2014 FIFA World Cup awards, Goal of the Tournament
The Goal of the Tournament (presented by Sony) was decided by online voting. A total 15 goals were in the shortlist as selected by FIFA.com:


2014 FIFA World Cup awards, Goal of the Tournament
On 21 July 2014, FIFA announced that after more than four million votes, Colombian player James Rodríguez's first goal against Uruguay was named as goal of the tournament.


2014 FIFA World Cup bids
This article concerns the process for determining the host nation of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which concluded on 30 October 2007 with the confirmation of Brazil as the hosts.


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Background
On 7 March 2003, the world football body FIFA announced that the tournament would be held in South America for the first time since Argentina hosted the 1978 FIFA World Cup, in line with its policy of rotating the right to host the World Cup amongst different confederations. On 3 June 2003, CONMEBOL announced that Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia wanted to host the 2014 World Cup finals. By 17 March 2004, the CONMEBOL associations had voted unanimously to adopt Brazil as their sole candidate.


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Background
Brazil formally declared its candidacy in December 2006, and Colombia did so as well a few days later. The Argentina bid never materialized. On 11 April 2007, Colombia officially withdrew its bid, making Brazil the only official candidate to host the event in 2014.


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Brazil bid
Brazil, who eventually won the hosting rights for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, were the only remaining official candidate after Colombia withdrew its bid on 11 April 2007. The Brazilian bid was officially launched on 13 December 2006 by Ricardo Teixeira, then president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, who signed the letter of candidacy in Tokyo in the presence of CONMEBOL president Nicolas Leoz and CONMEBOL general secretary Eduardo De Luca.


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Brazil bid
FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated on 4 July 2006 that the 2014 World Cup would probably be held in the country, though he acknowledged in earlier comments that the country did not have any stadiums ready for the Cup at the moment. On 28 September, he met with the Brazilian President Lula, and was quoted as saying he wants the country to prove its capabilities before making a decision. "But the ball is on Brazil's court now," he said. In September 2006, Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva confirmed Blatter's opinion, declaring: "We don't have any stadium which is in a condition to host World Cup games. We’re going to have to build at least 12 new stadiums in this country."


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Brazil bid
Potential host cities are already preparing for the tournament. CBF and government officials have toured many cities and stadiums in the latest months, and 18 states have applied to host World Cup matches. However, the actual number of host cities is expected to be much lower, as FIFA stipulates a minimum of eight and a maximum of ten.


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Brazil bid
On 31 July 2007, Brazil's bid became official, when the Brazilian Football Confederation president, Ricardo Teixeira, delivered personally to FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, a document containing Brazil's hosting stadiums and other required information concerning plans in improvements for general infrastructure and about finances, though more details about this document are unknown.


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Brazil bid
Early in that day, a list of stadiums selected was published by Brazilian media. At least 21 cities were considered initially, but only 18 cities were pre selected as able to host international football matches. Among the 18 finalist cities, four stadiums were under construction or would be built if the right to host is won. The three cities not accepted were Campinas (São Paulo), João Pessoa (Paraíba) and Teresina (Piauí).


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Brazil bid
On 17 August 2007, in a meeting between CBF officials and representatives from the 18 cities, Ricardo Teixeira confirmed the names of five host cities, and left the 13 other to fight for the remaining spots. The list below includes the cities selected by the Brazilian Football Confederation to receive the World Cup (the five confirmed cities are mentioned first):


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Brazil bid
This list would eventually be narrowed down to meet FIFA's requirement that no more than one host city feature two host stadiums. It may also include new stadiums to be built in the next years.


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Brazil bid
Brazil hosted the 1950 World Cup and has hosted the Copa América four times (1919, 1922, 1949, 1989 and later 2019).


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Other bids, Colombia
Colombia formally declared its candidacy on 18 December 2006, and withdrew it on 11 April 2007.


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Other bids, Colombia
The president of Colombia, Álvaro Uribe, had initially announced on 15 July 2006 that Colombia would submit a bid. During his speech at the opening ceremony of the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games, Uribe said: "By seeing how things were done to organise these Games, I think Colombia is capable of hosting a football World Cup. I'm sure we will achieve it and will do it very well." Vice President Francisco Santos Calderón was in charge of the project.


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Other bids, Colombia
Colombia had been set to be the host of the 1986 World Cup, but withdrew to the benefit of Mexico because of economic issues, disagreements with FIFA, and concerns about the unstable situation in Colombia at the time. Colombia has hosted the Copa América once (2001). However, on 27 February 2007, FIFA president Sepp Blatter appeared to discard any Colombian chances of hosting the event, saying, "Colombia's bid is more of a public relations presentation of the country to say that we are alive not only in other headlines but also in football."


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Other bids, Australia
In June 2006, South Australian premier Mike Rann put forward a proposal for Australia to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He was backed by then Prime Minister John Howard, who said that Australia has proven it can host world sporting events. Football Federation Australia President, Frank Lowy who has also expressed considerable interest in the proposal and is amid negotiations to formally put forward Australia's hosting proposal. Australia hosted the OFC Nations Cup twice (1998, and 2004), and four way co hosted once (1996). Australia attempted to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but lost out to Qatar.


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Other bids, Jordan/Iraq
In October 2004, the football federations of Jordan/Iraq mulled a bid to host the World Cup. "The situation at the moment would make any bid ludicrous," Prince Faisal al-Hussein of Jordan was quoted as saying in his interview to The Times and The Guardian. "What will things be like in five years' time?. It could be a very prosperous nation. If the conditions are right, people will take it seriously."


2014 FIFA World Cup bids, Other bids, United States
In June 2002, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) announced it expressed interest to offer a bid for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Robert Contiguglia was confident that the United States can put together a very strong bid. The United States hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup, as well as the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup and 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup. The United States also attempted to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but lost out to Qatar. It eventually won rights to the 2026 FIFA World Cup along with Mexico and Canada.


2014 FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights
The broadcasting rights for the 2014 FIFA World Cup were sold directly by FIFA, or through licensed companies or organizations such as the European Broadcasting Union, Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana, African Union of Broadcasting, International Media Content, Inter-Sports Marketing, M-League, Dentsu, RS International Broadcasting & Sports Management and MP & Silva. Airlines companies such as Etihad Airways had in-flight live telecasts of all 64 matches.


2014 FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights
Several territories and countries (for example, India, Italy, Algeria, Korea Republic) are grouped as they share common broadcasters, and sometimes, common geographic space.


2014 FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights, Radio
NHK Radio 1, NHK FM BroadcastTBS Radio & Communications, Nippon Cultural Broadcasting, Nippon Broadcasting System


2014 FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights, Notes
- Alongside TeleAruba  - Alongside CVM Television. - Alongside STVS. - Alongside One Caribbean Media. - Alongside ABC and ESPN. - FT only covered the tournament in the French overseas territories  - Each country also received coverage of the event by a domestic broadcaster. - Nigeria did not receive coverage from Canal+. - Alongside SportsMax. Also, not covered by Univision.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage
The knockout stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup was the second and final stage of the competition, following the group stage. It began on 28 June with the round of 16 and ended on 13 July with the final match of the tournament, held at Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro. The top two teams from each group (16 in total) advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination tournament. A third-place match was played between the two losing teams of the semi-finals.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage
In all matches in the knockout stage, if the score was level at the end of 90 minutes, two 15-minute periods of extra time was played. If the score was still level after extra time, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage
All times listed below are in Brasília official time (UTC–3).


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Qualified teams
The top two placed teams from each of the eight groups qualified for the knockout stage.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Brazil vs Chile
The two teams had met in 68 previous matches, including three times in the FIFA World Cup knockout stage, all won by Brazil (1962, semi-finals: 4–2; 1998, round of 16: 4–1; 2010, round of 16: 3–0).


