2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Final, Road to the final, Australia
Australia qualified by finishing second in the 2017 FIBA Asia Women's Cup. They were drawn into Group B with Argentina, Nigeria and Turkey.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Final, Road to the final, United States
The Americans qualified by virtue of being the defending Olympic champions, after defeating Spain in the 2016 gold medal game. They were drawn into Group D with China, Latvia and Senegal.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Final, Match details
This was the eleventh meeting between Australia and the United States in the World Cup, with the USA leading the head-to-head 10–0. It was the first meeting between the two in a World Cup final.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Final, Match details
The teams entered the game with an even deeper familiarity with one another due to extensive WNBA connections, which went beyond the fact that many USA and Australian players had played in the league's 2018 season. At match time, Australia head coach Sandy Brondello was also head coach of the Phoenix Mercury, then home to Australia's Stephanie Talbot and Americans Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi. Rebecca Allen (Australia) and Tina Charles (USA) were New York Liberty teammates in that season. Five individuals who played significant roles in the Seattle Storm's victory in the 2018 WNBA Finals were involved in this game—American players Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd, and Breanna Stewart, Australian player Sami Whitcomb, and Storm head coach and USA assistant Dan Hughes.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Group A
Group A of the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup took place from 22 to 25 September, 2018. The group consisted of Canada, France, Greece, and South Korea.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Group A
The top team advanced to the quarterfinals, while the second and third placed team played in a qualification round.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Group B
Group B of the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup took place from 22 to 25 September 2018. The group consisted of Argentina, Australia, Nigeria and Turkey.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Group B
The top team advanced to the quarterfinals while the second and third placed team played in a qualification round.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Group C
Group C of the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup took place from 22 to 25 September 2018. The group consisted of Belgium, Japan, Puerto Rico and Spain.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Group C
The top team advanced to the quarterfinals while the second and third placed team played in a qualification round.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Group D
Group D of the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup took place from 22 to 25 September 2018. The group consisted of China, Latvia, Senegal and the United States.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Group D
The top team advanced to the quarterfinals while the second and third placed team played in a qualification round.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup final round
The final round of the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup took place from 26 to 30 September 2018.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup final round, Qualified teams
The group winners qualified for the quarterfinals while the runners-up and third placed teams advanced to the qualification round.


2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup squads
The following is the list of squads for each of the 16 teams competing in the 2018 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, to be held in Spain between September 22–30. Each team will select a squad of 12 players for the tournament.


2018 FIBA Women's European Championship for Small Countries
The 2018 FIBA Women's European Championship for Small Countries was the 15th edition of this competition. The tournament took place in Cork, Republic of Ireland, from 26 June to 1 July 2018. Denmark women's national basketball team won the tournament for the first time.


2018 FIBA Women's European Championship for Small Countries, Group phase
In this round, the teams were drawn into two groups of four. The first two teams from each group advance to the semifinals, the other teams will play in the 5th–8th place playoffs.


2018 FIBA Women's Polynesia Basketball Cup
The 2018 FIBA Women's Polynesian Basketball Cup was an international basketball tournament contested by national teams of the newly formed Polynesia sub-zone of FIBA Oceania. The inaugural edition of the tournament was hosted by Samoa from 19 to 24 November 2018. Matches were played at the NUS Gymnasium.


2018 FIBA Women's Polynesia Basketball Cup
The tournament serves as qualifiers for the basketball events of the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa with three berths for Polynesia allocated for the top three teams,  excluding Samoa, in this tournament.


2018 FIBA Women's Polynesia Basketball Cup
The Cook Islands romped its way to the Gold Medal with a perfect 4-0 record punctuated by a dominating 91-58 win over Tahiti in the final. The finalists, along with the hosts Samoa, who prevailed over American Samoa in the Bronze Medal Match, will represent Polynesia in the women's basketball tournament of the 2019 Pacific Games, which will be also held in Samoa.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup
The 2018 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2018 presented by Alibaba Cloud for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament between the winners of the six continental confederations, as well as the host nation's league champions. The tournament was hosted by the United Arab Emirates from 12 to 22 December 2018.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup
Real Madrid were the defending champions, having won the previous two editions, and qualified for the 2018 edition as well. They successfully defended their title (their third consecutive) after defeating Al-Ain 4–1 in the final. With the win, they broke the tie with their club rivals Barcelona to become the outright record winners of the competition.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup, Host bids
The application process for the 2017–2018 as well as the 2015–2016 editions, i.e. two hosts, each hosting two years, began in February 2014. Member associations interested in hosting must submit a declaration of interest by 30 March 2014, and provide the complete set of bidding documents by 25 August 2014. The FIFA Executive Committee was to select the hosts at their meeting in Morocco in December 2014, but the final decision was delayed until the FIFA Executive Committee meetings on 19–20 March 2015.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup, Host bids
The following countries expressed an interest in bidding to host the tournament:


2018 FIFA Club World Cup, Host bids
The United Arab Emirates was officially announced as hosts of the 2017 and 2018 tournaments on 21 March 2015.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup, Venues
The two venues were the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi and the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup, Match officials
A total of six referees, twelve assistant referees, and six video assistant referees were appointed for the tournament. FIFA announced on 22 November 2018 that the trio of referees and assistant referees from CAF were changed.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup, Squads
Each team had to name a 23-man squad (three of whom must be goalkeepers). Injury replacements were allowed until 24 hours before the team's first match.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup, Matches
The draw of the tournament was held on 4 September 2018, 10:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA Headquarters in Zürich, to decide the matchups of the second round (between the first round winner and teams from AFC, CAF, and CONCACAF), and the opponents of the two second round winners in the semi-finals (teams from CONMEBOL and UEFA). At the time of the draw, the identity of the teams from AFC, CAF and CONMEBOL were not known.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup, Final ranking
Per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time were counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-out were counted as draws.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup, Awards
FIFA also named a man of the match for the best player in each game at the tournament.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final
The 2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final was the final match of the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup, an international club association football tournament hosted by the United Arab Emirates. It was the 15th final of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised tournament between the winners of the six continental confederations, as well as the host nation's league champions.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final
The final was contested between Spanish club and defending champions Real Madrid (who won the last two editions of the competition), representing UEFA as the reigning champions of the UEFA Champions League, and Emirati club Al-Ain, representing the host nation as the reigning champions of the UAE Pro-League. The match was played at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi on 22 December 2018.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final
Real Madrid won the final 4–1 for their third consecutive and fourth overall FIFA Club World Cup title, breaking the tie with Barcelona to become the outright record winners of the competition.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Teams
In the following table, finals until 2005 were in the FIFA Club World Championship era, since 2006 were in the FIFA Club World Cup era.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Teams
Note: On 27 October 2017, FIFA officially recognised all the champions of the Intercontinental Cup as club world champions, in equal status to the FIFA Club World Cup.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Venue
Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi was announced as the venue for the final in May 2018, reprising its role as the final venue in 2009, 2010, and 2017. It is the largest stadium in the United Arab Emirates and is primarily used by the Emirati national football team. Zayed Sports City Stadium hosted the 1996 Asian Cup Final and is planned to host several matches in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. It is also featured on the 200 Dirham banknote. The 43,000-seat stadium opened in 1980 and also hosted matches in the 2003 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Background
Real Madrid qualified for the Club World Cup as winners of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League by defeating Liverpool in the final. The club won three of the four previous editions of the Club World Cup: in 2014, 2016 and 2017. This was their fifth participation and third consecutive appearance in the tournament, both a record for European teams. The match was their fourth overall final (after 2014, 2016 and 2017), tying the record with Barcelona. The match also was their third consecutive final, extending their record set in the previous edition.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Background
The match was the 14th consecutive and overall final featuring a European team (with only the first final in 2000 including no team from Europe), and the 8th overall and 5th consecutive final featuring a Spanish team, all extending the competition records. If Real Madrid were to win, they would become the outright record winners of the Club World Cup with four titles, breaking their tie with Barcelona for the record.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Background
A win would also extended the records for most consecutive titles for a team (3), most titles for a confederation (11 for UEFA), most consecutive titles for a confederation (6 for UEFA, breaking the tie set by European teams between 2007 and 2011), most titles for a nation (7 for Spain), and most consecutive titles for a nation (5 for Spain).


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Background
Al-Ain qualified for their first Club World Cup as winners of the 2017–18 season of the UAE Pro-League, the top-level league in the United Arab Emirates. Al-Ain was the first Emirati team to reach the Club World Cup final, as well as the second Asian team (after Kashima Antlers in 2016). The final was also the third final to feature the host representative (after Corinthians in 2000, Raja Casablanca in 2013 and Kashima Antlers in 2016). If Al-Ain were to win, they would have become the first team outside of Europe and South America to win the Club World Cup, as well as the second host representative to win the tournament (after Corinthians in 2000).


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Background
The final was the second between an Asian and European team, after Real Madrid won against Kashima Antlers in the 2016 final. The final was also the third final between the host representative and a European team, both won by the European team, with Bayern Munich winning against Raja Casablanca in 2013, in addition to the aforementioned 2016 final. The match was the fourth final not to feature a South American team after 2010, 2013 and 2016 (all of which the European teams won).


