final World Cup roster on 28 July 2014.


2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup squads, Group D, Lithuania
Lithuania head coach Jonas Kazlauskas announced a 17-man preliminary roster on 1 July 2014. The final 12-man squad was announced on 26 August 2014. After Mantas Kalnietis suffered a clavicular dislocation, Adas Juškevičius joined the final roster as a replacement.


2014 FIBA CBC Championship
The 2014 FIBC CBC Championship in the British Virgin Islands serves as the qualifier for the 2014 Centrobasket for Caribbean national teams. The top three advance to the Centrobasket.


2014 FIBA CBC Championship, Preliminary round, Final ranking
These were the final rankings. The top 3 teams qualify for the 2014 Centrobasket.


2014 FIBA Europe 3x3 Championships
The 2014 FIBA Europe 3x3 Championships, hosted at the University Square in Bucharest, Romania, was the inaugural European 3x3 basketball event that featured separate competitions for men's and women's national teams. The tournament was held from 5 to 7 September 2014.


2014 FIBA Europe 3x3 Championships
In the final of the men's tournament, host Romania beat Slovenia to win their first European championship title. In the final of the women's tournament, Russia also beat Slovenia to win their first European championship title. Slovenia finished in second place in both the men's and women's tournaments.


2014 FIBA Europe 3x3 Championships, Qualification
The qualification events took place in the summer of 2014. A total of 15 teams of each gender (excluding the hosts Romania) qualified for the final tournament.


2014 FIBA Europe 3x3 Championships, Qualification, Men, Qualifier 1
Was held in Zánka, Hungary, 12–13 July 2014. Top five will qualify.


2014 FIBA Europe 3x3 Championships, Qualification, Men, Qualifier 2
Was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 19–20 July 2014. Top four, excluding hosts Romania, will qualify.


2014 FIBA Europe 3x3 Championships, Qualification, Men, Qualifier 3
Was held in Riga, Latvia, 2–3 August 2014. Top six will qualify.


2014 FIBA Europe 3x3 Championships, Qualification, Women, Qualifier 1
Was held in Zánka, Hungary, 12–13 July 2014. Top five, excluding hosts Romania, will qualify.


2014 FIBA Europe 3x3 Championships, Qualification, Women, Qualifier 2
Was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 19–20 July 2014. Top four will qualify.


2014 FIBA Europe 3x3 Championships, Qualification, Women, Qualifier 3
Was held in Riga, Latvia, 2–3 August 2014. Top six will qualify.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship was the 28th edition of the European Under-16 Basketball Championship. 16 teams participated in the competition, held in the four Latvian cities of Ogre, Grobiņa, Liepāja and Riga, from 20 to 30 August 2014. Spain were the defending champions.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, First round
The first-round groups draw took place on 1 December 2013 in Freising, Germany. In this round, sixteen teams are allocated in four groups of four teams each. The top three teams of each group will advance to the Second Round. The last teams will play in the Classification Group G first, then in the 9th – 16th place playoffs.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, Second round
Twelve advancing teams from the First Round will be allocated in two groups of six teams each. The top four teams of each group will advance to the quarterfinals. The last two teams of each group will play in the 9th – 16th place playoffs against the teams from the Group G.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship, Classification Group G
The last team of each group of the First Round will compete in this Classification Round.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship Division C
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship Division C was the 10th edition of the Division C of the FIBA U16 European Championship, the third tier of the European men's under-16 basketball championship. It was played in Valletta, Malta, from 30 June to 5 July 2014. The host team, Malta, won the tournament.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women was the 26th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women. 16 teams featured in the competition, held in Debrecen, Hungary, from 31 July to 10 August 2014.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women, First round
The first-round groups draw took place on 1 December 2013 in Freising, Germany. In the first round, the sixteen teams were allocated in four groups of four teams each. The top three teams of each group will qualify for the Second Round. The last team of each group will play in the Classification Group G first, then in the 9th – 16th place playoffs.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women, Second round
Twelve advancing teams from the First Round are allocated in two groups of six teams each. The top four teams of each group will advance to the quarterfinals. The last two teams of each group will play in the 9th – 16th place playoffs against the teams from the Group G.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women, Classification Group G
The last team of each group of the First Round will compete in this classification round.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women Division B
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women Division B was the 11th edition of the Division B of the European basketball championship for women's national under-16 teams. It was played in Tallinn, Estonia, from 31 July to 10 August 2014. Germany women's national under-16 basketball team won the tournament.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women Division B, First round
In the first round, the teams were drawn into four groups. The first two teams from each group will advance to the Quarterfinal Groups E and F and the other teams will advance to the 9th–17th place classification (Groups G, H and I).


2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women Division C
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship for Women Division C was the 10th edition of the Division C of the FIBA U16 Women's European Championship, the third tier of the European women's under-16 basketball championship. It was played in Valletta, Malta, from 30 June to 5 July 2014. Scotland women's national under-16 basketball team won the tournament.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was the 31st edition of the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. 16 teams participated in the competition, held in Konya, Turkey, from 24 July to 3 August 2014. The tournament served as the qualifying tournament for the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. Turkey also successfully defended their last year's title.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, First round
The first-round groups draw took place on 1 December 2013 in Freising, Germany. In the first round, the sixteen teams are allocated in four groups of four teams each. The top three teams of each group qualified for the Second Round. The last team of each group will play in the Classification Group G first, then in the 9th–16th place playoffs.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, Second round
Twelve advancing teams from the First Round will be allocated in two groups of six teams each. The top four teams of each group will advance to the quarterfinals. The last two teams of each group will play in the 9th–16th place playoffs against the teams from the Group G.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, Classification Group G
The last team of each group of the First Round will compete in this classification round.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B was an international basketball  competition held in Bulgaria in 2014.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division C
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division C was the 10th edition of the Division C of the FIBA U18 European Championship, the third tier of the European men's under-18 basketball championship. It was played in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, from 22 to 27 July 2014. Monaco men's national under-18 basketball team won the tournament.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for Women
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for Women was the 31st edition of the European Under-18 Women's Basketball Championship. 16 teams featured in the competition, held in Matosinhos, Portugal, from 17 to 27 July 2014.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for Women, First round
The first-round groups draw took place on 1 December 2013 in Freising, Germany. In the first round, the sixteen teams are allocated in four groups of four teams each. The top three teams of each group will qualify for the Second Round. The last team of each group will play in the Classification Group G first, then in the 9th–16th place playoffs.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for Women, Second round
Twelve advancing teams from the First Round will be allocated in two groups of six teams each. The top four teams of each group will advance to the quarterfinals. The last two teams of each group will play in the 9th–16th place playoffs against the teams from the Group G.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for Women, Classification Group G
The last team of each group of the First Round will compete in this Classification Round.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for Women Division C
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for Women Division C was the 9th edition of the Division C of the FIBA U18 Women's European Championship, the third tier of the European women's under-18 basketball championship. It was played in Andorra la Vella, Andorra, from 22 to 27 July 2014. Cyprus women's national under-18 basketball team won the tournament.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the 17th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The competition was played in Crete, Greece, from 8 to 20 July 2014. The winners were Turkey. To win the title they beat Spain with a score of 65–57. It was their first ever title win. The runners-up were Spain and third place were Serbia. Defending champions from 2013, Italy, came in at tenth place, their worst result since 2010.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, First round
The first-round groups draw took place on 1 December 2013 in Freising, Germany. In this round, the twenty teams were allocated in four groups of five teams each. The top three teams advanced to the Second Round. The last two teams of each group played in the Classification Games.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women was the 13th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women. 16 teams participated in the competition, played in Udine, Italy, from 3 to 13 July 2014.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women, First round
The first-round groups draw took place on 1 December 2013 in Freising, Germany. In the first round, the sixteen teams were allocated in four groups of four teams each. The top three teams of each group will qualify for the Second Round. The last team of each group will play in the Classification Group G first, then in the 9th–16th place playoffs.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women, Second round
Twelve advancing teams from the First Round were allocated in two groups of six teams each. The top four teams of each group advanced to the quarterfinals. The last two teams of each group played for the 9th – 16th place against the teams from the Group G.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women, Classification Group G
The last team of each group of the First Round competed in this Classification Round.