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Brazil vs Chile
Brazil opened the scoring when from a corner when David Luiz turned Thiago Silva's flick-on into the net with his thigh. While replays suggested that Chilean defender Gonzalo Jara may have had the last touch, FIFA later confirmed that the goal was scored by Luiz, not Jara. Chile equalised when Hulk lost possession after a throw-in in his own half, Eduardo Vargas stole the ball and passed to Alexis Sánchez to score.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Brazil vs Chile
In the second half, Hulk's goal was disallowed as Howard Webb adjudged that the player used his arm in bringing down the ball and gave him a yellow card instead. Chances were few after that with Brazil dominating possession with Hulk forcing Claudio Bravo into a decent save, and the match went to extra time. The best chance of extra time came in the last seconds as Mauricio Pinilla's shot hit the crossbar.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Brazil vs Chile
In the resulting penalty shootout, the score was tied 2–2 after four rounds, with Brazil goalkeeper Júlio César saving from Pinilla and Sánchez, while Willian missed and Hulk's shot was saved by Bravo. In the fifth round, Neymar scored his penalty, meaning Chile had to score, but Jara's shot hit the inside of the post. Brazil advanced to the quarter-finals to face Colombia.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Brazil vs Chile
The result meant that in all four World Cups where Chile qualified for the knockout stage, they were eliminated by Brazil.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Brazil vs Chile
Assistant referees:Michael Mullarkey (England)Darren Cann (England)Fourth official:Felix Brych (Germany)Fifth official:Mark Borsch (Germany)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Colombia vs Uruguay
The two teams had met in 38 previous matches, including in the 1962 FIFA World Cup group stage, won 2–1 by Uruguay. Their most recent meetings were in the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, with both teams winning at home, Colombia winning 4–0 and Uruguay winning 2–0. Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez was not in the line-up because of a nine-game ban imposed by FIFA due to a biting incident involving Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini during their final group stage match.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Colombia vs Uruguay
Colombia won 2–0 with both goals from James Rodríguez, the first in the 28th minute, where he controlled Abel Aguilar's headed ball on his chest before volleying left-footed from 25 yards out with the ball going in off the underside of the crossbar, which won the 2014 FIFA Puskás Award later in the year. The second goal, in the 50th minute, was a close-range shot from six yards out after receiving the ball from a header by Juan Cuadrado on the right.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Colombia vs Uruguay
Colombia progressed through to the quarter-finals for the first time in their history, where they would face Brazil.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Colombia vs Uruguay
Assistant referees:Sander van Roekel (Netherlands)Erwin Zeinstra (Netherlands)Fourth official:Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway)Fifth official:Kim Haglund (Norway)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Netherlands vs Mexico
The two teams had met in six previous matches, including in the 1998 FIFA World Cup group stage, a 2–2 draw. Mexico midfielder José Juan Vázquez was suspended for the match due to accumulation of yellow cards.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Netherlands vs Mexico
Giovani dos Santos opened the scoring for Mexico early in the second half with a left-footed volley from outside the box after gathering a Dutch clearance. Mexico led until the 88th minute, when a Dutch corner was headed back by substitute Klaas-Jan Huntelaar for Wesley Sneijder to equalise with a hard shot from 16 yards. Only a few minutes later, with stoppage time coming to a close, Arjen Robben drew a penalty for the Netherlands after being fouled by Rafael Márquez on the right of the penalty area, which Huntelaar converted to win the match for the Netherlands. Netherlands advanced to the quarter-finals to face Costa Rica, while Mexico were eliminated in the round of 16 for the sixth tournament in a row.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Netherlands vs Mexico
The match was the first time in World Cup history where a cooling break was instituted, with temperatures at 32 °C (90 °F) and humidity levels at 68%.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Netherlands vs Mexico
Assistant referees:Bertino Cunha (Portugal)Tiago Trigo (Portugal)Fourth official:Carlos Vera (Ecuador)Fifth official:Byron Romero (Ecuador)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Costa Rica vs Greece
The two teams had never met before. This match was Greece's first ever in the FIFA World Cup knockout stage.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Costa Rica vs Greece
Bryan Ruiz opened the scoring in the 52nd minute when Christian Bolaños passed to him and he shot low left-footed from outside the penalty area to the right corner of the net with Greek goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis not moving on his line. Costa Rica were then reduced to 10 men with Óscar Duarte being sent off after picking up a second yellow card. Sokratis Papastathopoulos equalised in injury time shooting into the net from seven yards out after Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas had saved an initial shot from Theofanis Gekas.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Costa Rica vs Greece
No goals were scored in extra time, and the match went to a penalty shoot-out. During the intermission before the penalty shoot-out, the Greek coach Fernando Santos was sent off following a dispute with the referee. In the penalty shoot-out, Navas saved Gekas' shot before Michael Umaña scored the winning penalty for Costa Rica hitting it high to the goalkeeper's right.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Costa Rica vs Greece
This marked the first time that Costa Rica progressed to the quarter-finals in a FIFA World Cup, where they faced the Netherlands.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Costa Rica vs Greece
Assistant referees:Matthew Cream (Australia)Hakan Anaz (Australia)Fourth official:Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)Fifth official:Yaser Tulefat (Bahrain)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, France vs Nigeria
The two teams had met in one previous match, in a friendly in 2009, won by Nigeria 1–0.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, France vs Nigeria
Paul Pogba had the best chance in the first half but his right foot volley after a cross from the right was saved by Vincent Enyeama. In the second half Yohan Cabaye saw a shot come back off the bar. The opening goal came with 11 minutes to play when Pogba headed into the net after a mistake by Enyeama where he failed to hold onto a corner kick from the left by Mathieu Valbuena. In injury time, France got a second when Joseph Yobo put into his own net under pressure from Antoine Griezmann after a cross from the right by Valbuena.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, France vs Nigeria
France advanced to the quarter-finals to face Germany, while Nigeria were eliminated at the round of 16 in all three World Cups where they reached the knockout stage.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, France vs Nigeria
Assistant referees:Mark Hurd (United States)Joe Fletcher (Canada)Fourth official:Alireza Faghani (Iran)Fifth official:Hassan Kamranifar (Iran)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Germany vs Algeria
The two teams had met in two previous matches, including in the 1982 FIFA World Cup group stage, where Algeria defeated West Germany 2–1. This match was Algeria's first ever in the FIFA World Cup knockout stage.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Germany vs Algeria
After a goalless 90 minutes, Germany opened the scoring two minutes into extra time, when half-time substitute André Schürrle scored with a left foot back-heel from Thomas Müller's cross from the left. Germany extended the lead in the 120th minute when Mesut Özil converted with his left foot high into the net after Schürrle's shot was blocked on the line, but Algeria pulled one back in injury time when substitute Abdelmoumene Djabou scored with his left foot from six yards after a cross from the right by Sofiane Feghouli.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Germany vs Algeria
Germany advanced to the quarter-finals to face France, continuing their streak of reaching the last eight in every World Cup since 1954. Djabou's goal, timed at 120 minutes and 51 seconds, was the latest goal in World Cup history, surpassing Alessandro Del Piero's goal against Germany in 2006, timed at 120 minutes and 32 seconds.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Germany vs Algeria
Assistant referees:Emerson de Carvalho (Brazil)Marcelo Van Gasse (Brazil)Fourth official:Walter López (Guatemala)Fifth official:Leonel Leal (Costa Rica)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Argentina vs Switzerland
The two teams had met in six previous matches, including in the 1966 FIFA World Cup group stage, won by Argentina 2–0.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Argentina vs Switzerland
The match went to extra time with Ángel Di María scoring the only goal with two minutes remaining with a side-foot finish from the right of the penalty area after a run and pass from Lionel Messi. Switzerland had a chance to equalise in injury time but Blerim Džemaili headed against the post then prodded the rebound wide. Argentina advanced to the quarter-finals to face Belgium.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Argentina vs Switzerland
Assistant referees:Mathias Klasenius (Sweden)Daniel Wärnmark (Sweden)Fourth official:Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway)Fifth official:Kim Haglund (Norway)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Belgium vs United States
The two teams had met in five previous matches, including one in the 1930 FIFA World Cup group stage won by United States 3–0 and which was one of the two first FIFA World Cup matches to be played. An unofficial friendly between the two teams was scheduled on 12 June 2014 in São Paulo, but was cancelled because of traffic due to the opening ceremony and match. Belgium midfielder Steven Defour was suspended for the match, after being sent off in the last group stage match against South Korea.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Belgium vs United States
In a game dominated by the Belgians, but still goalless through the first 90 minutes thanks to U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard, U.S. striker Chris Wondolowski missed a great chance in stoppage time from less than five yards out. Thus, the game went to extra time and Belgium took the lead within two minutes. Romelu Lukaku, who came off the bench at the start of extra time, crossed from the right into the penalty area, Matt Besler failed to clear the ball, and Kevin De Bruyne shot low into the far corner from the right of the penalty area.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Belgium vs United States
Near the end of extra time first half, De Bruyne's through ball from the right set up Lukaku to extend the lead with a left footed shot to the net. The United States pulled one back early in extra time second half, when substitute Julian Green volleyed in Michael Bradley's lobbed pass with his right foot from near the penalty spot. Minutes later, the U.S. nearly equalised on a set piece routine that saw Clint Dempsey through on goal, but his first touch was too hard and the ball was corralled by Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Belgium held on for the win, and advanced to the quarter-finals to face Argentina.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Belgium vs United States
With Belgium's victory, the 2014 World Cup became the first tournament where all the top teams of the group stage advanced to the quarter-finals. U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard recorded 15 saves in the match, which was the most saves recorded in a match since FIFA started to keep track of the number of saves in 1966. Julian Green also became the youngest player to score a goal in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Belgium vs United States
Assistant referees:Rédouane Achik (Morocco)Abdelhak Etchiali (Algeria)Fourth official:Norbert Hauata (Tahiti)Fifth official:Aden Range (Kenya)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, France vs Germany
The two teams had met in 25 previous matches, including three times in the FIFA World Cup (1958, third place match: France 6–3 West Germany; 1982 semi-finals: France 3–3 (aet) West Germany, West Germany won 5–4 on penalties; 1986, semi-finals: France 0–2 West Germany).