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Route to the final, Real Madrid
As European champions, Real Madrid received a bye to the semi-final round, where they faced Asian champions Kashima Antlers of Japan. Kashima, who had defeated CONCACAF champions Guadalajara, were defeated by Real Madrid in the 2016 final. Madrid defeated the Antlers 3–1 on a hat-trick scored by Gareth Bale over 11 minutes of play. Bale scored in the 44th minute and added two goals in the 53rd and 55th minutes to open the second half; Shoma Doi scored a consolation goal for Kashima in the 78th minute after it was ruled onside by the video assistant referee.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Route to the final, Al-Ain
In the first round on 12 December, Al-Ain defeated Team Wellington in a penalty shoot-out following a 3–3 draw at their home stadium, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium. Wellington, a semi-professional club that qualified as the OFC Champions League champion, entered halftime with a 3–1 lead that was cut back by an equalising volley from Marcus Berg. The match remained scoreless after extra time and advanced to a penalty shoot-out, which Al-Ain won 4–3 after five rounds after goalkeeper Khalid Eisa made two saves.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Route to the final, Al-Ain
Al-Ain advanced to face African champions Espérance de Tunis in the second round match, held three days later at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium. The team defeated Espérance 3–0 in an upset that began with two goals scored in the opening 16 minutes. Al-Ain produced a larger upset in the semi-finals, defeating Copa Libertadores champions River Plate in a penalty shoot-out to advance to the Club World Cup final.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Route to the final, Al-Ain
The match began with two early goals for River Plate scored by Rafael Santos Borré following an opening strike from Berg; after an equalising goal was disallowed by the video assistant referee, Caio Lucas Fernandes scored for Al-Ain in the 51st minute to draw the teams level at 2–2. After a scoreless extra time, aided by goalkeeper Essa's saves, Al-Ain defeated River Plate 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out, its second of the competition, with Essa making one save on River's Enzo Pérez. The semi-final upset of River was called the "greatest achievement" in Emirati football history by Al-Ain manager Zoran Mamić.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Match, Summary
Real Madrid had 70 percent of possession in the first half, taking advantage of Al-Ain's defensive lapses to produce 11 shots. After a saved chance from Al-Ain's Hussein El Shahat, Luka Modrić opened scoring for Madrid in the 14th minute with a left-footed shot. Caio attempted to equalize a minute later, but was found to be offside. The half ended with a 1–0 lead for Madrid, with several later shots saved by Al-Ain goalkeeper Khalid Eisa.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Match, Summary
Madrid opened the second half with another series of attacks while retaining possession of the ball, finding its second goal in the 60th minute on a long-distance strike by Marcos Llorente. The pace of the match slowed as Al-Ain looked to find a consolation goal, with Caio taking advantage of a defensive mistake by Sergio Ramos but unable to score against goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Ramos responded by scoring in the 79th minute, a header on a corner kick taken by Modrić after a counter-attack, to give Real Madrid a three-goal lead.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Match, Summary
Six minutes later, a free kick taken by Caio found left-back Tsukasa Shiotani, who scored Al-Ain's only goal of the match. In stoppage time, an own goal was scored by Al-Ain's Yahia Nader on a cross by Madrid substitute Vinícius Júnior; it was Madrid's final goal to extend their lead to 4–1.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Match, Details
Assistant referees:Frank Anderson (United States)Corey Rockwell (United States)Fourth official:Wilton Sampaio (Brazil)Reserve assistant referee:Zakhele Siwela (South Africa)Video assistant referees:Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)Assistant video assistant referee:Mark Geiger (United States)Bruno Boschilia (Brazil)Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Post-match
With their win, Real Madrid became the outright record winners of the Club World Cup with four titles. They also extended the record for most consecutive titles with their third in a row. It was the only trophy won by manager Santiago Solari during his reign at Real Madrid, who was hired in October 2018 and fired in March 2019; Solari complimented Al-Ain on their run to the final, calling it a "remarkable achievement".


2018 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Post-match
Marcos Llorente, who scored one goal in the match, won the man of the match award for the final. Gareth Bale of Real Madrid won the Golden Ball award as the best player of the tournament, finishing as joint-top scorer with three goals (tied with Rafael Santos Borré of River Plate). Caio of Al-Ain won the Silver Ball award behind Bale. Real Madrid also won the FIFA Fair Play Award with the best disciplinary record at the tournament.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup squads
Each team in the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup had to name a 23-man squad (three of whom must be goalkeepers). FIFA announced the squads on 6 December 2018. The squad of the CONMEBOL representative was confirmed after the 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals second leg on 9 December 2018.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Al Ain
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Guadalajara
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Espérance Sportive de Tunis
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Kashima Antlers
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Real Madrid
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup squads, River Plate
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Team Wellington
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
The 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup was the 6th edition of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-17 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 2008.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
The tournament was held in Uruguay from 13 November to 1 December 2018. North Korea were the defending champions but were eliminated by Spain in the quarter-finals.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup
The final took place at the Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo between Spain and Mexico a rematch from the group stage in 2016. Spain won their first title, beating Mexico 2–1 in the Final.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Host selection
On 6 March 2014, FIFA announced that bidding had begun for the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. Member associations interested in hosting must submit a declaration of interest by 15 April 2014, and provide the complete set of bidding documents by 31 October 2014.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Host selection
The following countries made official bids for hosting the tournament:


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Host selection
The decision on the hosts was originally to be made at the FIFA Executive Committee meeting on 19–20 March 2015, but no announcement was made after the meeting.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Host selection
During FIFA President Gianni Infantino's visit to Uruguay in March 2016, Uruguay showed interest in organizing the event. The FIFA Council appointed Uruguay as host on 10 May 2016.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Qualified teams
A total of 16 teams qualify for the final tournament. In addition to Uruguay who qualified automatically as hosts, the other 15 teams qualify from six separate continental competitions. The slot allocation was approved by the FIFA Council on 13–14 October 2016.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Branding
The emblem was launched on 16 November 2017 at the Palacio Legislativo in Montevideo. The emblem is inspired by the famous beach coastline and its shape of the tournament's trophy. It features the Uruguayan flower ceibo, the Candombe drummer and the sun from the national flag.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Mascot
The mascot named Capi was unveiled on 7 June 2018, she is inspired by a Uruguayan capybara.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Slogan
The slogan "Same Game, Same Emotion" was unveiled on 29 September 2018.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Draw
The official draw was held on 30 May 2018, 15:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the FIFA Headquarters in Zürich. The teams were seeded based on their performances in previous U-17 Women's World Cups and confederation tournaments, with the hosts Uruguay automatically seeded and assigned to position A1. Teams of the same confederation could not meet in the group stage.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Draw
The identity of the three teams from CONCACAF were not known at the time of the draw, and were seeded based on the rankings of the three best-performing teams from the region in previous editions. They were assigned to the three places reserved for CONCACAF after the qualifying tournament was completed based on their rankings in the seeding formula (instead of their rankings in the qualifying tournament).


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Match officials
A total of 15 referees and 28 assistant referees were appointed by FIFA for the tournament.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Makoto Bozono Lee Seul-Gi Naomi Teshirogi Truong Thi Le Trinh


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Mayte Chavez Enedina Caudillo Princess Brown Felisha Mariscal Deleana Quan Stephanie-Dale Yee Sing


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Mary Cristina Blanco Bolivar  Mariana De Almeida Nilda Gamarra Maria Rocco Loreto Toloza Sacilotti Leslie Vasquez


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Riem Hussein Katalin Kulcsár Monika Mularczyk Sara Persson Anastasia Pustovoytova


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Nicolet Bakker Oleksandra Ardasheva Julia Magnusson Rocio Puento Pino Ekaterina Kurochkina Kylie McMullan Lisa Rashid Lucie Ratajova Maria Sukenikova Mihaela Tepusa Katalin Török


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Squads
Players born between 1 January 2001 and 31 December 2003 are eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team has to name a preliminary squad of 35 players. From the preliminary squad, the team has to name a final squad of 21 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by the FIFA deadline. Players in the final squad can be replaced due to serious injury up to 24 hours prior to kickoff of the team's first match.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advance to the quarter-finals. The rankings of teams in each group are determined as follows (regulations Article 17.7):


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Group stage
If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings are determined as follows:


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Knockout stage
In the knockout stages, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, a penalty shoot-out was used to determine the winner (no extra time was played).


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, Goalscorers
There were 86 goals scored in 32 matches, for an average of 2.69 goals per match.


2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup squads
Each country's final squad has to comprise 21 players. FIFA announced the squads on 5 November 2018.


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
The 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was the ninth edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, the biennial international women's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 2002 as the FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship (age limit was raised from 19 to 20 in 2006).


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
The tournament was held in Brittany, France between 5 and 24 August 2018, who would also host the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. Haiti and the Netherlands made their U-20 Women's World Cup debuts. North Korea were the defending champions but were eliminated by host France in the quarter-finals.


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
The final took place at Stade de la Rabine, Vannes between Spain and Japan, a rematch from the group stage. Japan won their first title, beating Spain 3–1 in the Final.