2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women Division B
The 2014 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women Division B was the 10th edition of the Division B of the Women's European basketball championship for national under-20 teams. It was held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 3 to 13 July 2014. Germany women's national under-20 basketball team won the tournament.


2014 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries
The 2014 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries is the 14th edition of the tournament, formerly known as the Promotion Cup or the FIBA EuroBasket Division C. It was played in the Tercentenary Sports Centre, Gibraltar, from July 7 to July 12, 2014.


2014 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries
The draw took place on 1 December 2013, in Freising, Germany. The Championship was won by title defenders, the Andorra national team.


2014 FIBA Intercontinental Cup
The 2014 FIBA Intercontinental Cup was the 24th edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup for men's professional basketball clubs and the 23rd edition of the tournament being in the form of a true intercontinental tournament for clubs. The 2 game aggregate score tournament took place at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 26 and September 28, 2014, in order to determine the world club champion. The tournament was contested between the 2013–14 season EuroLeague champions, Maccabi Electra, and the 2014 FIBA Americas League champions, Flamengo.


2014 FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship for Women
The 2014 FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship for Women was the qualifying tournament for FIBA Oceania at the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship for Women. The tournament was held in Suva, Fiji from November 27 to December 6.


2014 FIBA Oceania Under-18 Championship for Women
Australia defeated New Zealand in the finals, 98-65, while Guam edged Tahiti in the battle for Third Place, 54-48. Australia represented FIBA Oceania at the 2015 FIBA Under-19 World Championship for Women which was held in Russia.


2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship
The 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship(Arabic: بطولة العالم لكرة السلة 2014 تحت 17 سنة ) was an international basketball competition held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 8–16 August 2014. It was the third edition of the FIBA Under-17 World Cup. Sixteen national teams competed in the tournament as opposed to last edition of the tournament, where twelve national teams competed. The preliminary round action takes place in Al-Ahli Arena and Al-Wasl Arena, with the Hamdan Sports Complex hosting the final round. This was the first time the FIBA Under-17 World Cup was held outside Europe.


2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship
The United States won their third title in a row by defeating Australia, in a rematch of the last edition, 99–92 in the final.


2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women
The 2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women (Czech:Mistrovství světa FIBA žen do 17 let 2014)was an international basketball competition held in Klatovy and Plzeň, Czech Republic, from 28 June to 6 July 2014. It was the third edition of the Under-17 Women's World Championship.


2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women
Slovakia were to originally host the championship, but its national federation was suspended by the FIBA Central Board on 7 April. The Slovakian team still participated provided they meet the conditions imposed by FIBA. On 26 May, the FIBA Central Board lifted its suspension, and the national team can still participate. The tournament would still be hosted by the Czech Republic, though.


2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women
The United States successfully captured their third title in a row by defeating Spain, in a rematch of the last edition's final, 77–75 in the final.


2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship for Women, Preliminary round
The draw was held in Bratislava, Slovakia on 26 February 2014.


2014 FIBA Under-17 World Championship squads
Players' ages as of the tournament's opening day (8 August 2014).


2014 FIBA Women's European Championship for Small Countries
The 2014 FIBA Women's European Championship for Small Countries was the 13th edition of this competition. The tournament took place in Sankt Pölten, Austria, from 14 to 19 July 2014. Austria women's national basketball team won the tournament for the fifth time.


2014 FIBA Women's European Championship for Small Countries, First round
In the first round, the teams were drawn into two groups. The first two teams from each group advance to the semifinals, the other teams will play in the 5th–7th place classification.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women
The 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women, the 17th edition of FIBA's premier international tournament for women's national basketball teams, was held in Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey from 27 September to 5 October 2014.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women
This tournament implemented the new expanded free throw lane, the restricted arc, and extended 3-point line (6.6–6.75 m).


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women
The United States defended their title and won their ninth overall gold medal by beating Spain 77–64 in the final. Australia defeated Turkey 74–44 to capture the bronze medal.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women
This was the last FIBA championship to use the name of "FIBA World Championship for Women". Shortly after the event, FIBA changed the name of the competition to the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, presumably to align its name with that of the corresponding men's competition.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women, Format
This years' competition saw a format change. The 16 teams were split into four groups of four teams and played each other in a round-robin system. After all games were played, the top team of each group advanced to the quarterfinals, while the 2nd and 3rd best team of each group played in an elimination round. The last placed team of each group was eliminated.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women, Format
The winners of the elimination round advanced to the quarterfinals, while the losers were eliminated. From the quarterfinals on a knockout stage was used to determine the winner. The places 1 to 8 will be played out.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women, Qualification
16 teams took part in the 2014 World Championship for Women. After the 2012 Olympics, the continental allocation for FIBA Americas was reduced by one when the United States won the Olympic tournament, automatically qualifying them for the 2014 World Championship.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women, Draw
The draw was held on 15 March 2014. The 16 teams were allocated to four pots of four teams.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women squads
The following is the list of squads for each of the 16 teams competing in the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women, held in Turkey between September 27 and October 5. Each team selected a squad of 12 players for the tournament.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women squads, Group A, Brazil
A 14-player roster was named on 25 July 2014. On 15 September 2014, a 13-player squad was published. The final roster was announced on 17 September 2014.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women squads, Group A, Spain
A 13-player squad was named on 9 September 2014 and the final roster was announced on 22 September 2014.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women squads, Group B, Mozambique
A 19-player preliminary roster was announced on 3 July 2014 which was trimmed to 14 on 24 July 2014.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women squads, Group B, Turkey
A 17-player preliminary roster was announced on 28 May 2014 which was trimmed to 13 on 7 September 2014. The final roster was announced on 17 September 2014.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women squads, Group C, Australia
The squad was announced on 10 September 2014. Liz Cambage was ruled out due to a ruptured Achilles tendon on 21 September 2014.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women squads, Group C, Belarus
A 19-player preliminary roster was announced on 5 July 2014.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women squads, Group C, Korea
The squad was announced on 21 July 2014. A final roster change was made on 19 September 2014.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women squads, Group D, Angola
A 20-player roster was named on 11 July 2014 and the final squad was announced on 19 September 2014.