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, France vs Germany
The only goal came in the 13th minute when Mats Hummels got ahead of his marker Raphaël Varane to head Germany into the lead from ten yards out after a free-kick from Toni Kroos on the left. Karim Benzema had a shot in second half injury time from the left which he hit straight at Manuel Neuer.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, France vs Germany
Germany advanced to the semi-finals where they would face Brazil. They became the first team to reach four straight World Cup semi-finals, breaking the record of three shared by their predecessor West Germany (1966–1974 and 1982–1990) and Brazil (1970–1978 and 1994–2002). Germany was also guaranteed their 13th top four finish, the most by any nation.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, France vs Germany
Assistant referees:Hernán Maidana (Argentina)Juan Pablo Belatti (Argentina)Fourth official:Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)Fifth official:Mathias Klasenius (Sweden)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Brazil vs Colombia
The two teams had met in 25 previous matches, but never in the FIFA World Cup. This was the first time Colombia had reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Brazil midfielder Luiz Gustavo was suspended for the match due to accumulation of yellow cards.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Brazil vs Colombia
Brazil took the lead in the 7th minute, when Neymar's corner from the left was turned in from close range by Thiago Silva. They doubled the lead in the 69th minute when David Luiz scored directly from a long-range free kick, side-footing the ball over the wall and into the top-right corner. Colombia reduced the deficit with 10 minutes to go, when James Rodríguez converted a penalty kick low into the left corner and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way. The penalty was awarded after substitute Carlos Bacca was fouled by Brazil goalkeeper Júlio César.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Brazil vs Colombia
Neymar was kneed in the back by Colombia defender Juan Camilo Zúñiga in the 88th minute, which resulted in the striker's withdrawal from the match. Subsequent medical evaluation discovered a fractured vertebra, forcing the Brazilian to miss the remainder of the tournament. Brazil advanced to the semi-final, where they faced Germany.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Brazil vs Colombia
James's sixth goal of the tournament was enough for him to win the Golden Boot award. He also became the first player to score in his first five career World Cup matches since Peru's Teófilo Cubillas (across the 1970 and 1978 tournaments).


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Brazil vs Colombia
Assistant referees:Roberto Alonso (Spain)Juan Carlos Yuste (Spain)Fourth official:Svein Oddvar Moen (Norway)Fifth official:Kim Haglund (Norway)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Argentina vs Belgium
The two teams had met in three previous matches, including twice in the FIFA World Cup (1982, group stage: Argentina 0–1 Belgium; 1986, semi-finals: Argentina 2–0 Belgium). Argentina defender Marcos Rojo was suspended for the match due to accumulation of yellow cards.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Argentina vs Belgium
The only goal of the match was scored by Argentina forward Gonzalo Higuaín in the eighth minute, a powerful shot with his right foot from just inside the penalty area after a pass from Di María was deflected to him by Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen. Higuaín had a chance to extend the lead in the second half, but his shot hit the crossbar. Argentina won 1–0 to advance to the semi-finals, where they would face the Netherlands.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Argentina vs Belgium
Assistant referees:Renato Faverani (Italy)Andrea Stefani (Italy)Fourth official:Ben Williams (Australia)Fifth official:Matthew Cream (Australia)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Netherlands vs Costa Rica
The two teams had never met before. This was the first time Costa Rica had reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup. Costa Rica defender Óscar Duarte was suspended for the match, after being sent off in the round of 16 match against Greece.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Netherlands vs Costa Rica
After a goalless 90 minutes, which saw Wesley Sneijder's free kick hit the post and Robin van Persie's shot deflected onto the crossbar by Costa Rica defender Yeltsin Tejeda, the match headed to extra time. In the second period, substitute Marco Ureña had a shot saved by Netherlands goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, while Sneijder had another shot hit the crossbar. In added time at the end of 120 minutes, Dutch manager Louis van Gaal brought on Tim Krul to replace Cillessen. In the subsequent penalty shoot-out, Krul saved from Bryan Ruiz and Michael Umaña, while the Netherlands scored all four of their kicks to advance to the semi-finals, where they would face Argentina.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Netherlands vs Costa Rica
Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov took charge of his ninth World Cup match, breaking the record of most World Cup games officiated, which he previously held jointly with Joël Quiniou of France, Benito Archundia of Mexico, and Jorge Larrionda of Uruguay.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Netherlands vs Costa Rica
Assistant referees:Abdukhamidullo Rasulov (Uzbekistan)Bahadyr Kochkarov (Kyrgyzstan)Fourth official:Noumandiez Doué (Ivory Coast)Fifth official:Songuifolo Yeo (Ivory Coast)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Brazil vs Germany
The two teams had met in 21 previous matches, including in the final of the 2002 FIFA World Cup (their only previous encounter in the tournament's history), won by Brazil 2–0.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Brazil vs Germany
While Germany kept the same starting line-up as their quarter-final against France, Brazil made two changes: defender and captain Thiago Silva was suspended for the match due to accumulation of yellow cards, and was replaced by Dante, while forward Neymar was sidelined after suffering a fractured vertebra in the quarter-final against Colombia, and was replaced by Bernard. Germany took the lead in the 11th minute, Thomas Müller volleying in Toni Kroos's corner.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Brazil vs Germany
Miroslav Klose scored Germany's second goal, after a passing move saw him set up by Kroos, his first shot was saved by Brazil goalkeeper Júlio César, but he slotted in the rebound. Kroos then scored two quick goals in succession, the first one after Philipp Lahm's cross was missed by Müller, the second one after stealing the ball from Fernandinho and playing a quick one-two with Sami Khedira. Khedira then scored Germany's fourth goal in six minutes, after exchanging passes with Mesut Özil, to give Germany the 5–0 half-time lead.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Brazil vs Germany
Substitute André Schürrle added two more goals in the second half, first slotting in from Lahm's cross, then scoring via the crossbar after a cut-back from Müller. Brazil scored a consolation goal in the 90th minute, as Oscar received a pass from Marcelo, dribbled inside and scored. Germany reached their eighth World Cup final, a record by any nation, where they would face Argentina, while Brazil had to settle for the third-place play-off against the Netherlands.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Brazil vs Germany
The game equalled Brazil's biggest margin of defeat, a 6–0 loss to Uruguay in 1920, and it broke a 62-match home unbeaten streak in competitive matches going back to the 1975 Copa América, where they lost 3–1 to Peru in the same exact stadium of this match.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Brazil vs Germany
The match also broke many World Cup records: It was Brazil's biggest World Cup defeat (eclipsing their 1998 final loss to France), the biggest defeat by a World Cup host nation (previous record was by three goals), and the biggest margin of victory in a World Cup semi-final (three previous semi-finals ended in 6–1 scorelines).


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Brazil vs Germany
Klose's goal was his 16th overall throughout his World Cup appearances, allowing him to beat Ronaldo for the record of all-time top scorer in World Cup finals tournaments. Germany's seven goals took their total tally in World Cup history to 223, surpassing Brazil's 221 goals to first place overall.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Brazil vs Germany
Assistant referees:Marvin Torrentera (Mexico)Marcos Quintero (Mexico)Fourth official:Mark Geiger (United States)Fifth official:Mark Hurd (United States)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Netherlands vs Argentina
The two teams had met in eight previous matches, including four times in the FIFA World Cup: Netherlands won 4–0 in the second group stage of the 1974 FIFA World Cup and 2–1 in the quarter-finals of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Argentina won 3–1 (after extra time) in the final of the 1978 FIFA World Cup, whereas a group stage encounter of the 2006 FIFA World Cup ended in a 0–0 draw.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Netherlands vs Argentina
The Netherlands made one change to their starting line-up from their quarter-final, with Nigel de Jong returning from injury to replace Memphis Depay, while Argentina made two changes, with Marcos Rojo returning from suspension to replace José María Basanta and Enzo Pérez replacing the injured Di María. The match finished 0–0 after extra-time with very little chances as both sides cancelled each other out. In the penalty shoot-out, Sergio Romero saved the first penalty from Ron Vlaar diving to his left and the fifth penalty of the shoot-out from Wesley Sneijder when he dived high to his right. Argentina scored all of their four penalties to win 4–2. Maxi Rodríguez scored the decisive fourth penalty, shooting to Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen's right to send Argentina into the final, where they would face Germany, while the Netherlands had to settle for the third-place play-off against Brazil.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Netherlands vs Argentina
This was the first World Cup semi-final to end in a goalless draw. Argentina won their fourth World Cup penalty shoot-out, tied with Germany for most wins, and were involved in their fifth World Cup shoot-out, a record for any nation.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Netherlands vs Argentina
Assistant referees:Bahattin Duran (Turkey)Tarık Ongun (Turkey)Fourth official:Jonas Eriksson (Sweden)Fifth official:Mathias Klasenius (Sweden)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off, Brazil vs Netherlands
The two teams had met in 11 previous meetings, including four times in the FIFA World Cup: Netherlands won 2–0 in the second group stage of the 1974 FIFA World Cup and 2–1 in the quarter-finals of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and Brazil won 3–2 in the quarter-finals of the 1994 FIFA World Cup and 4–2 on penalties after a 1–1 draw (after extra time) in the semi-finals of the 1998 FIFA World Cup.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off, Brazil vs Netherlands
Brazil made six changes in their starting line-up from their semi-final, while the Netherlands made only two, with Wesley Sneijder, who was originally part of the Dutch starting line-up, replaced by Jonathan de Guzmán after an injury during the pre-match warm-up prevented him from playing. The Netherlands opened the scoring within three minutes, after Robin van Persie converted a penalty kick awarded for a foul on Arjen Robben by Thiago Silva. Daley Blind extended the lead in the 17th minute, scoring after a David Luiz headed clearance fell to him inside the penalty area. Georginio Wijnaldum completed the scoring in second half injury time as he shot home from substitute Daryl Janmaat's cross from the right.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off, Brazil vs Netherlands
The Netherlands finished third for the first time in their World Cup history. With Michel Vorm's participation (who was substituted into the match in second half injury time), the Netherlands became the first team to use all of their 23 players in a World Cup since the finals squads were expanded from 22 to 23 players in 2002. Brazil, who finished fourth for the second time in World Cup history, conceded a total of 14 goals in the tournament, the most they had ever allowed in a World Cup and also the most conceded by any World Cup hosts.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off, Brazil vs Netherlands
Brazil also became the second team to concede 100 World Cup goals, after Germany. Van Persie's goal was the 100th goal that Brazil have conceded in the FIFA World Cup and made him the 2nd highest Dutch goalscorer with 6 World Cup goals along with Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Dennis Bergkamp, and Rob Rensenbrink, all before Johnny Rep with 7 World Cup goals. Lastly, since the beginning of the 21st century of the World Cups (first one being in 2002), all four World Cups in 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014 involved the third-place victors all winning a third-place match with 3 goals.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off, Brazil vs Netherlands
Assistant referees:Rédouane Achik (Morocco)Abdelhalk Etchiali (Algeria)Fourth official:Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)Fifth official:Toru Sagara (Japan)