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Host selection
On 6 March 2014, FIFA announced that bidding had begun for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. Member associations interested in hosting must submit a declaration of interest by 15 April 2014, and provide the complete set of bidding documents by 31 October 2014. The FIFA Executive Committee would select the hosts in 2015. In principle, FIFA preferred the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup to be hosted by the same member association, but if circumstances required, FIFA reserved the right to award the hosting of the events separately.


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Host selection
The following countries made official bids for hosting the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup by submitting their documents by 31 October 2014:


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Host selection
The following countries withdrew their bid for hosting the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup:


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Host selection
France were awarded the hosting rights of both tournaments by the FIFA Executive Committee on 19 March 2015.


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Qualified teams
A total of 16 teams qualified for the final tournament. In addition to France, which qualified automatically as hosts, the other 15 teams qualified from six separate continental competitions. The slot allocation was approved by the FIFA Council on 13–14 October 2016.


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Venues
The four host cities, all located in the region of Brittany, were announced on 7 September 2017. The opening match, semi-finals, third place match and final were played in Vannes.


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Draw
The official draw was held on 8 March 2018, 11:00 CET (UTC+1), at the Rennes Opera House in Rennes. The teams were seeded based on their performances in previous U-20 Women's World Cups and confederation tournaments, with the hosts France automatically seeded and assigned to position A1. Teams of the same confederation could not meet in the group stage, except for UEFA with five teams so one group would contain two UEFA teams.


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Squads
Players born between 1 January 1998 and 31 December 2002 were eligible to compete in the tournament. Each team had to name a preliminary squad of 35 players. From the preliminary squad, the team had to name a final squad of 21 players (three of whom must be goalkeepers) by the FIFA deadline. Players in the final squad could be replaced due to serious injury up to 24 hours prior to kickoff of the team's first match.


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Match officials
A total of 15 referees and 30 assistant referees were appointed by FIFA for the tournament.


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Renae Coghill Fang Yan Cui Yongmei Uvena Fernandes Kum-Nyo Hong Kim Kyoung-min


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Jana Adámková Stéphanie Frappart Kateryna Monzul Esther Staubli Bibiana Steinhaus


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Match officials
Petruta Iugulescu Chrysoula Kourompylia Susanne Küng Sian Massey Manuela Nicolosi Michelle O'Neill Belinda Pierre Katrin Rafalski  Sanja Rodak Maryna Striletska


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Group stage
The top two teams of each group advanced to the quarter-finals. The rankings of teams in each group were determined as follows (regulations Article 17.7):


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Group stage
If two or more teams were equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings were determined as follows:


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Knockout stage
In the knockout stages, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time would be played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner. However, for the third place match, no extra time was played and the winner was determined by a penalty shoot-out if necessary.


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, Goalscorers
There were 98 goals scored in 32 matches, for an average of 3.06 goals per match.


2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup squads
Each country's final squad has to comprise 21 players. FIFA announced the squads on 25 July 2018.


2018 FIFA World Cup
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was an international football tournament contested by men's national teams that took place between 14 June and 15 July 2018 in Russia. It was the 21st FIFA World Cup, a worldwide football tournament held once every four years. It was the eleventh time the championships had been held in Europe, and the first time they were held in Eastern Europe. At an estimated cost of over $14.2 billion, it was the most expensive World Cup to date.


2018 FIFA World Cup
The tournament phase involved 32 teams, of which 31 came through qualifying competitions, while as the host nation Russia qualified automatically. Of the 32, 20 had also appeared in the 2014 event, while both Iceland and Panama made their first appearances at the World Cup. 64 matches were played in 12 venues across 11 cities. Germany, the defending champions, were eliminated in the group stage. Host nation Russia was eliminated in the quarter-finals. In the final, France played Croatia on 15 July at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. France won the match 4–2 to claim their second World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup
Croatian player Luka Modrić was voted the tournament's best player, winning the Golden Ball. England's Harry Kane won the Golden Boot as he scored the most goals during the tournament with six. Belgium's Thibaut Courtois won the Golden Glove, awarded to the goalkeeper with the most clean sheets. It has been estimated that more than three million people attended games during the tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Host selection
The bidding procedure to host the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup tournaments began in January 2009, and national associations had until 2 February 2009 to register their interest. Initially, nine countries placed bids for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but Mexico later withdrew from the proceedings, and Indonesia's bid was rejected by FIFA in February 2010 after the Indonesian government failed to submit a letter to support the bid. During the bidding process, the three remaining non-UEFA nations (Australia, Japan, and the United States) gradually withdrew from the 2018 bids, and thus were ruled out of the 2022 bid. As such, there were eventually four bids for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, two of which were joint bids: England, Russia, Netherlands/Belgium, and Portugal/Spain.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Host selection
The 22-member FIFA Executive Committee convened in Zürich on 2 December 2010 to vote to select the hosts of both tournaments. Russia won the right to be the 2018 host in the second round of voting. The Portugal/Spain bid came second, and that from Belgium/Netherlands third. England, which was bidding to host its second tournament, was eliminated in the first round.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Host selection, Host selection criticism
The choice of Russia as host was controversial. Issues included the level of racism in Russian football, human rights abuses by the Russian government, and discrimination against LGBT people in wider Russian society. Russia's involvement in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine had also prompted calls for the tournament to be moved, particularly following the annexation of Crimea. In 2014, FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated that "the World Cup has been given and voted to Russia and we are going forward with our work".


2018 FIFA World Cup, Host selection, Host selection criticism
Allegations of corruption in the bidding processes and concerns over bribery on the part of the Russian team and corruption by FIFA members for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups led to threats from England's FA to boycott the tournament. They claimed that four members of the executive committee had requested bribes to vote for England, and Sepp Blatter had said it had already been arranged before the vote that Russia would win. FIFA appointed Michael J. Garcia, a US attorney, to investigate and produce a report on the corruption allegations.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Host selection, Host selection criticism
Although the report was never published, FIFA released a 42-page summary of its findings as determined by German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert. Eckert's summary cleared Russia and Qatar of any wrongdoing, but was denounced by critics as a whitewash. Because of the controversy, the FA refused to accept Eckert's absolving Russia from blame. Greg Dyke called for a re-examination of the affair and David Bernstein called for a boycott of the World Cup. Garcia criticised the summary as being "materially incomplete" with "erroneous representations of the facts and conclusions", and appealed to FIFA's Appeal Committee. The committee declined to hear his appeal, so Garcia resigned to protest of FIFA's conduct, citing a "lack of leadership" and lack of confidence in Eckert's independence of Eckert.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Host selection, Host selection criticism
On 3 June 2015, the FBI confirmed that federal authorities were investigating the bidding and awarding processes for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. In an interview published on 7 June 2015, Domenico Scala, the head of FIFA's Audit And Compliance Committee, stated that "should there be evidence that the awards to Qatar and Russia came only because of bought votes, then the awards could be cancelled". Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and former British Prime Minister David Cameron attended a meeting with FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon in which a vote-trading deal for the right to host the 2018 World Cup in England was discussed.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Teams, Qualification
For the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup, all eligible nations—the 209 FIFA member associations except automatically qualified hosts Russia—applied to enter the qualifying process. Zimbabwe and Indonesia were later disqualified before playing their first matches, while Gibraltar and Kosovo, who joined FIFA on 13 May 2016 after the qualifying draw but before European qualifying had begun, also entered the competition. Places in the tournament were allocated to continental confederations, with the allocation unchanged from the 2014 World Cup. The first qualification game, between Timor-Leste and Mongolia, began in Dili on 12 March 2015 as part of the AFC's qualification, and the main qualifying draw took place at the Konstantinovsky Palace in Strelna, Saint Petersburg, on 25 July 2015.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Teams, Qualification
Of the 32 nations qualified to play at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, 20 countries competed at the previous tournament in 2014. Both Iceland and Panama qualified for the first time, with the former becoming the smallest country in terms of population to reach the World Cup. Other teams returning after absences of at least three tournaments included: Egypt, returning to the finals after their last appearance in 1990; Morocco, who last competed in 1998; Peru, who last appeared in 1982; and Senegal, competing for the second time after reaching the quarter-finals in 2002. It was the first time three Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland and Sweden) and four Arab nations (Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia) qualified for the World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Teams, Qualification
Notable teams that failed to qualify included: four-time champions Italy (for the first time since 1958), who were knocked out in a qualification play-off by quarter-finalists Sweden; and the Netherlands, who were three-time runners-up and had finished in third place in 2014, and had qualified for the last three World Cups. Four reigning continental champions: 2017 Africa Cup of Nations winners Cameroon; two-time Copa América champions and 2017 Confederations Cup runners-up Chile; 2016 OFC Nations Cup winners New Zealand; and 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup champions the United States (for the first time since 1986) also failed to qualify. The other notable qualifying streaks broken were for Ghana and Ivory Coast, both of which had qualified for the three previous tournaments.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Teams, Qualification
Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the FIFA World Rankings at the time of the tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Teams, Draw
The draw was held on 1 December 2017 at 18:00 MSK at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four, by selecting one team from each of the four ranked pots.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Teams, Draw
For the draw, the teams were allocated to four pots based on the FIFA World Rankings of October 2017. Pot one contained the hosts Russia (who were automatically assigned to position A1) and the best seven teams. Pot two contained the next best eight teams, and so on for pots three and four. This was different from previous draws, when only pot one was based on FIFA rankings while the remaining pots were based on geographical considerations. However, teams from the same confederation still were not drawn against each other for the group stage, except that two UEFA teams could be in each group. The pots for the draw are shown below.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Teams, Draw
Russia (65) (hosts) Germany (1) Brazil (2) Portugal (3) Argentina (4) Belgium (5) Poland (6) France (7)