2014 FIBA World Championship for Women squads, Group D, United States
On 13 January 2014 USA Basketball announced a 33-player pool from which the final 12-woman squad were determined for the 2014 World Championship. The roster was trimmed to 15 on 18 September 2014 before a 13-player list was released on 21 September 2014. On 23 September the final roster was announced.


2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or
The 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the fifth year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 12 January 2015.


2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or
Real Madrid and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Ballon d'Or as the World Player of the Year for a second consecutive time, having won it previously last year. This was his third Ballon d'Or win overall, placing him second to only Lionel Messi for the most wins in the history of the award. Nadine Keßler was named as the Women's World Player of the Year, while Joachim Löw received the World Coach of the Year for Men's Football and Ralf Kellermann the World Coach of the Year for Women's Football. The ceremony was hosted by Kate Abdo.


2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or, Winners and nominees
In late October 2014, the FIFA revealed shortlists for the FIFA Ballon d'Or, FIFA Women's World Player of the Year, and FIFA World Coaches of the Year. The shortlists for the women's awards were revealed on 24 October, and the men's shortlists were revealed on 28 October.


2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or, Winners and nominees, FIFA Ballon d'Or
The following 20 men were originally in contention for the 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or:


2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or, Winners and nominees, FIFA Women's World Player of the Year
The following 10 players were named to the shortlist for the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year award:


2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or, Winners and nominees, FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men's Football
The following 10 managers were named to the shortlist for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Men's Football:


2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or, Winners and nominees, FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women's Football
The following 10 managers were named to the shortlist for the FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women's Football:


2014 FIFA Club World Cup
The 2014 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2014 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament between the winners of the six continental confederations as well as the host nation's league champions. It was hosted by Morocco for the second year in a row, and played from 10 to 20 December 2014.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup
Bayern Munich were the defending champions, but could not defend their title after being eliminated in the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League semi-finals.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup
Real Madrid won their first FIFA Club World Cup after defeating San Lorenzo 2–0 in the final, and their fourth world club title counting the 1960, 1998 and 2002 Intercontinental Cups, equaling Milan's record.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup, Host bids
There were four countries bidding to host the 2013 and 2014 tournaments (same host for both tournaments):


2014 FIFA Club World Cup, Host bids
In October 2011, FIFA said that Iran, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates all withdrew their bids, leaving Morocco as the only bidder. FIFA officially announced Morocco as host on 17 December 2011.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup, Host bids
On 21 August 2014, FIFA issued a statement reconfirming Morocco as the host, despite recent rumours that a change in venue might be sought due to the 2014 West Africa Ebola virus outbreak. Morocco had cancelled its hosting of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations due to fears of Ebola, but vowed to host the Club World Cup as no entrants would be from the countries with the most severe Ebola outbreaks.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup, Venues
The venues for the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup were in Rabat and Marrakesh.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup, Match officials
† Replaced Colombian trio Wilmar Roldán, Eduardo Díaz and Alexander Guzmán.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup, Squads
Each team named a 23-man squad (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by the FIFA deadline of 28 November 2014. Injury replacements were allowed until 24 hours before the team's first match. The squads were announced by FIFA on 4 December 2014.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup, Matches, Quarter-finals
A draw was held on 11 October 2014 at 19:00 WEST (UTC+1), at the La Mamounia Hotel in Marrakesh, to determine the pairings of the four quarter-finalists.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup, Matches, Semi-finals
The first semi-final was originally to be played at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, but was moved to Stade de Marrakech, Marrakesh due to difficult pitch conditions.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup, Final standings
Note: As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup, Awards
FIFA also named a man of the match for the best player in each game at the tournament.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup Final
The 2014 FIFA Club World Cup Final was the final match of the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup, a football tournament hosted by Morocco. It was the 11th final of the FIFA Club World Cup, a tournament organised by FIFA between the winners of the six continental confederations, as well as the host nation's league champions.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup Final
The final was contested between Spanish club Real Madrid, representing UEFA as the reigning champions of the UEFA Champions League, and Argentine club San Lorenzo, representing CONMEBOL as the reigning champions of the Copa Libertadores. It was played at the Stade de Marrakech in Marrakesh on 20 December 2014. The Spanish club won the match 2–0 and won their first FIFA Club World Cup title, and their fourth world club title counting the 1960, 1998 and 2002 Intercontinental Cups, equalling Milan's record.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Background, Real Madrid
Real Madrid qualified for the tournament as winners of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League, following a 4–1 extra time win against Atlético Madrid in the final. This was Real Madrid's second time competing in the tournament, after finishing fourth in the inaugural tournament in 2000. They have played five times in the Intercontinental Cup, the predecessor of the FIFA Club World Cup, with three wins (1960, 1998, 2002) and two losses (1966, 2000). They reached the final after defeating Mexican club Cruz Azul in the semi-finals.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Background, San Lorenzo
San Lorenzo qualified for the tournament as winners of the 2014 Copa Libertadores, following a 2–1 aggregate win against Nacional in the final. This was San Lorenzo's first time competing in the tournament. They reached the final after defeating New Zealand club Auckland City in the semi-finals.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Match details
Assistant referees:Leonel Leal (Costa Rica)Gerson López (Guatemala)Fourth official:Noumandiez Doué (Ivory Coast)Fifth official:Songuifolo Yéo (Ivory Coast)


2014 FIFA Club World Cup squads
Each team in the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup had to name a 23-man squad (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by the FIFA deadline of 28 November 2014. Injury replacements were allowed until 24 hours before the team's first match.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Auckland City
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Cruz Azul
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup squads, ES Sétif
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Moghreb Tétouan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Real Madrid
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup squads, San Lorenzo
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2014 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Western Sydney Wanderers
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
The 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the fourth edition of the youth association football tournament for women under the age of 17. The final tournament was hosted in Costa Rica.


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
The competition was played from 15 March to 4 April 2014. Japan beat Spain in the final 2–0, the same score the same match ended in the group stage. Japan emerged as the fourth different champion in four editions.


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
The opening match of the tournament set a new tournament record with 34,453 spectators. In total 284,320 supporters attended matches averaging 8,885 per match beating the 2012 record.


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Host selection
On 3 March 2011, FIFA announced that the tournament would be held in Costa Rica. There were six official bids.


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Host selection
Hosting rights were then stripped on 28 February 2013 due to problems in stadium construction. After receiving guarantees from both CONCACAF and the Costa Rican government, they were re-instated as hosts at an executive committee meeting in Zurich on March 21, 2013. The final was originally scheduled on 5 April, but was brought forward one day due to government elections.


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Mascot
The official mascot of the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was Juna, a blue morpho butterfly. The name Juna means "to fly" in the Cabécar language.


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Theme Song
The official theme song for the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's world cup was called Pasión Total by F.A.N.S.


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Qualified teams
The slot allocation was approved by the FIFA Executive Committee in May 2012. The Oceania Football Confederation qualifying tournament was scheduled for January 2014, FIFA however decided that it would be hosted too late then. Eventually FIFA and OFC in agreement with all member nations agreed to award the confederation spot to New Zealand. Just as New Zealand, Nigeria qualified without playing a match because two opponents withdrew their respective qualifying games. Defending champions France did not qualify.