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Final, Germany vs Argentina
The two teams had met in 20 previous matches, including six times in the FIFA World Cup: 1958, group stage: West Germany 3–1 Argentina; 1966, group stage: West Germany 0–0 Argentina; 1986, final: West Germany 2–3 Argentina; 1990, final: West Germany 1–0 Argentina; 2006, quarter-finals: Germany 1–1 Argentina (after extra time, Germany won 4–2 on penalties); 2010 FIFA World Cup, quarter-finals: Germany 4–0 Argentina. Their third final meeting is the most ever in World Cup history, and also tied the record for the most frequent fixture in tournament history, as Brazil vs Sweden and Germany vs Serbia (including Yugoslavia) had also been played seven times in the World Cup.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Final, Germany vs Argentina
Both teams initially named unchanged starting line-ups from their semi-finals, but Germany had to make a late change as Sami Khedira injured his calf and was replaced by Christoph Kramer, who was himself substituted in the first half by André Schürrle after a blow to his head. In the first half, Gonzalo Higuaín shot wide after a Toni Kroos's misplaced header fell to him, and also had a goal disallowed for offside. Later, Jérôme Boateng cleared off the line after a Lionel Messi run, and Benedikt Höwedes's header hit the post.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Final, Germany vs Argentina
In the second half, Argentina's best chance fell to Messi, whose shot went just wide, while Toni Kroos also had a chance for Germany but could not convert. For the third World Cup final in a row, the match went to extra time. In the first half, Schürrle had a shot saved by Sergio Romero, while Rodrigo Palacio's lobbed shot was also unsuccessful. Germany scored the only goal in the second half, as Schürrle ran down the left wing and crossed for substitute Mario Götze, who controlled the ball on his chest and volleyed past Romero.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Final, Germany vs Argentina
Germany won their fourth World Cup title, and their first title since German reunification (they won as West Germany in 1954, 1974, and 1990). It was the first time a European team won the tournament in the Americas. For the third tournament in a row, the World Cup was won by a European team, first time for any confederation. Argentina finished as the runners-up for the third time in their history.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Final, Germany vs Argentina
A total of 171 goals were scored in the tournament, a joint record along with the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Götze's goal was the 32nd by a substitute, a World Cup record. Including the final, a total of eight matches went to extra time, a joint record along with the 1990 FIFA World Cup.


2014 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Final, Germany vs Argentina
Assistant referees:Renato Faverani (Italy)Andrea Stefani (Italy)Fourth official:Carlos Vera (Ecuador)Fifth official:Christian Lescano (Ecuador)


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing
The marketing of the 2014 FIFA World Cup includes sale of tickets, support from sponsors and promotion through events that utilize the symbols and songs of the tournament.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Logo
The official logo of the competition is entitled "Inspiration", and was created by Brazilian agency Africa. The design is based around a photograph of three victorious hands together raising the World Cup trophy and its yellow and green colouring is meant to represent Brazil warmly welcoming the world to their country. It was unveiled at a ceremony held during the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg. The design was selected from the submissions of 25 Brazilian-based agencies invited to submit designs. Brazilian graphic designer Alexandre Wollner has criticised the design, suggesting that it resembles a facepalm, as well as the process through which it was chosen, which had a jury that excluded professional graphic designers.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Poster
FIFA also commissioned an official poster that was unveiled in January 2013 by World Cup ambassadors Ronaldo, Bebeto, Zagallo, Amarildo, Carlos Alberto Torres and Marta, all of them World Champion footballers, in a ceremony in Rio de Janeiro.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Poster
The artwork for this poster, which was created by Karen Haidinger, from Brazilian agency Crama, features a map of the country made up from the outlines of football players' legs kicking a football. In addition, the poster provides detailed drawing depicting the Brazilian culture and other features of the Brazilian nation such as the Brazil's fauna and flora. The official slogan is "All in One Rhythm" (Portuguese: "Juntos num só ritmo") which is a registered Trademark.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Poster
The colorful poster represents the beauty and diversity of Brazil and, according to FIFA's General Secretary Jérôme Valcke, the artwork is a great example that Brazil is a capable and creative nation.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Mascot
The tatu-bola, an armadillo that defends itself from predators by rolling up into a ball, was chosen by FIFA in September 2012 as the official mascot from 47 designs created by six Brazilian agencies.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Mascot
The then-unnamed mascot was first unveiled to the public during a segment of the Brazilian news show Fantástico. An online public vote was used to determine the name in which three potential names were offered, with the winning name being announced on 25 November 2012: 1.7 million people (about 48%) voted for Fuleco, ahead of Zuzeco (31%) and Amijubi (21%). The name is a portmanteau of the words "Futebol" ("Football") and "Ecologia" ("Ecology").


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Mascot
As well as appearing throughout the tournament, Fuleco also featured on a global promotional tour of the FIFA World Cup Trophy that visited 88 countries between September 2013 and the start of the tournament.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Merchandising
Globo Marcas have been appointed the master licensee by FIFA for all retail products related to the 2014 World Cup. A wide range of products have been produced, with the best-selling being those related to the Fuleco mascot as well as the official match ball. The Caxirola, the officially recognised tournament instrument, a percussive instrument created by Brazilian musician Carlinhos Brown, can also be purchased, although its use is banned within stadiums in contrast to the prominent vuvuzela in 2010.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Merchandising
Additional related items include the now customary releases of an official video game (released by EA Sports for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms) and a sticker collection by Panini, which could also be collected in virtual form on FIFA's website.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Music
An official song has been created for every World Cup finals since 1962. In January 2014, FIFA and Sony Music announced that the official song for the tournament will be "We Are One (Ole Ola)" by Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Claudia Leitte. A customized version of the song "Dare (La La La)" by Shakira, who provided the official song of the 2010 tournament, will be used as a secondary theme song. Sony also launched a global music contest – entitled 'SuperSong' – to select a song for the competition's official album, One Love, One Rhythm.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Music
The contest allowed any person to submit a song via a website, with the winning entrant to be professionally recorded by the singer Ricky Martin. In February 2014, American Elijah King was chosen with the song "Vida". In March 2014, FIFA also announced the addition of an official anthem, selecting the song "Dar um Jeito (We Will Find a Way)", recorded by Avicii, Carlos Santana, Wyclef Jean and Alexandre Pires.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Ball
As part of the marketing for the competition, the Local Organising Committee and Adidas arranged a competition to name the match ball to be used in the competition. Adidas Brazuca was selected by a public vote organised with over one million Brazilian football fans voting. The name Brazuca was chosen with 77.8% of the vote. Two other voting options were given: Bossa Nova (14.6% of the vote) and Carnavalesca (7.6% of the vote).