2018 FIFA World Cup, Teams, Draw
Spain (8) Peru (10)  Switzerland (11) England (12) Colombia (13) Mexico (16) Uruguay (17) Croatia (18)


2018 FIFA World Cup, Teams, Draw
Denmark (19) Iceland (21) Costa Rica (22) Sweden (25) Tunisia (28) Egypt (30) Senegal (32) Iran (34)


2018 FIFA World Cup, Teams, Draw
Serbia (38) Nigeria (41) Australia (43) Japan (44) Morocco (48) Panama (49) South Korea (62) Saudi Arabia (63)


2018 FIFA World Cup, Teams, Squads
Initially, each team had to name a preliminary squad of 30 players, but in February 2018 this was increased to 35. From the preliminary squad, the team had to name a final squad of 23 players (three of whom had to be goalkeepers) by 4 June. Players in the final squad could be replaced for serious injury up to 24 hours prior to kickoff of the team's first match. These replacements did not need to have been named in the preliminary squad.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Teams, Squads
For players named in the 35-player preliminary squad, there was a mandatory rest period between 21 and 27 May 2018, except for those involved in the 2018 UEFA Champions League Final played on 26 May.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Officiating
On 29 March 2018, FIFA released the list of 36 referees and 63 assistant referees selected to oversee matches. On 30 April 2018, FIFA released the list of 13 video assistant referees, who acted solely in this capacity in the tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Officiating
Referee Fahad Al-Mirdasi of Saudi Arabia was removed on 30 May 2018 over a match-fixing attempt, along with his two assistant referees, compatriots Mohammed Al-Abakry and Abdulah Al-Shalwai. A new referee was not appointed, but two assistant referees, Hasan Al Mahri of the United Arab Emirates and Hiroshi Yamauchi of Japan, were added to the list. Assistant referee Marwa Range of Kenya also withdrew after the BBC released an investigation conducted by a Ghanaian journalist which implicated him in a bribery scandal.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Officiating, Video assistant referees
Shortly after the International Football Association Board's decision to incorporate video assistant referees (VARs) into the Laws of the game (LOTG) on 16 March 2018, the FIFA Council took the much-anticipated step of approving the use of VAR for the first time in a FIFA World Cup tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Officiating, Video assistant referees
VAR operations for all games were operated from a single headquarters in Moscow, which received live video of the games and were in radio contact with the on-field referees. Systems were in place for communicating VAR-related information to broadcasters and visuals on stadiums' large screens were used for the fans in attendance.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Officiating, Video assistant referees
VAR had a significant impact on several games. On 15 June 2018, Diego Costa's first goal against Portugal became the first World Cup goal based on a VAR decision; the first penalty as a result of a VAR decision was awarded to France in their match against Australia on 16 June and resulted in a goal by Antoine Griezmann. A record number of penalties were awarded in the tournament, a phenomenon partially attributed to VAR. Overall, the new technology was both praised and criticised by commentators. FIFA declared the implementation of VAR a success after the first week of competition.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Venues
Russia proposed the following host cities: Kaliningrad, Kazan, Krasnodar, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg, Samara, Saransk, Sochi, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, and Yekaterinburg. Each city was located in European Russia, except Yekaterinburg, which is located very close to the Europe-Asia border, to reduce travel time for the teams in the huge country. The bid evaluation report stated: "The Russian bid proposes 13 host cities and 16 stadiums, thus exceeding FIFA's minimum requirement. Three of the 16 stadiums would be renovated, and 13 would be newly constructed."


2018 FIFA World Cup, Venues
In October 2011, Russia reduced the number of stadiums from 16 to 14. Construction of the proposed Podolsk stadium in the Moscow region was cancelled by the regional government. Also, in the capital, Otkritie Arena was competing with Dynamo Stadium over which would be constructed first.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Venues
The final choice of host cities was announced on 29 September 2012. The number of cities was reduced further to 11 and the number of stadiums to 12 as Krasnodar and Yaroslavl were dropped from the final list. Of the 12 stadiums used for the tournament, three (Luzhniki, Yekaterinburg and Sochi) had been extensively renovated and the other nine were brand new; $11.8 billion was spent on hosting the tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Venues
Sepp Blatter had said in July 2014 that, given the concerns over the completion of venues in Russia, the number of venues for the tournament may be reduced from 12 to 10. He also said, "We are not going to be in a situation, as is the case of one, two or even three stadiums in South Africa, where it is a problem of what you do with these stadiums".


2018 FIFA World Cup, Venues
In October 2014, on their first official visit to Russia, FIFA's inspection committee and its head, Chris Unger, visited St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan and both Moscow venues. They were satisfied with the progress. On 8 October 2015, FIFA and the local organising committee agreed on the official names of the stadiums to be used during the tournament. Of the twelve venues, the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow and the Saint Petersburg Stadium—the two largest stadiums in Russia—were used most; both hosted seven matches. Sochi, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod and Samara each hosted six matches, including one quarter-final match each, while the Spartak Stadium in Moscow and Rostov-on-Don hosted five matches, including one round-of-16 match each. Volgograd, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg and Saransk each hosted four matches, but did not host any knockout stage games.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Venues, Stadiums
Twelve stadiums in eleven Russian cities were built or renovated for the FIFA World Cup. Between 2010 (when Russia were announced as hosts) and 2018, nine of the 12 stadiums were built (some in place of older, outdated venues) and the other three were renovated for the tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Venues, Team base camps
Base camps were used by the 32 national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament. On 9 February 2018, FIFA announced the base camps for each participating team.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Preparation and costs, Budget
At an estimated cost of over $14.2 billion as of June 2018, the 2018 FIFA event was the most expensive World Cup in history, surpassing the $11.6 billion cost of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Preparation and costs, Budget
The Russian government had originally earmarked a budget of around $20 billion, which was later slashed to $10 billion, for World Cup preparations. Half was spent on transportation infrastructure. As part of the program to prepare for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, a federal sub-program—"Construction and Renovation of Transport Infrastructure"—was implemented with a total budget of ₽352.5 billion (rubles), with ₽170.3 billion coming from the federal budget, ₽35.1 billion from regional budgets, and ₽147.1 billion from investors. The biggest item of federal spending was the aviation infrastructure costing ₽117.8 billion. Construction of new hotels was a crucial area of infrastructure development in World Cup host cities. Costs continued to mount as preparations were underway.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Preparation and costs, Infrastructure spending
Platov International Airport in Rostov-on-Don was upgraded with automated air traffic control systems. Modern surveillance, navigation, communication, control, and meteorological support systems were also installed. Koltsovo Airport in Yekaterinburg was upgraded with radio-engineering tools for flight operation and received a second runway. Saransk Airport received a new navigation system; two new hotels were constructed in the city—the Mercure Saransk Centre (Accor Hotels) and Four Points by Sheraton Saransk as well as few other smaller accommodation facilities. In Samara, new tram lines were laid. Khrabrovo Airport in Kaliningrad was upgraded with radio navigation and weather equipment.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Preparation and costs, Infrastructure spending
Renovation and upgraded radio-engineering tools for flight operations was completed in the Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Volgograd, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Kazan and Sochi airports. On 27 March, the Russian Ministry of Construction Industry, Housing and Utilities Sector of reported that all communications within its area of responsibility had been commissioned. The last facility commissioned was a waste treatment station in Volgograd. In Yekaterinburg, where four matches were hosted, hosting costs increased to over ₽7.4 billion, exceeding the ₽5.6 billion rubles originally allocated from the state and regional budget.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Preparation and costs, Volunteers
Volunteer applications to the 2018 Russia Local Organising Committee opened on 1 June 2016. The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Volunteer Program received about 177,000 applications, and engaged a total of 35,000 volunteers. They received training at 15 Volunteer Centres of the local organising committee based in 15 universities, and in volunteer centres in the host cities. Preference, especially in key areas, was given to those with knowledge of a foreign language and volunteering experience, but not necessarily to Russian nationals.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Preparation and costs, Transport
Free public transport services were offered for ticketholders during the World Cup, including additional trains linking host cities, as well as services such as bus services within them.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Schedule
The full schedule was announced by FIFA on 24 July 2015 without kick-off times, which were confirmed later. On 1 December 2017, following the final draw, FIFA adjusted six kick-off times.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Schedule
Russia was placed in position A1 in the group stage and played in the opening match at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on 14 June against Saudi Arabia, the two lowest-ranked teams of the tournament at the time of the final draw. The Luzhniki Stadium also hosted the second semi-final on 11 July and the final on 15 July. The Krestovsky Stadium in Saint Petersburg hosted the first semi-final on 10 July and the third place play-off on 14 July.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony took place on Thursday, 14 June 2018, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, preceding the opening match of the tournament between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Opening ceremony
At the start of the ceremony, Russian president Vladimir Putin gave a speech, welcoming the countries of the world to Russia and calling football a uniting force. Brazilian World Cup-winning striker Ronaldo entered the stadium with a child in a Russia jersey. Pop singer Robbie Williams then sang two of his songs solo before he and Russian soprano Aida Garifullina performed a duet. Dancers dressed in the flags of the 32 competing teams appeared carrying a sign with the name of each nation. At the end of the ceremony Ronaldo reappeared with the official match ball which had returned from the International Space Station in early June.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Opening ceremony
Young participants of the international children's social programme Football for Friendship from 211 countries and regions took part in the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup at the Luzhniki stadium.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Group stage
Competing countries were divided into eight groups of four teams (groups A to H). Teams in each group played one another in a round-robin, with the top two teams advancing to the knockout stage. Ten European teams and four South American teams progressed to the knockout stage, together with Japan and Mexico.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Group stage
For the first time since 1938, Germany, the reigning champions, did not advance past the first round. No African team progressed to the second round for the first time since 1982. The fair play criteria came into use for the first time when Japan qualified over Senegal because the team had received fewer yellow cards. Only one match, France versus Denmark, was goalless. Until then there were a record 36 straight games in which at least one goal was scored. All times listed below are local time.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Knockout stage
In the knockout stages, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winners. If a match went into extra time, each team was allowed to make a fourth substitution, the first time this had been allowed in a FIFA World Cup tournament. Below is the bracket for the knockout round of the tournament, teams in bold denote match winners.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Goalscorers
There were 169 goals scored in 64 matches, for an average of 2.64 goals per match.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Goalscorers
Twelve own goals were scored during the tournament, doubling the record of six set in 1998. Goals scored from penalty shoot-outs are not counted towards an individual player's goal count.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Discipline
In total, only four players were sent off in the entire tournament, the fewest since 1978. International Football Association Board technical director David Elleray stated a belief that this was due to the introduction of VAR, since players would know that they would not be able to get away with anything under the new system.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Discipline
A player is automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:


2018 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Awards
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament. The Golden Boot (top scorer), Golden Ball (best overall player) and Golden Glove (best goalkeeper) awards were all sponsored by Adidas.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Awards
Additionally, FIFA.com shortlisted 18 goals for users to vote on as the tournaments' best. The poll closed on 23 July. The award was sponsored by Hyundai.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Awards, Fantasy Team
FIFA published an All-Star Team based on player performances evaluated through statistical data.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Branding
The tournament logo was unveiled on 28 October 2014 by cosmonauts at the International Space Station and then projected onto Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre during an evening television programme. Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said the logo was inspired by "Russia's rich artistic tradition and its history of bold achievement and innovation", and FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated that it reflected the "heart and soul" of the country. For branding, Portuguese design agency Brandia Central created materials in 2014, with a typeface called Dusha (from душа, Russian for 'soul') designed by Brandia Central and edited by Adotbelow of the DSType Foundry in Portugal.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Mascot
The tournament's official mascot was unveiled on 21 October 2016, and selected through a design competition among university students. A public vote was used to select the mascot from three finalists—a cat, a tiger, and a wolf. The winner, with 53% or approximately one million votes, was Zabivaka—an anthropomorphic wolf dressed in the colours of the Russian national team. Zabivaka's name is a portmanteau of the Russian words забияка ("hothead") and забивать ("to score"), and his official backstory states that he is an aspiring football player who is "charming, confident and social".


2018 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Ticketing
The first phase of ticket sales started on 14 September 2017, 12:00 Moscow Time, and lasted until 12 October 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Ticketing
The general visa policy of Russia did not apply to participants and spectators, who were able to visit Russia without a visa right before and during the competition regardless of their citizenship. Spectators were nonetheless required to register for a "Fan-ID", a special photo identification pass. A Fan-ID was required to enter the country visa-free, while a ticket, Fan-ID and a valid passport were required to enter stadiums for matches. Fan-IDs also granted World Cup attendees free access to public transport services, including buses, and train service between host cities. Fan-ID was administered by the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, which could revoke this accreditation at any time to "ensure the defence capability or security of the state or public order".


2018 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Match ball
The official match ball, the "Telstar 18", was unveiled on 9 November 2017. It was based on the name and design of the first Adidas World Cup ball from 1970. A special red-coloured variation, "Telstar Mechta", was used for the knockout stage of the tournament. The word mechta (Russian: мечта) means "dream" or "ambition".


2018 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Match ball
Goalkeepers noted that the ball was slippery and prone to having unpredictable trajectory. In addition, two Telstar 18 balls popped in the midst of a first-round match between France and Australia, leading to further discussions over the ball's performance.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Merchandise
On 29 May 2018, Electronic Arts released a free update to their video game FIFA 18 that added content related to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The expansion included a World Cup tournament mode with all teams and stadiums from the event, official television presentation elements, and World Cup-related content for the Ultimate Team mode.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Merchandise
Panini continued their partnership with FIFA by producing stickers for their World Cup sticker album. Panini also developed an app for the 2018 World Cup where fans could collect and swap virtual stickers, with five million fans gathering digital stickers for the tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Marketing, Official song
The official song of the tournament was "Live It Up", with vocals by Will Smith, Nicky Jam and Era Istrefi, released on 25 May 2018. Its music video was released on 8 June 2018.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Other controversies
Thirty-three footballers who were alleged to be part of the Russian steroid programme are listed in the McLaren Report. On 22 December 2017, it was reported that FIFA had fired a doctor who had been investigating doping in Russian football. On 22 May 2018 FIFA confirmed that the investigations concerning all Russian players named for the provisional squad of the FIFA World Cup in Russia had been completed, with the result that insufficient evidence was found to support anti-doping rule violations. FIFA's medical committee also decided that Russian personnel would not be involved in performing drug testing procedures at the tournament, an action taken to reassure teams that samples would not be tampered with.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Other controversies, Response to Skripal poisoning
In response to the March 2018 poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, British prime minister Theresa May announced that no British ministers or members of the royal family would attend the World Cup, and issued a warning to any travelling England fans. Russia responded to the comments from the UK Parliament claiming that the West are trying to "take the World Cup out of Russia". The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced Boris Johnson's statements that compared the event to the 1936 Olympics held in Nazi Germany as "poisoned with venom of hate, unprofessionalism and boorishness" and "unacceptable and unworthy" parallel towards Russia, a "nation that lost millions of lives in fighting Nazism".


2018 FIFA World Cup, Other controversies, Response to Skripal poisoning
The British Foreign Office and MPs had repeatedly warned English football fans and "people of Asian or Afro-Caribbean descent" travelling to Russia of "racist or homophobic intimidation, hooligan violence and anti-British hostility". English football fans who did travel have said they received a warm welcome from ordinary citizens after arriving in Russia.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Critical reception
At the close of the World Cup, Russia was widely praised for its success in hosting the tournament, with Steve Rosenberg of the BBC deeming it "a resounding public relations success" for Putin, adding: "The stunning new stadiums, free train travel to venues and the absence of crowd violence has impressed visiting supporters. Russia has come across as friendly and hospitable: a stark contrast with the country's authoritarian image. All the foreign fans I have spoken to are pleasantly surprised."


2018 FIFA World Cup, Critical reception
FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated: "Everyone discovered a beautiful country, a welcoming country, that is keen to show the world that everything that has been said before might not be true. A lot of preconceived ideas have been changed because people have seen the true nature of Russia." Infantino has proclaimed Russia 2018 to be "the best World Cup ever", as 98 per cent of the stadiums were sold out, there were three billion viewers on TV around the world and seven million fans visited the fan fests. It was the most viewed World Cup to date, and the third most viewed television broadcast, surpassing the Beijing Olympics in 2008.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Critical reception
However, the tournament was called a distraction from the international isolation and economic difficulties Russia has been facing.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Broadcasting rights
FIFA, through several companies, sold the broadcasting rights for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to various local broadcasters. After having tested the technology at limited matches of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, and the 2014 FIFA World Cup (via private tests and public viewings in the host city of Rio de Janeiro), the 2018 World Cup was the first World Cup in which all matches were produced in 4K ultra high definition.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Broadcasting rights
Host Broadcast Services (HBS) stated that at least 75% of the broadcast cut of each match would come from 4K cameras (covering the majority of main angles), with instant replays and some camera angles being converted up from 1080p high definition sources with limited degradation in quality. These broadcasts were made available from selected rightsholders and television providers.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Broadcasting rights
In February 2018, Ukrainian rightsholder UA:PBC stated that it would not broadcast the World Cup. This came in the wake of growing boycotts of the tournament among the Football Federation of Ukraine and sports minister Ihor Zhdanov. Additionally, the Football Federation of Ukraine refused to accredit journalists for the World Cup and waived their quota of tickets. However, the Ukrainian state TV still broadcast the World Cup, and more than four million Ukrainians watched the opening match.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Broadcasting rights
Broadcast rights to the tournament in the Middle East were hampered by an ongoing diplomatic crisis in Qatar, which saw Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties with Qatar—the home country of FIFA's Middle East and Africa rightsholder beIN Sports—in June 2017, over its alleged state support of terrorist groups. On 2 June 2018, beIN pulled its channels from Du and Etisalat, but with service to the latter restored later that day. Etisalat subsequently announced that it would air the World Cup in the UAE, and continue to offer beIN normally and without interruptions.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Broadcasting rights
In Saudi Arabia, beIN was banned from doing business; as a result, its channels and other content have been widely and illegally repackaged by a broadcaster identifying itself as "beoutQ". While FIFA attempted to negotiate the sale of a package consisting of Saudi matches and the final indirectly, they were unable to do so. On 12 July 2018, FIFA stated that it had "engaged counsel to take legal action in Saudi Arabia and is working alongside other sports rights owners that have also been affected to protect its interests."