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Qualified teams
In total 103 nations took part in the qualifying, three less than for the 2012 World Cup.


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Match officials
A total of 14 referees, 4 reserve referees, and 28 assistant referees were appointed by FIFA for the tournament.


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Miriam Patricia Leon Serpas Cardella Samuels Lucila Venegas Montes Marianela Ayala Cruz (reserve)


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Emperatriz Ivonne Ayala Lopez Princess Brown Enedina Caudillo Gomez Lixy Esperanza Enriquez Guerrero Stacy-Ann Greyson Kimberly Moreira Rojas


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Ana Karina Marques Valentin Alves Silvia Elizabeth Reyes Juarez Maria Belen Carvajal Peña (reserve)


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Luciana Elizabeth Mascaraña Katiuscia Mayer Berger Mendonça Rossana Mabel Salinas Garcia Nadia Maria Macarena Weiler Figueredo


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Jana Adámková  Katalin Kulcsár Pernilla Larsson Kateryna Monzul Carina Vitulano


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Ourania Foskolou Helen Karo Panagiota Koutsoumpou Judit Kulcsár Angela Kyriakou Sian Massey Yolanda Parga Rodriguez Lucie Ratajova Sanja Rodak Karsic Maria Sukenikova


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Squads
Each team must name a squad of 21 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by the FIFA deadline. The squads were announced on 6 March 2014.


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Final draw
The group stage draw was held on 17 December 2013 in Pueblo Antiguo. Confederation champions Germany, Japan and Mexico were put in Pot 1 alongside the hosts Costa Rica, who were automatically assigned to Position A1. The draw then made sure no teams of the same confederation could meet in the group stage.


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Group stage
The winners and runners-up of each group advance to the quarter-finals. The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows:


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Group stage
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Knockout stage
In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, the match is determined by a penalty shoot-out (no extra time is played).


2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup squads
This article lists the squads for the 2014 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, to be held in Costa Rica. Each competing federation is allowed a 21-player squad, which had to be submitted to FIFA.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
The 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was an international association football tournament and the world championship for women's national teams under the age of 20, presented by Grant Connell, organized by the sport's world governing body FIFA. It was the seventh edition of the tournament, took place from 5–24 August 2014 in Canada, which was named the host nation for the tournament in conjunction with its successful bid for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Canada was the first country to stage this tournament twice, after hosting the inaugural edition in 2002.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
Germany beat Nigeria 1–0 after extra time in the final. Germany won its third title while Nigeria lost their second final.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Host selection
As in 2010, the rights to host the 2014 U-20 Women's World Cup were automatically awarded to the host of the following year's Women's World Cup. Two countries, Canada and Zimbabwe, initially bid to stage the events. However, on 1 March 2011, two days before the official voting was to take place, Zimbabwe withdrew, leaving Canada as the only bidder. FIFA officially awarded the tournaments to Canada on 3 March 2011.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Qualified teams
The slot allocation was approved by the FIFA Executive Committee in May 2012.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Qualified teams
In July, all Nigeria teams became subject of a FIFA ban due to government interference with the national football association. The team faced exclusion from the tournament until the ban was lifted nine days later.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Venues
On 2 June 2013, FIFA announced that Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal and Toronto would be the host cities for the tournament. The first three cities had been previously announced as host cities for the 2015 Women's World Cup, along with Vancouver, Winnipeg, and Ottawa. Toronto did not apply to host the 2015 tournament due to conflicts with the 2015 Pan American Games, but does not face any such conflicts in 2014. Meanwhile, Ottawa indicated in late 2012 that it would not be able to participate in hosting the U-20 tournament due to construction delays on the Lansdowne Park redevelopment.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Venues
As was the case during the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, BMO Field in Toronto was known as the National Soccer Stadium during the tournament, due to FIFA policies regarding corporate sponsorship of stadiums.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Match officials
A total of 13 referees, 5 reserve referees, and 26 assistant referees were appointed by FIFA for the tournament.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Fang Yan Allyson Flynn Sarah May Yee Ho Liang Jianping


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Quetzalli Alvarado Godinez Carol Anne Chenard Margaret Domka Michelle Pye (reserve)


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Marie-Josée Charbonneau Mayte Ivonne Chavez Garcia Marlene Duffy Suzanne Morisset Shirley Susana Perello Lopez Veronica Perez


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Kirsi Heikkinen Kateryna Monzul Esther Staubli Bibiana Steinhaus Carina Vitulano Katalin Kulcsár (reserve)


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Ella De Vries Anu Jokela Chrysoula Kourompylia Sian Massey Anna Nyström Tonja Paavola Yolando Pargo Rodriguez Lucie Ratajova Katrin Rafalski Marina Wozniak


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Squads
Each team named a squad of 21 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by the FIFA deadline. The squads were announced by FIFA on 25 July 2014.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Final draw
The final draw was held on 1 March 2014 in Montreal. Confederation champions France, South Korea and United States were put in Pot 1 alongside the hosts Canada, who were automatically assigned to Position A1. The draw then made sure no teams of the same confederation could meet in the group stage.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Group stage
The schedule of the tournament was announced on 6 August 2013.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Group stage
The winners and runners-up of each group advance to the quarter-finals. The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows:


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Group stage
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Group stage, Group B
The 5–5 draw by Germany and China tied the tournament record for most goals in a match and set a new record for highest scoring draw.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Knockout stage
In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time is played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner, except for the third place match where no extra time is played as the match is played directly before the final.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Knockout stage, Final
The pairing Nigeria vs Germany is a repeat of the 2010 final which Germany won 2–0. Germany won their third title and joined USA in first place with three titles each.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup squads
This article lists the squads for the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, held in Canada. Each competing federation was allowed a 21-player squad, which had to be submitted to FIFA.


2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup squads, Group B, Germany
Melanie Leupolz sustained injury and was replaced by Joelle Wedemeyer.


2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup (Brazilian Portuguese: Copa do Mundo FIFA de 2014) was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised 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 greatest ever held.


2014 FIFA World Cup
31 national teams advanced through qualification competitions to join the host nation in the final tournament (with Bosnia and Herzegovina as the only debutant). A total of 64 matches were played in 12 venues located in as many host cities across Brazil. For the first time at a World Cup finals, match officials used goal-line technology, as well as vanishing spray for free kicks. FIFA Fan Fests in each host city gathered a total of 5 million people, and the country received 1 million visitors from 202 countries.


2014 FIFA World Cup
Every World Cup-winning team since the first tournament in 1930 – Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Uruguay – qualified for this tournament. Spain, the title holders, were eliminated at the group stage, along with England and Italy. Uruguay were eliminated in the round of 16, and France exited in the quarter-finals. Host nation Brazil, who had won the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, lost to Germany 7–1 in the semi-finals and eventually finished in fourth place.