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, 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 marketing, Sponsorship, Fanhansa
In the summer of 2014 (starting 16 May and thereby not just in response to the German victory) a part of the Lufthansa fleet was renamed “Fanhansa”. As a partner of the German Football Association, Lufthansa flew the national team, media representatives and football fans to Brazil.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Ticketing
FIFA forecasts a total of 3,334,524 tickets for the tournament. The majority of these are distributed to groups such as commercial affiliates, hospitality clients, media rights holders and VIPs. Approximately 1.1 million are to be sold directly to the general public (400,000 to Brazilian residents only, 700,000 overseas); for each individual match, 8% of the tickets are reserved for fans of a competing team. The sale of tickets to the general public has been divided into three phases and handled via FIFA's website and nominated locations in each of the host cities.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Ticketing
There are four categories of tickets, with Category 4 tickets only being available to Brazilian residents. Discounted tickets are available to Brazilians aged over 60, students and those receiving Bolsa Família welfare. These, the cheapest of all tickets, were available for 30 Brazilian reals (roughly US$12.50), while the most expensive ticket of the competition on general sale is a Category 1 seat for the final that retails at US$990. In addition to individual tickets, "venue specific tickets", which give access to all matches staged in a host city (during the group stage and round of 16), and "team ticket series", which give access to all matches of a chosen team during the tournament, are also available.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Ticketing
Tickets first went on sale on 20 August 2013 with 2.3 million tickets requested during the first 24 hours. By the end of this first phase of sales in October 2013, over six million requests had been received from the general public. As demand exceeded supply, FIFA staged a random draw to allocate tickets with a total of 889,305 tickets being allocated. A further 220,000 tickets issued on a first come, first served basis sold out within seven hours of being placed on sale in November 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup marketing, Ticketing
Following the final draw in December 2013, the second sales phase began and concluded the following month, attracting over 3.5 million applications. Any remaining tickets were then made available on a first-come, first-served basis from March 2014 onward and could also be purchased in person at designated FIFA ticketing centres. From 15 April 2014 all remaining tickets were made available on a first-come, first-served basis. Despite the two oversubscribed application periods, tickets still remained available for some group stage matches as the tournament began.


2014 FIFA World Cup 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 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament. On 14 January 2014, the FIFA Referees Committee appointed 25 referee trios and eight support duos representing 43 different countries for the tournament.


2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony
The 2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony took place on Thursday, 12 June 2014, at the Arena de São Paulo in São Paulo, Brazil at 15:15 Brasília official time (UTC−3), about a quarter to two hours before the opening match of the tournament between hosts Brazil and Croatia.


2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Before the ceremony
In the hours leading up to the ceremony, several hundred Brazilian football fans took to the streets to sing and declare their support for the host nation's national team, as excitement for the opening match of the tournament continued to build up. However, several thousand others continued demonstrations against the cost of hosting the tournament, which are estimated at a total of about US$16 billion at the expense of both FIFA and the Brazilian government, making it the most expensive World Cup in history.


2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Before the ceremony
Police in São Paulo reportedly had to use teargas to disperse one group of around 50 protesters, while striking airport workers blocked off a road leading to the Aeroporto Internacional de São Paulo, demanding an increase in wages as well as a World Cup bonus. The strike was to have lasted for 24 hours, but for legal reasons union leaders called it off early.


2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Dignitaries in attendance
The opening match and ceremony was attended by many guests :


2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Performances
With the ceremony lasting about 30 minutes, a host of 660 dancers put on a performance paying tribute to Brazil's nature, people and football, with a "living ball" situated in the middle of the pitch. The performers were dressed as several types of trees and flowers.


2014 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony, Performances
The entire ensemble performed three separate acts leading up to the finale where the ball opened up to reveal Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte, who sang alone for a few minutes before being joined by Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull, with whom she performed the tournament's official song "We Are One (Ole Ola)", which was co-written and recorded by the three artists. The cost of the opening ceremony is estimated at R$18 million.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations
The costs of the 2014 FIFA World Cup tournament in Brazil were estimated to be the highest in the history of the FIFA World Cup.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations
Costs of the tournament totaled $11.6 billion, making it the most expensive World Cup at the time. It was surpassed by the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which cost an estimated $14.2 billion. FIFA spent an estimated US$2 billion on staging the finals, with its greatest single expense being the US$576 million prize money pot. This expenditure was largely used for stadium renovation and other infrastructure projects. Brazil added on numerous construction projects to facilitate hosting the 2014 FIFA World Cup.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Stadiums
Although the organisers originally estimated costs of US$1.1 billion, a reported amount of US$3.6 billion was ultimately spent on stadium work. Five of the chosen host cities built brand new venues specifically for the World Cup. The Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha stadium in the capital city Brasilia was demolished and rebuilt, while the remaining six were extensively renovated. The Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, which already held the record attendance for a FIFA World Cup Finals match (199,854) was the largest of the stadiums and where the final was staged. The CBF was originally intended to host the opening match at São Paulo's Estádio do Morumbi but it was dropped in 2010 and replaced by the Arena Corinthians after failing to provide financial guarantees for the required improvements.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Stadiums
The first totally new stadium, the Castelão, in Fortaleza, became operational in January 2013. Six of the venues were used during the 2013 Confederations Cup. However, six additional stadiums missed FIFA's original December 31, 2013 deadline for completed works. The completion of the new Arena Corinthians was hindered by a fatal crane collapse in November 2013 that destroyed part of the stadium and killed two construction workers. Slow progress at the Arena da Baixada site in Curitiba led to FIFA threatening to drop the stadium as a host venue in January 2014 unless significant progress was made during the following month; after being satisfied of progress, FIFA confirmed that Curitiba would remain a host city.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Stadiums
During the first three months of 2014, the first games were staged at the venues in Manaus (Arena da Amazônia), Natal and Porto Alegre. However, following an inspection of all the venues in May 2014, FIFA Secretary Valcke expressed concerns about the readiness of the Natal, Porto Alegre and São Paulo venues, and required additional test events. Brazil's Deputy Sports Minister, Luis Fernandes, responded by stating that there was "no panic".


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Infrastructure projects
In January 2010, Brazil's federal government estimated that staging the tournament would require a state investment of $11 billion of funding. It also announced tax breaks for the construction and refurbishment of the stadiums for the 2014 World Cup and that host cities would be exempt from VAT, all expenditure by FIFA in Brazil also exempt from taxation.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Infrastructure projects
The Brazilian federal government earmarked R$3 billion (€1.8 billion, £1.1 billion) for investment in works relating to the 2014 World Cup, and intended to release a package of works, entitled the World Cup PAC (Portuguese acronym for Growth Acceleration Programme). Brazil announced in March 2007 that there would be an additional PAC investment of 526 billion dollars allotted to infrastructure spanning from 2011 to 2014. The airports in Brazil were identified as "the big problem" by the tournament's organizing committee.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Infrastructure projects
Experts said that the airports needed a massive renovation and expansion in order to facilitate the influx of people arriving for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. An estimated number of 600,000 people traveled by plane to the tournament in addition to the three million passengers using flight to travel between matches.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Infrastructure projects
Legislation was introduced to enable the state's airport operator Infraero to speed up airport works. Brazil's government had issues with upholding legislation with regard to infrastructure. However, research by the Brazilian government in 2011 forecast that 10 of the 13 terminals to be upgraded were unlikely to be completed in time for the tournament. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff stated that the government would make "a strong intervention" to ensure that the airports were ready, including opening them up to private investment; the management of three airports was auctioned off to the private sector in 2013 (earning $10.8 billion).


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Infrastructure projects
Additional major infrastructure projects took place across the country on road systems and light rail and bus rapid transit lines that connected the airports to the city centres and stadiums. Over an estimated 4,300 km of highways were worked on.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Infrastructure projects
To host the increased number of tourists in the country, the Brazilian Development Bank(BNDES) provided a budget of R$2 billion to modernise and increase the country's hotel network. In Rio de Janeiro, these developments were also in anticipation for the staging of the 2016 Summer Olympics.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Infrastructure projects
Many planned works such new monorail systems in Manaus and São Paulo and a subway system in Belo Horizonte were, however, cancelled, while others were not expected to be finished before the tournament. Other projects proceeded, but only in a downsized scale. In May 2014, it was reported that only 36 of the planned 93 major projects were completed. FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke defended the state of progress, stating "it was clear from the beginning not all the projects would be ready... these projects were part of a government plan that goes far beyond the World Cup".


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Infrastructure projects
FIFA pledged to spend at least $20 million on "legacy projects" in Brazil following the tournament. The failure to deliver all the originally planned projects was cited as a cause for criticism from some Brazilians against their government's investment in the tournament and their handling of the projects. An opinion poll by Datafolha two months before the start of the tournament found that only 48% of the respondents in Brazil supported the event, a decline from the 79% approval rating it was given in 2008. 55% of respondents said that they believed the event would bring more harm than good to Brazilians. FIFA President Sepp Blatter admitted "Brazilians are a bit discontented because they were promised a lot".


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Infrastructure projects
Former Brazilian footballer Romário, now a political figure, criticised his country's handling of these preparations but said that "FIFA's requirements were excessive". Another former Brazilian player, Ronaldo, said he felt "embarrassed" about the state of the country's infrastructure and how "a series of investments were promised that won't be delivered - only 30% percent will be delivered".