2018 FIFA World Cup, Broadcasting rights
In the United States, the 2018 World Cup was the first men's World Cup whose English rights were held by Fox Sports, and Spanish rights held by Telemundo. The elimination of the United States in qualifying led to concerns that US interest and viewership of this World Cup would be reduced, noting that "casual" viewers of U.S. matches caused them to peak at 16.5 million viewers in 2014, and determined how much Fox paid for the rights.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Broadcasting rights
During a launch event prior to the elimination, Fox stated that it had planned to place a secondary focus on the Mexican team in its coverage to take advantage of their popularity among Hispanic and Latino Americans. Fox stated that it was still committed to broadcasting a significant amount of tournament coverage. Viewership was down overall over 2014; match scheduling was not as favourable to viewers in the Americas as it was in 2014. Many matches aired in the morning hours, although Telemundo's broadcast of the Mexico-Sweden Group F match was announced as being its most-watched weekday daytime program in network history.


2018 FIFA World Cup, Broadcasting rights
Unlike previous tournaments, where the rights were bundled with those of South Korea, Korean Central Television acquired rights to the 2018 World Cup within North Korea. Broadcasts only began with the round of 16, and matches were tape delayed and edited for time. In addition, matches involving Japan were excluded from the broadcasts, due to strained relations and campaigns against the country.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final
The 2018 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match that took place on 15 July 2018 to determine the winners of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. It was the final of the 21st FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The match was played by France and Croatia, and held at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final
Before 2018, France's only World Cup victory was in 1998 – though they had also reached the final in 2006 – while Croatia were playing in their first World Cup final.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final
France won the match 4–2, having taken a 2–1 lead during the first half on an own goal and penalty awarded by the video assistant referee (VAR), both firsts in a World Cup final. France became the second team in the 32-team World Cup era to win all their knockout matches in regulation time, after Brazil in 2002. The final was the highest-scoring World Cup final since 1966, and the highest-scoring 90-minute final since 1958. The match was watched by a global audience of 1.12 billion people on television and streaming platforms.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Venue
The final was played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, located in the Khamovniki District of the Central Administrative Okrug. An expanded version of the stadium was named as the provisional final venue in Russia's World Cup bid, which was selected by FIFA on 2 December 2010. Luzhniki Stadium was confirmed as the final venue on 14 December 2012, following a meeting of the now-erstwhile FIFA Executive Committee held in Tokyo, Japan. The stadium also hosted six other matches, including the opening match on 14 June, three group stage matches, a round of 16 match, and the second semi-final match.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Venue
The Luzhniki Stadium, previously known as the Grand Arena of the Central Lenin Stadium until 1992, originally opened in 1956 as part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex to host the USSR Summer Spartakiade. The stadium has served as the national stadium of the country, hosting many matches for the Russia national team and its predecessor, the Soviet Union national team. In the past, the stadium has been used as the home ground at various times for CSKA Moscow, Torpedo Moscow, and Spartak Moscow. However, there are currently no clubs based at the stadium.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Venue
The stadium has hosted numerous international sporting events. The stadium was the main venue for the 1980 Summer Olympics, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, athletics, football (four matches, including the gold medal match), and the Individual Jumping Grand Prix. The stadium hosted the 1999 UEFA Cup Final, as well as the 2008 UEFA Champions League Final. Other events staged include the Spartakiad, the final game of the 1957 Ice Hockey World Championships, the 1973 Summer Universiade, the Friendship Games in 1984, the 1986 Goodwill Games, and the 1998 World Youth Games. In 2013, the Rugby World Cup Sevens and World Athletics Championships were held at the ground in front of sparse crowds. The stadium has also served as a venue for many concerts, including Western artists after the fall of the Soviet Union, as well as political rallies.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Venue
Rated as a category 4 stadium by UEFA, the Luzhniki Stadium is the largest in Russia and at the 2018 World Cup; it usually has a maximum capacity of 81,006, but was reduced to 78,011 for the World Cup. This also makes the stadium the largest in Eastern Europe, and among the largest in Europe. To prepare for the World Cup, the stadium was closed for extensive renovations in August 2013. The spectator stands were moved closer to the pitch, which was converted from artificial turf to natural grass, after the removal of the athletic track.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Venue
The historic facade of the stadium was preserved due to its architectural value, while the roof was upgraded using a new polycarbonate skin with exterior lighting. The Luzhniki did not host any matches at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup due to the ongoing project. The renovation project cost €341 million, and the stadium officially reopened with an international friendly between Russia and Argentina on 11 November 2017.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Background
After Uruguay and Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-finals, a European side was ensured to win the World Cup for a fourth consecutive tournament. Colombia's earlier elimination had already guaranteed the match would feature at least one European team, as with every final since 1954. The match was also the ninth all-European World Cup final, which most recently occurred in 2006 and 2010.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Background
The match was the third World Cup final for France, first appearing in the 1998 final as hosts, winning 3–0 against reigning champions Brazil. France also contested the 2006 final, where they lost to Italy in a penalty shoot-out following a 1–1 draw. Only Germany (eight) and Italy (six) have reached more finals among European nations. Didier Deschamps became the fourth person to reach a World Cup final as both a player and as a manager, after Franz Beckenbauer, Rudi Völler, and Mário Zagallo.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Background
The match was the first World Cup final for Croatia in their fifth World Cup appearance. They are the 10th European country and 13th overall to reach a World Cup final, and the first new finalist since Spain in 2010. With a population of 4.17 million, Croatia is the second least-populated country to play in a World Cup final, behind Uruguay (victors in 1930 and 1950). Croatia's previous best performance was as World Cup debutants in 1998, when they finished in third place, losing to France in the semi-finals before beating the Netherlands 2–1 in the third place play-off.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Background
The final was the sixth meeting between France and Croatia, with France undefeated in the previous fixtures with three wins and two draws. The two sides first met in the aforementioned 1998 World Cup semi-final, with hosts France winning 2–1. Their only other competitive meeting was during the group stage of Euro 2004, which finished as a 2–2 draw. Their next, and most recent, meeting was in a March 2011 friendly match, which finished as a 0–0 draw.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, France
France entered the 2018 World Cup as one of the favourites to win the tournament, particularly for their strong squad featuring several youth talents. The team finished as runners-up to Portugal at Euro 2016, which the country hosted. The team qualified for the World Cup finals after finishing first in their qualification group, ahead of Sweden and the Netherlands.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, France
At the World Cup, France were drawn into Group C alongside Australia, Denmark, and Peru. The team defeated Australia 2–1 in its opening match in Kazan, with a penalty called by the video assistant referee and scored by Antoine Griezmann followed by an own goal deflected by Australian defender Aziz Behich. In its second match, France won 1–0 over Peru on a goal scored by 19-year-old Kylian Mbappé, who became France's youngest goalscorer at a major tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, France
The victory over Peru qualified France for the knockout stage, allowing manager Didier Deschamps to rest several starting players for the final group stage match against Denmark. The match at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow finished in a scoreless draw marked by misplaced passes and goalkeeping mistakes. The team's group stage performance was characterised as lacking cohesion and failing to use its star players effectively.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, France
Finishing as winners of Group C, France were matched in the round of 16 with Group D runners-up Argentina. France won 4–3 on two goals scored by Mbappé, who also won a penalty in the opening minutes. Defender Benjamin Pavard also scored in the match, with his strike later voted as goal of the tournament. Mbappé's performance drew comparisons to Brazilian stars Ronaldo and Pelé, who in 1958 was the most recent teenager to score twice in a World Cup match. In the quarter-finals, France defeated Uruguay 2–0 on a goal and assist by Griezmann.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, France
The team advanced to a semi-final match against Belgium in St. Petersburg, which ended in a 1–0 win for the French with a corner kick headed into the goal by defender Samuel Umtiti. The French team, particularly Mbappé, were criticised for timewasting and other unsportsmanlike conduct in the semi-finals after taking the lead in the second half.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Croatia
Croatia entered the 2018 World Cup as dark horses, with their golden generation led by forwards Mario Mandžukić and Ivan Perišić, and midfielders Marcelo Brozović, Mateo Kovačić, Luka Modrić and Ivan Rakitić. The team had been eliminated in the group stage at the 2014 tournament, but reached the round of 16 at Euro 2016. In their qualification group, Croatia scored 15 goals and finished second to Iceland after appointing manager Zlatko Dalić amid a series of poor away results. However, Croatia managed to advance past Greece in the qualifying play-offs, winning the first leg 4–1 and drawing 0–0 in the second.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Croatia
Croatia were drawn into Group D with Argentina, Iceland, and Nigeria, considered a difficult draw due to Argentina's talent and Nigeria's historic performances. In their opening match, the team earned a 2–0 victory over Nigeria, with an own goal by Oghenekaro Etebo caused by Mandžukić and a penalty scored by Modrić. Striker Nikola Kalinić refused to enter the match as a substitute, citing back pain as his reason for not playing, and was expelled from the team by Dalić, leaving Croatia with only 22 players for the remainder of the tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Croatia
Croatia went on to upset Argentina with a 3–0 win, thanks to an effective game plan that used the "height and strength of their players to dominate the game in aerial duels", playing a "pressing game, counter-attacking, and more direct play in possession" to counter Lionel Messi, scoring all their goals in the second half. Croatia finished atop the group with a 2–1 win over Iceland, resting several starting players in the final group match.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Croatia