2014 FIFA World Cup
In the final, Germany defeated Argentina 1–0 to win the tournament and secure the country's fourth world title, the first after the German reunification in 1990, when as West Germany they also beat Argentina by the same score in the World Cup final. Germany became the first European team to win a World Cup staged in the Americas, and this result marked the third consecutive title won by a European team, after Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Host selection
In March 2003, FIFA announced that the tournament would be held in South America for the first time since 1978, in line with its then-active policy of rotating the right to host the World Cup among different confederations. With the 2010 FIFA World Cup hosted in South Africa, it would be the second consecutive World Cup outside Europe, which was a first for the tournament. It was also second in the Southern Hemisphere. Only Brazil and Colombia formally declared their candidacy but, after the withdrawal of the latter from the process, Brazil was officially elected as host nation unopposed on 30 October 2007.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Participating teams and officials, Qualification
Following qualification matches played between June 2011 and November 2013, the following 32 teams – shown with their last pre-tournament FIFA world ranking – qualified for the final tournament. Twenty-four of these teams were returning participants from the 2010 World Cup. Bosnia and Herzegovina were the only team with no previous appearance at the World Cup finals. Colombia qualified for the World Cup after 16 years of absence, while Belgium and Russia  both returned after 12 years. Paraguay failed to qualify for the first time since 1994. This was also the first World Cup for 32 years that did not feature a representative from the Nordic countries. The highest ranked team not to qualify was Ukraine (ranked 16th), while the lowest ranked team that did qualify was Australia (ranked 62nd).


2014 FIFA World Cup, Participating teams and officials, Final draw
The 32 participating teams were drawn into eight groups. In preparation for this, the teams were organised into four pots with the seven highest-ranked teams joining host nation Brazil in the seeded pot. As with the previous tournaments, FIFA aimed to create groups which maximised geographic separation and therefore the unseeded teams were arranged into pots based on geographic considerations. The draw took place on 6 December 2013 at the Costa do Sauípe resort in Bahia, during which the teams were drawn by various past World Cup-winning players. Under the draw procedure, one randomly drawn team – Italy – was firstly relocated from Pot 4 to Pot 2 to create four equal pots of eight teams.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Participating teams and officials, Officials
In March 2013, FIFA published a list of 52 prospective referees, each paired, on the basis of nationality, with two assistant referees, from all six football confederations for the tournament. On 14 January 2014, the FIFA Referees Committee appointed 25 referee trios and eight support duos representing 43 countries for the tournament. Yuichi Nishimura from Japan acted as referee in the opening match whereas Nicola Rizzoli from Italy acted as referee in the final.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Participating teams and officials, Squads
As with the 2010 tournament, each team's squad consisted of 23 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers). Each participating national association had to confirm their final 23-player squad no later than 10 days before the start of the tournament. Teams were permitted to make late replacements in the event of serious injury, at any time up to 24 hours before their first game. During a match, all remaining squad members not named in the starting team were available to be one of the three permitted substitutions (provided the player was not serving a suspension).


2014 FIFA World Cup, Venues
12 venues (seven new and five renovated) in twelve cities were selected for the tournament. The venues covered all the main regions of Brazil and created more evenly distributed hosting than the 1950 finals in Brazil. Consequently, the tournament required long-distance travel for teams. During the World Cup, Brazilian cities were also home to the participating teams at 32 separate base camps, as well as staging official fan fests where supporters could view the games.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Venues
The most used stadiums were the Maracana and Brasilia, which hosted seven matches each. The least-used venues were in Cuiabá, Manaus, Natal, and Curitiba, which hosted four matches each; as the four smallest stadiums in use at the tournament, they did not host any knockout round matches.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Venues, Team base camps
Base camps were used by the 32 national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament. On 31 January 2014, FIFA announced the base camps for each participating team, having earlier circulated a brochure of 84 prospective locations. Most teams opted to stay in the Southeast Region of Brazil, with only eight teams choosing other regions; five teams (Croatia, Germany, Ghana, Greece and Switzerland) opted to stay in the Northeast Region and three teams (Ecuador, South Korea and Spain) opted to stay in the South Region. None opted to stay in the North Region or the Central-West Region.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Venues, FIFA Fan Fests
For a third consecutive World Cup tournament, FIFA staged FIFA Fan Fests in each of the 12 host cities throughout the competition. Prominent examples were the Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, which already held a Fan Fest in 2010, and São Paulo's Vale do Anhangabaú. The first official event took place on Iracema Beach, in Fortaleza, on 8 June 2014.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Innovations, Technologies
In order to avoid ghost goals the 2014 World Cup introduced goal-line technology following successful trials at among others 2013 Confederations Cup. The chosen Goal Control system featured 14 high speed cameras, 7 directed to each of the goals. Data were sent to the central image-processing centre, where a virtual representation of the ball was output on a widescreen to confirm the goal. The referee was equipped with a watch which vibrated and displayed a signal upon a goal. France's second goal in their group game against Honduras was the first time goal-line technology was needed to confirm that a goal should be given.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Innovations, Technologies
Following successful trials, FIFA approved the use of vanishing spray by the referees for the first time at a World Cup Finals. The water-based spray, which disappears within minutes of application, can be used to mark a ten-yard line for the defending team during a free kick and also to draw where the ball is to be placed for a free kick.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Innovations, Technologies
The Adidas Brazuca was the official match ball of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and was supplied by Forward Sports of Sialkot, Pakistan. Adidas created a new design of ball after criticisms of the Adidas Jabulani used in the previous World Cup. The number of panels was reduced to six, with the panels being thermally bonded. This created a ball with increased consistency and aerodynamics compared to its predecessor. Furthermore, Adidas underwent an extensive testing process lasting more than two years to produce a ball that would meet the approval of football professionals.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Innovations, Cooling breaks
Due to the relatively high ambient temperatures in Brazil, particularly at the northern venues, cooling breaks for the players were introduced. Breaks could take place at the referee's discretion after the 30th minute of each half if the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature exceeded 32 °C (90 °F).


2014 FIFA World Cup, Innovations, Cooling breaks
The first cooling break in a World Cup play took place during the 32nd minute of the match between the Netherlands and Mexico in the round of 16. At the start of the match, FIFA listed the temperature at 32 °C (90 °F) with 68% humidity.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Innovations, Anti-doping
The biological passport was introduced in the FIFA World Cup starting in 2014. Blood and urine samples from all players before the competition, and from two players per team per match, are analysed by the Swiss Laboratory for Doping Analyses. FIFA reported that 91.5% of the players taking part in the tournament were tested before the start of the competition and none tested positive. However, FIFA was criticised for how it conducted doping tests.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Format
The first round, or group stage, was a competition between the 32 teams divided among eight groups of four, where each group engaged in a round-robin tournament within itself. The two highest ranked teams in each group advanced to the knockout stage. Teams were awarded three points for a win and one for a draw. When comparing teams in a group over-all result came before head-to-head.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Format
In the knockout stage there were four rounds (round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final), with each eliminating the losers. The two semi-final losers competed in a third place play-off. For any match in the knockout stage, a draw after 90 minutes of regulation time was followed by two 15 minute periods of extra time to determine a winner. If the teams were still tied, a penalty shoot-out was held to determine a winner.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Format
The match schedule was announced on 20 October 2011 with the kick-off times being confirmed on 27 September 2012; after the final draw, the kick-off times of seven matches were adjusted by FIFA. The competition was organised so that teams that played each other in the group stage could not meet again during the knockout phase until the final (or the 3rd place match). The group stage began on 12 June, with the host nation competing in the opening game as has been the format since the 2006 tournament. The opening game was preceded by an opening ceremony that began at 15:15 local time.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Opening ceremony
On 12 June 2014, the 20th edition of the FIFA World Cup began with the opening ceremony at Arena de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. The event saw 660 dancers take to the stadium and perform in a ceremony which celebrated the nature of the country and its love of football. Following the dancers native singer Claudia Leitte emerged on centre stage to perform for the crowd.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Opening ceremony
She was later joined 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 as an official single on 8 April 2014. Following the ceremony, the opening match was played, which saw the hosts come from behind to beat Croatia 3–1.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Group stage
The group stage of the cup took place in Brazil from 12 June 2014 to 26 June 2014: each team played three games. The group stage was notable for a scarcity of draws and a large number of goals. The first drawn (and goalless) match did not occur until the 13th match of the tournament, between Iran and Nigeria: a drought longer than any World Cup since 1930. The group stage produced a total of 136 goals (an average of 2.83 goals per match), nine fewer than were scored during the entire 2010 tournament.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Group stage
This is the largest number of goals in the group stage since the 32-team system was implemented in 1998 and the largest average in a group stage since 1958. World Cup holders Spain were eliminated after only two games, the quickest exit for the defending champions since Italy's from the 1950 tournament. Spain also became the fourth nation to be eliminated in the first round while holding the World Cup crown, the first one being Italy in 1950 (and again in 2010), Brazil in 1966, and France in 2002.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage
Scores after extra time are indicated by (aet), and penalty shoot-outs are indicated by (pen. ).