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Infrastructure projects
A group of German economists said at the time, that it was an economic luxury to host a sports event of this size in a newly industrialized country like Brazil or Russia. They suggested at least two measures to make such events sustainable: first, build less. And second, the organizing associations should participate in the finance the sports venues. The large stadiums and streets are not used any more after the event.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Infrastructure projects
The effect is especially disastrous if the relation of investments compared to the assets is as low as in Brazil, and the event drains most of the total money spent. As a consequence, they fear that Olympic games and football world championships will only be hosted in countries with authoritarian regimes.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Security measures
The Brazilian government pledged $900 million into security forces and that the tournament would be "one of the most protected sports events in history". It planned to have one police officer for every 50 people attending matches, and one for every 80 people at public viewing events around the country.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Security measures
Investment in security measures such as facial recognition systems and unmanned security robots has already been made. An integrated security plan has been developed that seeks to gain information from sources about potential terrorists, troublemakers and hooligans. A total of 150,000 public security professionals and military will ensure World Cup security, along with 20,000 private security personnel.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, Security measures
Security concerns for the tournament have increased since large-scale protestsoccurred during Brazil's staging of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup with disturbances also occurring outside the stadiums. Protesters cited the amount of public money being invested by the Brazilian government in the hosting of the World Cup at the expense of social services for its population as a key grievance.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, The Human Cost
While the projected cost to the government is currently estimated at 14 billion dollars to stage and prepare for the world cup in many ways, there are many other costs to think about when approaching such a heavy-loaded topic such as the 2014 World Cup. To produce an event of this magnitude many sacrifices must be made when deciding where and how to go about creating these venues that will eventually be on the world's stage.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, The Human Cost
In order to create space for these events certain choices had to be made, as to where the infrastructure would be located in order to support the stadium itself. Certain concessions had to be made in order to effectively place these venues where both FIFA and the government felt was the most effective place for them to be. Because of this decision in May of 2014 in Brasilia, Brazil indigenous protesters clashed with police on horseback during a protest of the World cup which ended with one policeman shot in the leg and in response the police fired tear gas into the crowd and dispersed the protest.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, The Human Cost
In a separate but similar example police evicted an indigenous population of between 10 and 20 different ethnicities next to the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro in order to prepare for the upcoming "Mega Event". These residents were living informally in the abandoned Brazilian Indian Museum in the heart of Rio, however it had become a known fact and for the time leading up the evictions the residence were allowed to live in the location in peace. However, when the Event was announced the police eviction was violent and abrupt. Later it was discovered that these evictions were carried out in order to make room for a new parking garage for the stadium.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, The Human Cost
In the past decade more than 500 indigenous people have been killed as a response of increased indigenous activism and an increased call for rights by these populations. Of course not all of these deaths are a direct result of the world cup specifically, however, there has been increased violence between the police and these populations, which has added to the tensions between these two populations and promoted violence.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, Host nation investment, The Human Cost
Many other issues involving indigenous population have surfaced as a result of the World Cup including issues between the energy farmers and the indigenous populations over control of specific waterways of the Amazon. Many of these waterways are being dammed up in order to generate power for these events, which then closer these vital waterways for these populations. As a result many tribes have begun protests including farm and construction site takeovers in order to stop construction, however, this has just prompted many other violent clashes between these tribes and both police and farmers trying to protect their livelihood.


2014 FIFA World Cup preparations, FIFA investment
FIFA forecasts it will spend $2 billion on staging the 2014 World Cup Finals.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by a qualification process, in which the other 207 teams, from the six FIFA confederations, competed. Most of the successful teams were determined within these confederations, with a limited number of inter-confederation play-offs occurring at the end of the process.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
Bhutan, Brunei, Guam and Mauritania did not enter, and South Sudan joined FIFA after the qualification process started and therefore could not take part. The qualification process consisted of 820 matches, reduced from 828 after the late withdrawals of the Bahamas and Mauritius.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
The first qualification match, between Montserrat and Belize, was played on 15 June 2011, and the Belizean striker Deon McCaulay scored the first goal in qualification. Qualification ended on 20 November 2013, when Uruguay eliminated Jordan to become the final qualifier for the World Cup. Twenty-three of FIFA's 24 top-ranked countries eventually qualified.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualified teams
12 of the 32 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 2018 finals: Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cameroon, Chile, Ecuador, Ghana, Greece, Honduras, Italy, Ivory Coast, Netherlands and United States.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
The FIFA Executive Committee decided to approve the change of date for the preliminary draw of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which was held six months earlier than in the past, to allow the confederations to begin their qualifying competitions in good time. The draw was held on 30 July 2011 at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
The distribution by confederation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup is:


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
UEFA and CAF have a guaranteed number of places, whereas the number of qualifiers from other confederations is dependent on play-offs between AFC's fifth-placed team and CONMEBOL's fifth-placed team, and between CONCACAF's fourth-placed team and OFC's first-placed team. A draw determined the pairings between the four teams involved.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
After the first round of 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, the percentage of teams from each confederation that passed through to the round of 16 was as follows:


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Tiebreakers
For FIFA World Cup qualifying stages using a league format, the method used for separating teams level on points was the same for all confederations. If teams were even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams were ranked by:


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Tiebreakers
If teams were still equal after applying all listed tiebreakers, then a single play-off at a neutral venue was played. If scores were level after ninety minutes in the play-off, then two fifteen-minute periods of extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shoot-out would determine the winners.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Tiebreakers
For FIFA World Cup qualifying stages using a home-and-away knockout format, the team that had the higher aggregate score over the two legs progressed to the next round. In the event that aggregate scores finished level, the away goals rule was applied (i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs progressed). If away goals were also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time were played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Tiebreakers
The away goals rule was again applied after extra time (i.e. if there were goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score was still level, the visiting team qualified by virtue of more away goals scored). If no goals were scored during extra time, the tie was decided via a penalty shoot-out.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, AFC
Qualification began with two sets of two-leg knockout qualification rounds – the first held on 29 June and 2 July and 3 July 2011 and the second on 23 and 28 July – reducing the number of teams in the main draw to 20. The draw for the first two rounds of qualifiers was held in Kuala Lumpur on 30 March 2011.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, AFC
As in the 2010 format, the third stage consisted of 5 groups of 4 teams (with matches held between September 2011 and February 2012) with the top 2 in each group advancing to 2 groups of 5 that played a further group stage during 2012. The top two teams in each group qualified for the 2014 World Cup directly, while the two third-placed teams engaged in a play-off tie for a chance to qualify via a further inter-confederation qualifying tie against a team from CONMEBOL.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, AFC
The qualification process began with 43 national teams (out of 46 AFC members; Bhutan, Brunei and Guam did not enter) vying for four and a half spots. 4 nations have qualified: Japan, Australia, Iran and Korea Republic. Jordan beat Uzbekistan in round 5 and played Uruguay, the fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL, for the right to qualify, where they were eliminated.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF
52 out of the 53 national associations affiliated to CAF entered the qualifying tournament to determine the continent's five slots for the next World Cup (only Mauritania failed to enter, while South Sudan joined FIFA after the start of qualifying).


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF
Qualification began with a first round of 12 two-legged knockout ties, which were held between 11 and 16 November 2011. The ties involved the 24 lowest-ranked teams according to FIFA world rankings. The 12 winners joined the remaining 28 CAF entrants in the second round, which consisted of 10 groups of four. The winners of each group – held between June 2012 and September 2013 – advanced to a third round of 5 two-legged knockout ties. The five winners of these ties – held in October and November 2013 – advanced to the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF
In May 2010, the CONCACAF Executive Committee announced a possible change in its qualifying format for the 2014 World Cup, which would start with a preliminary knockout stage followed by three group phases. However, these proposals were abandoned. CONCACAF once again used a six-team final stage (known colloquially as "the Hexagonal"). The ten lowest-ranked nations played two-legged ties, with the five winners joining the nations ranked 7–25 in Round 2. There were six groups of four teams, with the six group winners joining the nations ranked 1–6 in Round 3. There were three groups of four teams and the top two teams in each group advanced to Round 4. These six nations formed one group, with the top three teams qualifying and Mexico, the fourth-placed team, advancing to the inter-continental play-off against New Zealand, the top team from the OFC.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF
A total of 35 national teams began the qualification process vying for three and a half spots. 31 nations were eliminated and the Bahamas withdrew (because their stadium was not completed in time for the competition).


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONMEBOL
As Brazil has already qualified as host, the remaining nine CONMEBOL teams took part in a double round-robin group, playing each other twice (home and away) using the same schedule as previous qualification tournaments (each team had a bye on the date they would normally be scheduled to play Brazil). The top four teams qualified automatically, whereas Uruguay, the fifth-placed team, proceeded to the inter-confederational play-off against Jordan, the fifth placed team from Asia.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, OFC
The four lowest-ranked nations (American Samoa, Cook Islands, Samoa, and Tonga) competed in the first round of qualifying: a single round-robin tournament in Apia, Samoa, from 22–26 November 2011. The winners of the group, Samoa, joined the remaining 7 OFC teams in the 2012 OFC Nations Cup, which also doubled as the second qualifying round. The four semi-finalists of the OFC Nations Cup advanced to the third round, which consisted of a double round-robin held on a home-and-away basis between 7 September 2012 and 26 March 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, OFC
New Zealand, as the winners of the third round, proceeded to the inter-confederation play-off against Mexico, the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF, where they were eliminated by a strong Mexico side who beat them 9–3 over two legs.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA
The European qualification games started in September 2012, after Euro 2012. All 53 national associations affiliated with UEFA took part in the qualification process. In round one, teams competed in eight groups of six teams and a single group of five teams. The nine group winners qualified, while the eight best runners-up – ranked according to all their games except for games against the sixth-placed team in their group – entered into the play-offs for the four remaining spots.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA, Second round
The Second Round was contested by the top eight runners-up. The second round draw took place at the headquarters of FIFA in Zürich, Switzerland, on 21 October. October 2013 FIFA World Rankings were used to decide which of the teams were seeded. The matches were played on 15 and 19 November 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Inter-confederation play-offs
There were two scheduled inter-confederation playoffs to determine the final two qualification spots to the finals. The first legs were played on 13 November 2013, and the second legs were played on 20 November 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, Top goalscorers
There were 2,303 goals scored over 820 games, for an average of 2.81 goals per game.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) section of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification saw 43 teams competing for 4 or 5 berths in the final tournament in Brazil. As in recent tournaments the AFC had four direct qualifiers for the finals tournament in addition to a further possible place via the intercontinental play-offs against CONMEBOL's fifth-placed team, which was chosen through a random draw, rather than being decided by FIFA beforehand as in previous tournaments (e.g., 2010 against a team from OFC, 2006 against a team from CONCACAF).