In the round of 16, Croatia played Denmark and earned a 1–1 draw after the two teams exchanged goals in the opening five minutes and a missed penalty from Modrić in extra time. Croatia won the subsequent penalty shootout 3–2, with three saves by goalkeeper Danijel Subašić and two saves by Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. The team advanced to a quarter-final fixture with hosts Russia, who had defeated Spain in the round of 16, in Sochi.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Croatia
The Russians scored their first in the 31st minute, but Andrej Kramarić equalised for Croatia eight minutes later and kept the score at 1–1 through the end of regular time. Croatia took a 2–1 lead in the 101st minute with a header by Domagoj Vida, but Russian defender Mário Fernandes equalised five minutes before the end of extra time to trigger a penalty shootout. The shootout was won 4–3 by Croatia after two misses by Russia and a shot by Modrić that rebounded into the goal off Igor Akinfeev's arm and the post.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Croatia
Croatia became the second team in World Cup to win two shootouts in a tournament, after Argentina in 1990. After the match, a video of Vida shouting "Glory to Ukraine" prompted controversy among Russians and a warning from FIFA's disciplinary committee, which enforces a ban on political slogans. Croatia's semi-final match against England at the Luzhniki began as they conceded a free kick goal by English defender Kieran Trippier in the fifth minute. Croatia resisted several attempts by England to score a second goal in the first half.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Croatia
Croatia managed an equalising goal of their own through a shot by Perišić in the 68th minute. The match was won 2–1 by Croatia after a 109th-minute goal by Mandžukić. This made Croatia the first team to earn three come-from-behind victories in the FIFA World Cup, all three matches also going into extra time.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Pre-match, Match ball
The official match ball for the final was the Telstar Mechta (Russian: Мечта; transl. dream or ambition), a red-coloured variant of the Adidas Telstar 18 introduced for the knockout stage. The Telstar family, a homage to the original 1970 Telstar, was designed similarly to 2014's Brazuca, but with longer seams and additional panels.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Pre-match, Officials
Argentine referee Néstor Pitana was selected to lead the officiating team for the final, which was announced on 12 July 2018 by the FIFA Referees Committee. The final was Pitana's fifth match as referee during the tournament, becoming only the second referee to officiate the opening match and the final. Pitana officiated an additional group stage match, along with two knockout stage matches in the round of 16 and quarter-finals. Pitana has been a FIFA referee since 2010, and officiated four matches at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Pre-match, Officials
His compatriots Hernán Maidana and Juan Pablo Belatti were chosen as assistant referees. Björn Kuipers of the Netherlands was chosen as the fourth official, with his fellow countryman Erwin Zeinstra as the reserve assistant. Italian Massimiliano Irrati was named the video assistant referee, presiding over the first use of the technology at a World Cup final. Argentine Mauro Vigliano was chosen as the assistant video assistant referee, while Carlos Astroza of Chile was appointed as the second assistant and Danny Makkelie of the Netherlands as the third assistant.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Pre-match, Closing ceremony
The tournament's closing ceremony was held prior to the start of the match, featuring a performance of "Live It Up", the official song of the tournament, by Will Smith, Nicky Jam, and Era Istrefi. Jam also performed "X (Equis)", wearing a shirt honouring J Balvin. Opera singer Aida Garifullina sang the Russian folk song "Kalinka", accompanied by a children's choir and percussion section that featured a cameo by Brazilian star Ronaldinho.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
Croatia kicked off the final at 18:00 local time (15:00 UTC), with the ground temperature reported at 27 °C (81 °F). The match was played through a minor thunderstorm, which produced several visible lightning strikes. An audience of 78,011 spectators at the Luzhniki Stadium watched the match, including ten heads of state, among them Russian president Vladimir Putin, French president Emmanuel Macron, and Croatian president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. The starting line-ups for both teams were identical to those fielded in the semi-finals.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
Croatia had the majority of possession early in the first half, with the ball staying mostly in France's half. An attack by French midfielder Antoine Griezmann was stopped by a challenge from Marcelo Brozović, which was called as a foul despite claims that Griezmann dived. Griezmann took the ensuing 30-yard (27 m) free kick, which was diverted by the head of Mario Mandžukić into the left corner of his own net to give France the lead in the 18th minute. It was the first own goal to be scored in a World Cup final and the 12th of the tournament, the most of any World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
Ten minutes later, Croatia equalised with a left-footed strike by Ivan Perišić to the right corner of the net, assisted by Domagoj Vida after a free kick by Luka Modrić on the right. In the 34th minute, a penalty was awarded against Croatia after Perišić's handball in the box from a corner on the right was reviewed by the video assistant referee. Griezmann scored the penalty in the 38th minute with a low finish to the left, giving France a 2–1 lead at half-time; the first half's three goals were the most of any World Cup final since 1974. France led at half-time despite having only one shot on goal and with only 34% of possession.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
A Croatian counter-attack was stopped early in the second half after several pitch invaders were chased onto the field by security officers; Russian feminist rock band and protest group Pussy Riot claimed responsibility for the interruption. In the 59th minute, France extended their lead to 3–1 with a left-foot strike to the left of the net from the edge of the penalty area by Paul Pogba after his initial shot had been blocked.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
Six minutes later, Kylian Mbappé scored France's fourth goal, with a low right-foot shot from outside the box to the left of the net; Mbappé became the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Pelé in 1958. Croatia scored their second goal in the 69th minute from a back-pass that goalkeeper Hugo Lloris failed to dribble away from Mandžukić, who poked the loose ball into the unguarded net with his right leg. Despite a late push by Croatia, the match finished as a 4–2 victory for France and the highest-scoring World Cup final since 1966.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Details
Assistant referees:Hernán Maidana (Argentina)Juan Pablo Belatti (Argentina)Fourth official:Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)Reserve assistant referee:Erwin Zeinstra (Netherlands)Video assistant referee:Massimiliano Irrati (Italy)Assistant video assistant referees:Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)Carlos Astroza (Chile)Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match
France became the sixth country to win the World Cup more than once with their win. Didier Deschamps became the third person to have won the World Cup as both a player and manager, after Mário Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer. The final was the highest scoring since 1966, and the highest score in regular time since 1958. The medals were presented on the pitch to both teams by presidents Putin, Macron, and Grabar-Kitarović amid a heavy rainstorm. FIFA president Gianni Infantino handed the trophy to French captain Hugo Lloris. As Lloris raised the trophy, a short version of the tournament's official song "Live It Up" was played.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match
Croatian captain Luka Modrić won the Golden Ball as best player of the tournament. France's Antoine Griezmann, the final's man of the match, also won the Bronze Ball and the Silver Boot award with four goals and two assists. Kylian Mbappé won the Best Young Player award for the tournament.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match
Large crowds, including 90,000 people at the Eiffel Tower fanzone and an estimated million on the Champs-Élysées, celebrated the victory in Paris. The celebrations were marred by instances of rioting that were broken up by police, as well as the deaths of at least two people during celebrations elsewhere in the country, one man died after diving into a shallow canal and another died after crashing his car into a tree, RATP, the operator of the Paris Métro system, temporarily renamed several stations in honour of the team and its World Cup victory.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match
On 16 July, more than 550,000 fans welcomed the Croatian team home in the capital city of Zagreb, in the single largest public gathering in Croatia's history, where a six-hour-long bus tour brought them from Zagreb Airport to Ban Jelačić Square. In the following days, players were all welcomed individually in their hometowns as well.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Broadcasting and viewership
FIFA estimated that the global audience for the final peaked at 1.12 billion people, including 884 million watching television broadcasts and 232 million using other platforms, including online streaming, and at public venues. According to a broadcast audit report, 86.7 percent of televisions turned on in France and 88.6 in Croatia were watching the broadcast.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Broadcasting and viewership, Europe
In France, the final was televised on TF1 and BeIN Sports and drew an average of 26.1 million viewers, making it the most watched event ever in French television history. In the United Kingdom, the final had an average viewership of 10.5 million and a peak viewership of 13.8 million, split between free-to-air broadcasters BBC One and ITV, almost half that of the viewership of England–Croatia semi-final. In Germany, the match drew a viewership of 21.3 million, which was around 76% of the market share, on state-owned ZDF.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Broadcasting and viewership, Europe
In Spain, the match had a 57.3% share, with 8.2 million viewers on Mediaset España Comunicación's Telecinco. In Croatia, the match drew around 1.538 million viewers – more than 38% of the population – on national broadcaster HRT 2 for an 89.3% market share. In Italy, it drew 11.7 million viewers on Canale 5. In the Netherlands, the match had a viewership of 3.1 million on NPO1. In the host nation of Russia, the final was the third-most watched match of the 2018 World Cup and accounted for around 50% of the nation's population.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Broadcasting and viewership, Europe
In total, the final drew more than 160 million viewers in 20 European territories, including Russia, the United Kingdom and Germany.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Broadcasting and viewership, Rest of the world
In the United States, the match was broadcast in English on Fox and in Spanish on Telemundo; the broadcasts averaged 16.6 million viewers combined, with Telemundo reaching a total of 57% of the country's Latino population. In India, 70 million viewers streamed the match online, through Sony Picture Networks India's (SPN) Sony Liv application, which was a record for a football match; an additional 22.4 million viewers watched the match on Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3 and Sony ESPN.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Broadcasting and viewership, Rest of the world
In China, the match drew a combined of 56 million viewers on state-broadcasters CCTV-1 and CCTV-5, the most-watched sporting event in China since 2008 Beijing Olympics; an additional 24 million viewers streamed the match through Youku, a video-service and an Alibaba Group subsidiary. In Australia, the final was watched by an average of 2.2 million viewers – with a peak of 3.4 million viewers – on national public broadcaster SBS. Whereas, in Canada, the final was watched by an average of 3.9 million viewers, with a peak of 5.4 million viewers on CTV, TSN and RDS.