2014 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage, Round of 16
All the group winners advanced into the quarter-finals. They included four teams from UEFA, three from CONMEBOL, and one from CONCACAF. Of the eight matches, five required extra-time, and two of these required penalty shoot-outs; this was the first time penalty shoot-outs occurred in more than one game in a round of 16. The goal average per game in the round of 16 was 2.25, a drop of 0.58 goals per game from the group stage. The eight teams to win in the round of 16 included four former champions (Brazil, Germany, Argentina and France), a three-time runner-up (Netherlands), and two first-time quarter-finalists (Colombia and Costa Rica). Belgium reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 1986.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage, Quarter-finals
With a 1–0 victory over France, Germany set a World Cup record with four consecutive semi-final appearances. Brazil beat Colombia 2–1, but Brazil's Neymar was injured and missed the rest of the competition. Argentina reached the final four for the first time since 1990 after a 1–0 win over Belgium. The Netherlands reached the semi-finals for the second consecutive tournament, after overcoming Costa Rica in a penalty shoot-out following a 0–0 draw at the end of extra time, with goalkeeper Tim Krul having been substituted on for the shoot-out and saving two penalties.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage, Semi-finals
Germany qualified for the final for the eighth time with a historic 7–1 win over Brazil – the biggest defeat in Brazilian football since 1920. Miroslav Klose's goal in this match was his 16th throughout all World Cups, breaking the record he had previously shared with Ronaldo. Klose set another record by becoming the first player to appear in four World Cup semi-finals. Argentina reached their first final since 1990, and their fifth overall, after overcoming the Netherlands in a penalty shoot-out following a 0–0 draw at the end of extra time.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage, Third place play-off
The Netherlands defeated Brazil 3–0 to secure third place, the first for the Dutch team in their history. Overall, Brazil conceded 14 goals in the tournament; this was the most by a team at any single World Cup since 1986, and the most by a host nation in history, although their fourth-place finish still represented Brazil's best result in a World Cup since their last win in 2002.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage, Final
The final featured Germany against Argentina for a record third time after 1986 and 1990.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage, Final
This marked the first time that teams from the same continent had won three consecutive World Cups (following Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010). It was also the first time that a European nation had won the World Cup in the Americas. On aggregate Europe then had 11 victories, compared to South America's 9 victories.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Goalscorers
In total, 171 goals were scored by a record 121 players, with five credited as own goals. Goals scored from penalty shoot-outs are not counted. James Rodríguez was awarded the Golden Boot for scoring six goals, the first time that a Colombian player received the award.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Discipline
The most notable disciplinary case was that of Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez, who was suspended for nine international matches and banned from taking part in any football-related activity (including entering any stadium) for four months, following a biting incident on Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. He was also fined CHF100,000. After an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Suárez was later allowed to participate in training and friendly matches with new club Barcelona.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament:


2014 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Awards
Ángel Di María James Rodríguez Javier Mascherano Mats Hummels Neymar Philipp Lahm Toni Kroos


2014 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Awards
James Rodríguez (6 goals, 2 assists)  Thomas Müller (5 goals, 3 assists)  Neymar (4 goals, 1 assist)


2014 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Awards
The members of the Technical Study Group, the committee that decided which players won the awards, were led by FIFA's head of the Technical Division Jean-Paul Brigger and featured:


2014 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Awards
There were changes to the voting procedure for awards for the 2014 edition: while in 2010 accredited media were allowed to vote for the Golden Ball award, in 2014 only the Technical Study Group could select the outcome.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, 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.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Dream Team
FIFA also invited users of FIFA.com to elect their Dream Team.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Prize money
The total prize money on offer for the tournament was confirmed by FIFA as US$576 million (including payments of $70 million to domestic clubs and $100 million as player insurances), a 37 percent increase from the amount allocated in the 2010 tournament. Before the tournament, each of the 32 entrants received $1.5 million for preparation costs. At the tournament, the prize money was distributed as follows:


2014 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Final standings
Per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Preparations and costs
Costs of the tournament totalled $11.6 billion,  making it the most expensive World Cup to date, until surpassed by 2018 FIFA World Cup which cost an estimated $14.2 billion. FIFA was expected to spend US$2 billion on staging the finals, with its greatest single expense being the US$576 million prize money pot.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Preparations and costs
Although organisers originally estimated costs of US$1.1 billion, a reported US$3.6 billion was ultimately spent on stadium works. Five of the chosen host cities had brand new venues built specifically for the World Cup, while the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha in the capital Brasília was demolished and rebuilt, with the remaining six being extensively renovated.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Preparations and costs
An additional R$3 billion (US$1.3 billion, €960 million, £780 million at June 2014 rates) was earmarked by the Brazilian government for investment in infrastructure works and projects for use during the 2014 World Cup and beyond. However, the failed completion of many of the proposed works provoked discontent among some Brazilians.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Preparations and costs
The Brazilian government pledged US$900 million to be invested into security forces and that the tournament would be "one of the most protected sports events in history."