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Iran and South Korea from Group A, along with Australia and Japan from Group B won the 4 direct qualification positions, with Jordan defeating Uzbekistan in a play-off to see which team would face the 5th placed CONMEBOL team, Uruguay, for a place in the World Cup, eventually also failed to qualify for the competition.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Format
The main qualifying draw took place in Brazil on 30 July 2011. Initially it was announced that the AFC Competitions Committee decided to use the 2010 qualification format for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The AFC published information in their calendar suggesting qualifiers would start on 8 October 2010 with the first leg of first round ties.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Format
Therefore, for the 2010 finals, FIFA advised the AFC that 2014 qualifiers could not begin until after mid-2011. On 13 August 2010 the AFC announced a format for the qualifiers that was identical to the 2010 format even though the final number of qualifiers had not been determined. A final format, with the initial stages modified slightly from 2010, was announced in March 2011.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Format
Qualification began with two sets of two-leg knock-out qualification rounds – the first held on 29 June and 2 July and 3 July 2011 and the second on 23 and 28 July – reducing the number of teams in the main draw to 20. As in the 2010 format, the third stage consisted of 5 groups of 4 teams (with matches held between September 2011 and February 2012) with the top 2 in each group advancing to 2 groups of 5 that will play a further group stage during 2012 and 2013. The top two teams in each group qualify for the 2014 finals directly, with the two third-placed teams playing-off for a chance to qualify via an intercontinental qualifying tie. A random draw determined that the final tie would be against the fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL qualification.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Entrants
43 of the 46 AFC national teams entered qualification. A ranking list for the qualification rounds was released by AFC on 8 March 2011, with an updated list released due to the non-participation of Guam and Bhutan.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Entrants
The rankings determined the round of qualification that teams began competition:


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), First round
The first round consisted of eight home-and-away series, featuring the 16 lowest ranked teams in Asia. The winners of these series proceeded to the second round.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), First round, Seeding
Teams were seeded into two pots – Pot 1 included teams ranked 28–35 and Pot 2 teams ranked 36–43.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), First round, Matches
The first round draw of the Asian qualifiers took place on 30 March 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The first legs were played on 29 June 2011 and the second legs were played on 2 and 3 July 2011.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Second round
The second round consisted of fifteen home-and-away series, featuring the 8 winners from the first round and other 22 teams ranked 6–27. The winners of these series then proceeded to the third round.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Second round, Seeding
Teams were seeded into two pots – Pot 1 included teams ranked 6–20 and Pot 2 teams ranked 21–27 along with the 8 first round winners.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Second round, Seeding
† First round winners whose identity was not known at the time of the draw.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Second round, Matches
Ties were drawn at the same time as the first round. The first legs were played on 23 July 2011 and the second legs were played on 28 July 2011.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Third round
The third round saw the 5 automatic qualifiers joined by the 15 winners from the second round. These teams were drawn into five groups of four teams, at the World Cup Preliminary Draw at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 30 July 2011. The matches were played from 2 September 2011 to 29 February 2012. The top two teams from each group advanced to the fourth round.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Third round, Seeding
The July 2011 FIFA Ranking – released on 27 July – was used to seed the teams. (Rankings shown in brackets)


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Third round, Seeding
Note. Syria were replaced by Tajikistan in the third round on 19 August 2011 following the awarding of both second round matches to Tajikistan.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fourth round
The fourth round saw the group winners and runners-up from the third round play in two groups of five. The top two teams from each group advanced to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, while the two third-placed teams advance to the fifth round. Japan, South Korea, Australia and Iran have qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fourth round, Seeding
The draw for Round Four was held on 9 March 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the teams seeded according to their March 2012 FIFA Ranking. The FIFA rankings used were released on 7 March 2012 and included all matches from the third round of Asian Qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The ten teams (shown below with their March 2012 FIFA Ranking in brackets) are split into five pots, with each group containing a team from each pot.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fourth round, Groups
The matches were played from 3 June 2012 to 18 June 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fourth round, Groups
As the competition partially overlapped with the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held from 15 June 2013, the AFC decided that the match day will be adjusted for Japan, the representative of AFC for the Confederations Cup, placing them on Position 5 in their group in order not to play on 18 June 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fifth round
The two teams who finished third in the fourth round groups (Jordan and Uzbekistan) played each other to determine the AFC participant in the intercontinental play-off.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fifth round
The draw for the fifth round of the AFC qualifiers was held in Zürich on 19 March 2013 during meetings of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup. The games took place on 6 and 10 September 2013. With the two teams still evenly matched at full-time in the second leg, Jordan eventually progressed to the intercontinental playoff after winning 9–8 on penalties.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Inter-confederation play-offs
The fifth round winner, Jordan, played against CONMEBOL's fifth-placed team, Uruguay, in a home-and-away play-off. The winner of this play-off, Uruguay, qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Inter-confederation play-offs
The first leg was played on 13 November 2013, and the second leg was played on 20 November 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Qualified teams
The following four teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Goalscorers
There were 429 goals scored in 150 games, for an average of 2.86 goals per game.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–CONMEBOL play-off)
The 2014 FIFA World Cup CONMEBOL–AFC qualification play-off were a series of two-legged home-and-away ties between the fifth-placed team of the Asian qualifying tournament, Jordan, and the fifth-placed team from the South American qualifying tournament, Uruguay.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–CONMEBOL play-off)
The games were played on 13 and 20 November 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–CONMEBOL play-off), Overview
It was the fourth consecutive FIFA World Cup play-off that Uruguay has participated in after 3–1 on aggregate win over Australia for Korea/Japan 2002, losing to Australia 4–2 on penalties for Germany 2006 and 2–1 on aggregate win over Costa Rica for South Africa 2010.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–CONMEBOL play-off), Overview
This was Jordan's best finish in their FIFA World Cup qualification history.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–CONMEBOL play-off), Overview
The draw for the order in which the two matches would be played was held by FIFA on 30 July 2011 at the World Cup Preliminary Draw.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC–CONMEBOL play-off), Match details, First leg
Assistant referees:Kim Thomas Haglund (Norway)Frank Andås (Norway)Fourth official:Dag Vidar Hafsås (Norway)


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
The African section of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as the qualifies of the 2014 FIFA World Cup saw 52 teams from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) who competing for 5 spots of the 32 teams in the finals.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Format
Fifty-two out of the 53 national associations affiliated to CAF entered the qualifying to determine the continent’s five slots for the next World Cup.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Format
The proposed format, announced on 16 May 2011, began in November 2011 with the first round of 12 two-legged knock-out ties. The ties, involving the 24 lowest-ranked teams according to FIFA World Rankings, were drawn in Brazil on 30 July 2011.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Format
The 12 winners joined the remaining 28 CAF entrants in the second round, which consists of 10 groups of 4. The winners of each group – held between June 2012 and September 2013 – advanced to the third round of 5 two-legged knock-out ties. The 5 winners of these ties – held in October and November 2013 – advanced to the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Entrants
The July 2011 FIFA Ranking were used to seed the teams for the first two rounds, both of which were drawn in Brazil on 30 July 2011. (World rankings shown in brackets)


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), First round
The first round consisted of 12 home-and-away ties, featured the 24 lowest ranked teams in Africa. The ties were drawn at the World Cup Preliminary Draw at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 30 July 2011. The winners of these series proceeded to the second round.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), First round, Seeding
The July 2011 FIFA Ranking was used to seed the teams.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), First round, Seeding
Mozambique DR Congo Togo Liberia Tanzania Congo Kenya Rwanda Ethiopia Namibia Burundi Madagascar


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), First round, Seeding
Guinea-Bissau Equatorial Guinea Chad Swaziland Comoros Lesotho Eritrea Somalia Djibouti Mauritius Seychelles São Tomé and Príncipe


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), First round, Matches
The first legs were scheduled for 11–12 November 2011, with the second legs on 15–16 November 2011.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round
The second round saw the top 28 ranked CAF teams joined by the 12 winners from the first round. These teams were drawn into ten groups of four teams at the World Cup Preliminary Draw at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 30 July 2011. The matches were played from 1 June 2012 to 7 September 2013. The top team from each group advanced to the third round.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Seeding
The July 2011 FIFA Ranking was used to seed the teams.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Seeding
Ivory Coast Egypt Ghana Burkina Faso Nigeria Senegal South Africa Cameroon Algeria Tunisia


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Seeding
Gabon Libya Morocco Guinea Botswana Malawi Zambia Uganda Mali Cape Verde


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Seeding
Benin Zimbabwe Central African Republic Sierra Leone Sudan Niger Gambia Angola Kenya† Togo†


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Seeding
Namibia† Liberia† Mozambique† Equatorial Guinea† Ethiopia† Lesotho† Rwanda† DR Congo† Congo† Tanzania†


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Seeding
† First round winners whose identity was not known at the time of the draw


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Groups
Cameroon were suspended by FIFA on 4 July 2013 for government interference. The suspension was lifted on 22 July 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Second round, Groups
Note: Scores marked by [a] are results awarded by FIFA.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Third round
The third round saw the 10 group winners from the second round drawn into five home and away ties. The winners of each tie advanced to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Third round, Seeding
The draw of the play-offs was held on 16 September 2013 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo. The teams were seeded based on the September 2013 edition of the FIFA Ranking (shown below in brackets).


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Third round, Seeding
Ivory Coast (19) Ghana (24) Algeria (28) Nigeria (36) Tunisia (46)


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Third round, Seeding
Egypt (50) Burkina Faso (51) Cameroon (61) Senegal (66) Ethiopia (93)


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Third round, Matches
The matches were played in the periods of 11–15 October and 16–19 November 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Qualified teams
The following five teams from CAF qualified for the final tournament.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Goalscorers
There were 365 goals in 152 matches, for an average of 2.34 goals per match.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
The CONCACAF qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup consisted of four rounds of competition, in which the 35 member nations competed for three automatic berths at the finals in Brazil.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
The United States, Costa Rica, and Honduras qualified. The fourth-place finisher, Mexico, played a two-game series against New Zealand, the first-placed team from Oceania and qualified to the Finals.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Format
In March 2011, following news that CONCACAF would not receive four spots in the 2014 World Cup, officials within CONCACAF indicated that the first format proposed would be revised. Several days later, officials within CONCACAF announced the qualifying format they would present to FIFA. The proposed format, which was subsequently accepted by FIFA, consists of 4 stages.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Entrants
All 35 FIFA-affiliated national teams from CONCACAF entered qualification. The seeding – used to draw the first three rounds of the qualifiers – was based on the FIFA World Rankings of March 2011. (World rankings shown in parentheses)


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Schedule
The inter-confederation play-off between the fourth-placed team from CONCACAF (Mexico) and the winning team from OFC (New Zealand) was played between 13 and 20 November 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), First round
The first round of the CONCACAF qualifiers saw the bottom 10 teams being paired up into five home-and-away series, with the highest ranked team facing the lowest ranked team and so on. The winners of these series proceeded to the second round.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), First round
The matchups were announced by FIFA on 26 April 2011. Early indications were that the matches would be played on 3 and 7 June 2011; However, the matches were postponed to scattered days in June and July, between 15 June and 17 July. The 5 winners (in bold, below) advanced to the second round of the CONCACAF qualifiers: Belize, Dominican Republic, U.S. Virgin Islands, Saint Lucia, and the Bahamas.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), First round
The two wins for the U.S. Virgin Islands were their first two ever in World Cup play, with their only other win prior to this coming in 1998.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Second round
In the second round, the teams ranked 7–25 were joined by the 5 winners from the first round. These teams were drawn into six groups of four teams, at the World Cup Preliminary Draw at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 30 July 2011. The matches were played from 2 September to 15 November 2011.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Second round
The top team from each group advanced to the third round.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Second round, Seeding
Teams were seeded into four pots – designated Pots 4 to 7 in the draw. Pot 4 included teams ranked 7–12, Pot 5 teams ranked 13–18, Pot 6 teams ranked 19–24, and Pot 7 the team ranked 25 along with the 5 first round winners.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Second round, Seeding
Antigua and Barbuda Guyana Suriname Saint Kitts and Nevis Guatemala Dominica


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Second round, Seeding
Puerto Rico Barbados Curaçao Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Cayman Islands Nicaragua


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Second round, Seeding
Bermuda Belize† Dominican Republic† Saint Lucia† Bahamas† U.S. Virgin Islands†


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Second round, Groups
Note: Scores marked by * are results awarded by FIFA.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Third round
The third round saw the top 6 seeds joined by the 6 group winners from the second round. These teams were drawn into three groups of four teams, at the World Cup Preliminary Draw at the Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 30 July 2011. These matches were played from 8 June to 16 October 2012.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Third round
The top two teams from each group advanced to the fourth round.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Third round, Seeding
As the draw for the third round was held before the previous matches were held, only the six teams with byes to the round were known at the time of the draw. Teams were seeded into three pots, with Pot 1 containing the top 3 seeds, Pot 2 seeds 4 to 6, and Pot 3 the 6 group winners from the second round. Each third round group contains one team from Pot 1, one team from Pot 2 and two teams from Pot 3.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Third round, Seeding
† Second round winners whose identity was not known at the time of the draw


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Fourth round
In the fourth round, the three group winners and three runners-up from the third round competed in a double round robin, including a home and away match against the other five teams between 6 February and 15 October 2013. The round is informally referred to as the 'Hexagonal' or just 'The Hex'. The draw for 'The Hex' was conducted by FIFA on 7 November 2012.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Fourth round
The top three teams qualified directly for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, while the fourth-placed team, Mexico, played a home-away series against New Zealand, the winner of Oceania qualifying. Teams are ranked first by total points in all games, then, if tied, by best goal differential in all games, then by total goals in all games. If still tied, the same criteria are applied to games among the tied teams.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Inter-confederation play-offs
The winner of the OFC qualification tournament, New Zealand, played against CONCACAF's fourth-placed team, Mexico, in a home-and-away play-off. Mexico, the winner of this play-off, qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Inter-confederation play-offs
The first leg was played on 13 November 2013 in Mexico, and the second leg was played on 20 November 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Qualified teams
The following four teams from CONCACAF qualified for the final tournament.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Goalscorers
There were 444 goals scored over 144 games, for an average of 3.08 goals per game.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–OFC play-off)
The 2014 FIFA World Cup CONCACAF–OFC qualification play-off was a two-legged home-and-away tie between the winners of the Oceania qualifying tournament, New Zealand, and the fourth-placed team from the North and Central American and Caribbean qualifying tournament, Mexico.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–OFC play-off)
It was the second consecutive FIFA World Cup play-off that New Zealand has played in; New Zealand won 1–0 on aggregate over Bahrain in its previous play-off. The draw for the order in which the two matches would be played was held on 30 July 2011 during the FIFA at the World Cup Preliminary Draw.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–OFC play-off)
The games were played on 13 November in Mexico City and 20 November 2013 in Wellington. In the first leg at Estadio Azteca, Mexico easily defeated New Zealand 5–1. The Mexican side achieved another win over New Zealand in the second leg at Westpac Stadium with a score of 4–2. As a result, Mexico won 9–3 on aggregate to qualify for the World Cup in Brazil.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
The South American Zone of 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification saw nine teams competing for 4 or 5 berths in the finals. Brazil automatically qualified for the World Cup as the host nation so were not involved in CONMEBOL qualifying. Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Uruguay advanced to the World Cup.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Format
The format for CONMEBOL's 2014 World Cup qualifying tournament was identical to the previous four editions. All CONMEBOL national teams played against each other twice on a home-and-away basis in a single group for 4 or 5 allotted berths. The top four teams automatically qualified for the finals. The fifth-placed team competed in the intercontinental play-offs against the fifth-placed team from the AFC's World Cup qualifying tournament. The order of matches was identical to that of the 2002, 2006 and 2010 tournaments. As Brazil qualified automatically as hosts, each team had a bye on the date they would normally have been scheduled to play Brazil.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Matches
The matches were played from 7 October 2011 to 15 October 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Inter-confederation play-offs
While the top four teams in CONMEBOL qualification tournament qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil, the fifth-placed team, Uruguay, played against the fifth-placed team from the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Jordan, in a home-and-away play-off. The winner of this play-off, Uruguay, qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Inter-confederation play-offs
The first leg was played on 13 November 2013 in Jordan, and the second leg was played on 20 November 2013.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Qualified teams
The following six teams from CONMEBOL qualified for the final tournament.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Goalscorers
There were 206 goals scored in 74 games, including two own goals, for an average of 2.78 goals per game.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
The OFC qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup saw teams of the Oceania Football Confederation competing for a place in the finals held in Brazil.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Format
The initial format was scheduled to begin in August 2011 at the 2011 Pacific Games in Noumea, New Caledonia, where the men's football tournament was to double as the first stage of the OFC World Cup qualifying competition.


2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Format
However, in June 2011 the format was amended, and the Pacific Games were no longer part of the qualification process. The new structure sees the four lowest ranked entrants play a single round-robin tournament from 22 to 26 November 2011 in Samoa. The top team in this tournament will then join the other seven teams in the 2012 OFC Nations Cup, with the four semi-finalists from that tournament will advance to Round Three.