2014 FIFA World Cup, Marketing
The marketing of the 2014 FIFA World Cup included sale of tickets, support from sponsors and promotion through events that utilise the symbols and songs of the tournament. Popular merchandise included items featuring the official mascot as well as an official video game that has been developed by EA Sports. The official song of the tournament was "We Are One (Ole Ola)" with vocals from Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte. As a partner of the German Football Association, the German airline Lufthansa renamed itself "Fanhansa" on some of its planes that flew the German national team, media representatives and football fans to Brazil.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Sponsorship
The sponsors of the 2014 World Cup are divided into three categories: FIFA Partners, FIFA World Cup Sponsors and National Supporters.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Media
For a fourth consecutive FIFA World Cup Finals, the coverage was provided by HBS (Host Broadcast Services), a subsidiary of Infront Sports & Media. Sony was selected as the official equipment provider and built 12 bespoke high definition production 40-foot-long containers, one for each tournament venue, to house the extensive amount of equipment required. Each match utilised 37 standard camera plans, including Aerial and Cablecam, two Ultramotion cameras and dedicated cameras for interviews. The official tournament film, as well as three matches, will be filmed with ultra high definition technology (4K resolution), following a successful trial at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Media
The broadcasting rights – covering television, radio, internet and mobile coverage – for the tournament were sold to media companies in each individual territory either directly by FIFA, or through licensed companies or organisations such as the European Broadcasting Union, Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana, International Media Content, Dentsu and RS International Broadcasting & Sports Management. The sale of these rights accounted for an estimated 60% of FIFA's income from staging a World Cup. The International Broadcast Centre was situated at the Riocentro in the Barra da Tijuca neighbourhood of Rio de Janeiro.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Media
Worldwide, several games qualified as the most-watched sporting events in their country in 2014, including 42.9 million people in Brazil for the opening game between Brazil and Croatia, the 34.1 million in Japan who saw their team play Ivory Coast, and 34.7 million in Germany who saw their national team win the World Cup against Argentina, while the 24.7 million viewers during the game between the US and Portugal is joint with the 2010 final as the most-watched football game in the United States. According to FIFA, over 1 billion people tuned in worldwide to watch the final between Germany and Argentina.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Controversies
The 2014 FIFA World Cup generated various controversies, including demonstrations, some of which took place even before the tournament started. Furthermore, there were various issues with safety, including the death of eight workers and a fire during construction, breaches into stadiums, an unstable makeshift staircase at the Maracanã Stadium, a monorail collapse, and the collapse of an unfinished overpass in Belo Horizonte. The houses of thousands of families living in Rio de Janeiro’s slums were cleared for redevelopments for the World Cup in spite of protests and resistance. Favela do Metrô, near the Maracanã Stadium, was completely destroyed as a result, having previously housed 700 families in 2010.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Controversies, Protests
Prior to the opening ceremony of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup staged in Brazil, demonstrations took place outside the venue, organised by people unhappy with the amount of public money spent to enable the hosting of the FIFA World Cup. Both the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff and FIFA president Sepp Blatter were heavily booed as they were announced to give their speeches at the 2013 tournament's opening, which resulted in FIFA announcing that the 2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony would not feature any speeches. Further protests took place during the Confederations Cup as well as prior to and during the World Cup.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Controversies, Breaches into stadiums
At the Group B match between Spain and Chile, around 100 Chilean supporters who had gathered outside Maracanã Stadium forced their way into the stadium and caused damage to the media centre. Military police reported that 85 Chileans were detained during the events, while others reached the stands. Earlier, about 20 Argentinians made a similar breach during Argentina's Group F game against Bosnia and Herzegovina at the same stadium.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Controversies, Bridge collapse
On 3 July 2014, an overpass under construction in Belo Horizonte as part of the World Cup infrastructure projects collapsed onto a busy carriageway below, leaving two people dead and 22 others injured.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Controversies, Head injuries
During the tournament, FIFA received significant criticism for the way head injuries are handled during matches. Two incidents in particular attracted the most attention. First, in a group stage match, after Uruguayan defender Álvaro Pereira received a blow to the head, he lay unconscious. The Uruguayan doctor signaled for the player to be substituted, but he returned to the match. The incident drew criticism from the professional players' union FIFPro, and from Michel D'Hooghe, a member of the FIFA executive board and chairman of its medical committee.


2014 FIFA World Cup, Controversies, Head injuries
Second, in the Final, German midfielder Christoph Kramer received a blow to the head from a collision in the 14th minute, but returned to the match before collapsing in the 31st minute. During that time, Kramer was disoriented and confused, and asked the referee Nicola Rizzoli whether the match he was playing in was the World Cup Final.


2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (video game)
2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil is the official video game for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, published by EA Sports for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released on 15 April 2014 in  North America, and 17 April 2014 in Europe, as was the case with the 2010 edition.


2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (video game), Gameplay
Gameplay improvements from FIFA 14 include dribbling and increased accuracy in passing and first-touch mechanics.


2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (video game), Gameplay
The game's campaign mode, Road to Rio de Janeiro, allows players to play through qualification and the actual FIFA World Cup. For only the third time in the history of World Cup video games, the entire qualification series will be playable. The 2010 version only presented the UEFA and CONMEBOL groups in their true to life form. Another mode, Road to Rio de Janeiro, will allow players to compete in an online tournament across the 12 venues of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. It is similar in format to Seasons in FIFA 14 and Expedition mode from UEFA Euro 2012.


2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (video game), Gameplay
Captain Your Country, Online FIFA World Cup, Story of Qualifying, and Story of the Finals modes (the latter two integrated with EA Sports Football Club) from the 2010 edition returned to the 2014 edition.


2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (video game), Gameplay
For the first time in the FIFA series, coaches as well as spectators, either in the stadium or through FIFA Fan Fest and generic viewing events worldwide, are included to improve the immersive feeling. Coaches and spectators will react to happenings on the pitch, from scoring a goal to getting a card and winning the World Cup. Then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter even appears to present the World Cup trophy to the captain of the winning team at the final.


2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (video game), Teams and venues
The game contains all of the 203 national teams that took part in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification process. The national teams of Bhutan, Brunei, Guam, Mauritania, Mauritius and South Sudan, all of which did not participate in World Cup qualifying, despite being FIFA members, do not feature in the game. Some teams have licensed kits as well as kits worn during the World Cup for select teams, while most get generic unlicensed kits which resemble their official kits.


2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (video game), Teams and venues
The game includes all 12 venues used at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, as well as stadiums from each qualifying region and a range of generic stadiums.


2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (video game), Soundtrack
The official song of the World Cup, "We Are One (Ole Ola)" by Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte, was included in the game's opening cutscene, as well as "The World Is Ours" by The X Factor USA contestant David Correy, which was soft drink company and World Cup sponsors Coca-Cola's theme song for the 2014 tournament.


2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (video game), Soundtrack
Additionally, the game features EA Sports Talk Radio, where players can choose one of three channels, each featuring a pair of pundits commenting on user-controlled teams' progress and answering e-mails, texts, and tweets.


2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (video game), Soundtrack
Andy Goldstein of TalkSPORT and Ian Darke of ESPN host one channel, while the Men in Blazers (Michael Davies and Roger Bennett - both of ESPN at the time but now with NBC Sports) host the second channel and the third channel features the voices of Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves, famous for their partnership at ITV hosting Saturday afternoon football preview show Saint and Greavsie between 1985 and 1992.


2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (video game), Soundtrack
The game includes 34 tracks from artists all over the world including Australia, Canada, Israel, Mexico, the United States and  Brazil.


2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil (video game), Reception and platforms criticism
The game has been criticized for being available on only a few platforms. Despite releasing the game during the eighth generation of video game consoles, Electronic Arts decided against developing versions of the game for the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One or the PC, as there were several major regions in the world where such systems were not adopted widely enough, especially the host country, Brazil.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final
The 2014 FIFA World Cup Final was the final match of the 2014 World Cup, the 20th edition of FIFA's competition for national football teams. The match was played at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 13 July 2014, and was contested by Germany and Argentina. The event comprised hosts Brazil and 31 other teams who emerged from the qualification phase, organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 32 teams competed in a group stage, from which 16 teams qualified for the knockout stage.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final
En route to the final, Germany finished first in Group G, with two wins and a draw, after which they defeated Algeria in the round of 16, France in the quarter-final and Brazil, by a score of 7–1, in the semi-final. Argentina finished top of Group F with three wins, before defeating Switzerland in the round of 16, Belgium in the quarter-final and the Netherlands in a penalty shoot-out in the semi-final. The final took place in front of 74,738 supporters, with more than a billion watching on television, and was refereed by Nicola Rizzoli from Italy.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final
Gonzalo Higuaín had a chance to score for Argentina in the first half when he was one-on-one with Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer but failed to score, before Benedikt Höwedes had a chance to give Germany the lead shortly before half-time with a shot which struck the goalpost. Lionel Messi had an opportunity to score when he was one-on-one with Neuer shortly after half time, but his low shot went wide of the goal.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final
On 71 minutes, Thomas Müller was through on goal following a build-up involving André Schürrle and Mesut Özil, but he failed to control the  ball and lost it to Argentina's goalkeeper, Sergio Romero. With the match goalless after 90 minutes, it went to extra time, in the second period of which Germany broke the deadlock. Mario Götze, who had come on as a substitute shortly before the end of normal time, received Schürrle's cross from the left on his chest before volleying a left-footed shot into the net to secure a 1–0 victory for Germany.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final
Germany's win was their fourth World Cup title and the first since German reunification, as well as the first World Cup win by a European team in the Americas. Götze was named the man of the match, while Messi was awarded the Golden Ball as FIFA's outstanding player of the tournament. Germany's manager, Joachim Löw, labelled his side's win as the culmination of a project which had begun ten years previously under his predecessor Jürgen Klinsmann, while praising his team's spirit. His Argentine counterpart, Alejandro Sabella, thought his team had been unlucky to lose, and praised his players as "warriors". Germany failed to defend their trophy at the subsequent 2018 World Cup in Russia, becoming the third successive World Cup holders to be eliminated in the group phase after defeats against Mexico and South Korea.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final, Background
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th edition of the World Cup, FIFA's football competition for national teams, held in Brazil between 12 June and 13 July 2014. Brazil qualified for the finals automatically as tournament hosts, while 203 teams competed for the remaining 31 spots through qualifying rounds organised by the six FIFA confederations and held between June 2011 and November 2013. In the finals, the teams were divided into eight groups of four with each team playing each other once in a round-robin format. The two top teams from each group advanced to a knock-out phase. The defending champions from the 2010 World Cup were Spain, who had achieved three successive victories in major tournaments, having also won Euro 2008 and Euro 2012. Spain were eliminated in the group phase in the 2014 event.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final, Background
Germany had won the title three times before as West Germany – in 1954, 1974 and 1990. Argentina had two titles, in 1978 and 1986. The two sides had met each other six times previously in the World Cup, including in the 1986 final, which Argentina won 3–2, and the 1990 final, which West Germany won 1–0. They had met in the quarter-final stage of both of the most recent two Worlds Cup, with Germany winning both – a penalty-shootout win in 2006 and a 4–0 win in 2010. Germany lost in the semi-final on both occasions. The most recent meeting between the two teams before the 2014 World Cup was a friendly match played on 15 August 2012 at Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, which was won by Argentina 3–1.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final, Background
The venue for the final was announced in 2011 as the Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho in Rio de Janeiro, commonly known as the Maracanã Stadium. It was built in preparation for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, and that tournament's final match, in which Uruguay beat Brazil 2–1 to win the trophy, is as of 2021 the record-holder for the highest attendance at any football match in history.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final, Background
The Maracanã also hosted the finals of the Copa América in 1989, 2019 and 2021; the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup final; and both the men's and women's football finals at the 2016 Summer Olympics. The stadium underwent an extensive rebuild prior to the 2014 World Cup, after which its capacity was 78,838.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final, Background
The match ball for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final, announced on 29 May 2014, was a variation of the Adidas Brazuca named the Adidas Brazuca Final Rio. Whilst the technical aspects of the ball were the same, the design was different from the Brazuca balls used in the group phase and prior knockout games, with a green, gold and black coloring. It was the third ball released specifically for FIFA World Cup final matches, after the Teamgeist Berlin (2006) and the Jo'bulani (2010).


2014 FIFA World Cup Final, Route to the final, Germany
Germany were drawn in Group G for the World Cup, in which they were joined by Ghana, Portugal and the United States. Their first match was against Portugal, on 16 June 2004 at the Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador. Germany won a penalty on 10 minutes, when João Pereira fouled Mario Götze. Müller took the kick and gave Germany the lead. Mats Hummels added a second goal with a header on 32 minutes, and Portugal's Pepe was shown a red card five minutes later, after he headbutted Müller.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final, Route to the final, Germany
Müller then scored his second in injury time to give Germany a 3–0 half-time lead. Müller scored a third from close range in the second half, to complete a 4–0 victory, after Rui Patrício had failed to clear a cross by André Schürrle. Germany's second game was against Ghana at the Estádio Castelão in Fortaleza. After a goalless first half, Götze opened the scoring on 51 minutes, when his headed shot from a Müller cross bounced off his own knee and past Ghana's goalkeeper Fatau Dauda.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final, Route to the final, Germany
Ghana equalised shortly afterwards, through an André Ayew header, and then took the lead when Sulley Muntari found Asamoah Gyan with a pass, after an error by Manuel Neuer. Germany levelled the game again on 71 minutes, however, when Miroslav Klose, who had come on as a substitute, kicked Benedikt Höwedes's goal-bound header into the goal from close range. Klose's goal equalled the Brazilian Ronaldo's World Cup record of 15 goals, and the game finished 2–2. Germany's last group game was against the United States at Itaipava Arena Pernambuco in Recife, with a win or draw needed to guarantee qualification. In rainy conditions, Müller scored the only goal of the game with a shot inside the penalty area after goalkeeper Tim Howard had saved Per Mertesacker's header. Germany qualified as group winners.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final, Route to the final, Germany
Germany's opponents in the round of 16 were Algeria, with the match played on 30 June at the Estádio Beira-Rio in Porto Alegre. The game was tied at 0–0 after 90 minutes, with Germany described by BBC Sport's David Ornstein as looking frequently "rattled" as "Algeria wasted a succession of chances in an opening, exciting encounter". Germany took the lead early in extra time, when Müller crossed from the left and Schürrle scored from close range.


2014 FIFA World Cup Final, Route to the final, Germany
Mesut Özil added a second for Germany in the final minute of extra time, before Abdelmoumene Djabou pulled a goal back for Algeria with a volley in injury time. Germany held on, however, to record a 2–1 win. They then faced France in the quarter-final at the Maracanã Stadium on 4 July. Hummels gave Germany the lead on 12 minutes with a header, following a free kick by Toni Kroos, and that proved to be the only goal of what Ornstein described as a "comfortable" win.