2018 FIFA World Cup Final, Broadcasting and viewership, Advertising
In the United States, Fox received between US$399,000 and $750,000 for a 30-second advertisement spot during the World Cup final; whereas in France, TF1 got up to $300,000 for a 30-second ad-spot.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A
Group A of the 2018 FIFA World Cup took place from 14 to 25 June 2018. The group consisted of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Uruguay. The top two teams, Uruguay and Russia, advanced to the round of 16.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Russia vs Saudi Arabia
The two teams had met only once, a friendly game in 1993 won by Saudi Arabia 4–2.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Russia vs Saudi Arabia
In the 12th minute, Yury Gazinsky headed the first goal for Russia from a cross from the left before substitute Denis Cheryshev evaded several challenges and smashed home at the near post close to half-time. The tempo slowed and the atmosphere flattened after the restart, giving the whole thing the feel of a friendly match. But substitute Artem Dzyuba illuminated a match of often dubious quality with a precise header from a cross from the right to extend his team's lead just minutes after replacing Fyodor Smolov. As the match moved into injury time, Cheryshev smashed home with a crisp left-foot strike into the top right corner before Aleksandr Golovin curled a free-kick around the wall and into the right of the net.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Russia vs Saudi Arabia
Alan Dzagoev limped off with a hamstring injury in the 24th minute. "Alan Dzagoev damaged the muscles in the back of the thigh," Russia said in a brief statement.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Russia vs Saudi Arabia
For the first time in World Cup history, two players – Gazinsky and Cheryshev – scored their first international goals in the opening match. Russia's victory means that the host nation has never lost their opening match in any of the 21 editions of the World Cup (won 16, drew six).


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Russia vs Saudi Arabia
Russia (5–0) recorded the second biggest victory by a host nation in their opening match at a World Cup, after Italy v USA in 1934 (7–1); while it is also the second largest victory of any host nation, only behind Italy vs USA at 1934 and Brazil vs Sweden at 1950, both ended 7–1. Russia's Denis Cheryshev became the first substitute to score a goal in the opening match of a World Cup tournament. In this game, Sergei Ignashevich became the oldest player to ever appear in a World Cup match for Russia/USSR (38 years & 335 days old).


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Russia vs Saudi Arabia
For Saudi Arabia, this was their second biggest defeat in World Cup, after the 0–8 defeat to Germany in 2002. These losses are also the biggest defeats for any Arab team to have participated in the FIFA World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Russia vs Saudi Arabia
Assistant referees:Hernán Maidana (Argentina)Juan Pablo Belatti (Argentina)Fourth official:Sandro Ricci (Brazil)Reserve assistant referee:Emerson de Carvalho (Brazil)Video assistant referee:Massimiliano Irrati (Italy)Assistant video assistant referees:Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)Carlos Astroza (Chile)Daniele Orsato (Italy)


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Egypt vs Uruguay
The two teams had met only once, a friendly game in 2006 won by Uruguay 2–0.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Egypt vs Uruguay
Egypt frustrated Uruguay with a deep defensive line, staying compact, dealing with danger competently and threatening on the counter-attack to maintain the scoreline goalless, nearing the end of the match. Luis Suárez looked increasingly at a loss but remained prominent in the few opportunities that were created. When he had just the goalkeeper to beat, he dithered too long and allowed Mohamed El Shenawy to muffle the ball at his feet. With three minutes remaining, Edinson Cavani pulled rank over his strike partner over a free kick on the edge of the area. José Giménez headed into the net in the 89th minute as he met Carlos Sánchez's free-kick from the right to give the South Americans a winning start in Russia.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Egypt vs Uruguay
Uruguay won their opening match at the World Cup tournament for the first time since 1970, when they beat Israel 2–0.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Egypt vs Uruguay
Assistant referees:Sander van Roekel (Netherlands)Erwin Zeinstra (Netherlands)Fourth official:Milorad Mažić (Serbia)Reserve assistant referee:Milovan Ristić (Serbia)Video assistant referee:Danny Makkelie (Netherlands)Assistant video assistant referees:Paweł Gil (Poland)Cyril Gringore (France)Clément Turpin (France)


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Russia vs Egypt
Sergei Ignashevich headed at Mohamed El Shenawy before Aleksandr Golovin fired wide. Trézéguet then curled just wide from the edge of the box. Russia took the lead when El Shenawy's clearance punch found Roman Zobnin, whose first-time follow up shot spun in off Ahmed Fathy, with VAR confirming that Artem Dzyuba had not fouled his opponent.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Russia vs Egypt
Mário Fernandes soon drove into the box before supplying a cut-back form the right for Denis Cheryshev to slot home Russia's second with his left foot. Dzyuba made it 3–0 as he took a lofted ball into the box down on his chest, taking a touch to go past Ali Gabr and finish past El Shenawy with a low shot. Salah won a penalty after he was fouled by Zobnin - although it was only given after a consultation with the video assistant referee as the referee had initially said the offence took place outside the area. Salah scored from the spot to become only the third Egyptian player to score at a World Cup.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Russia vs Egypt
This is the first time that Russia have won their opening two matches at a World Cup since 1966 (as the Soviet Union). And following with Uruguay's 1–0 victory over Saudi Arabia, Russia, for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, qualified for the next round.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Russia vs Egypt
Assistant referees:Eduardo Cardozo (Paraguay)Juan Zorrilla (Paraguay)Fourth official:Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)Reserve assistant referee:Bahattin Duran (Turkey)Video assistant referee:Massimiliano Irrati (Italy)Assistant video assistant referees:Mauro Vigliano (Argentina)Carlos Astroza (Chile)Szymon Marciniak (Poland)


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia
The two teams had met in two games. Their most recent meeting was a friendly in 2014, ending in a 1–1 draw.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia
A left-wing Carlos Sánchez corner was missed by Mohammed Al-Owais, giving Luis Suárez a close-range finish into an unguarded net with his left foot. Fernando Muslera had to tip over a long-range drive from Hattan Bahebri, who then missed a chance in the box. The flat feel of the game continued after the interval with both sides struggling to build tempo in hot conditions at the Rostov Arena. Martín Cáceres headed over in the 68th minute from a Sanchez delivery. Saudi Arabia had plenty of the ball in the closing stages but were unable to score a goal. The result ensured that both Russia and Uruguay would advance to the knockout stage, while Egypt and Saudi Arabia were eliminated at the group stage.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia
Uruguay have won all four of their World Cup matches against Asian opposition. Suarez became the sixth player to make 100 appearances for his country. He also became the first Uruguay player to score in three World Cups. Uruguay's victory had also helped Russia to qualify for the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union, as Russia had won 3–1 over Egypt earlier.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia
Assistant referees:Nicolas Danos (France)Cyril Gringore (France)Fourth official:John Pitti (Panama)Reserve assistant referee:Gabriel Victoria (Panama)Video assistant referee:Szymon Marciniak (Poland)Assistant video assistant referees:Paweł Gil (Poland)Paweł Sokolnicki (Poland)Daniele Orsato (Italy)


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Uruguay vs Russia
The two teams had met in one previous game, a friendly in 2012, which ended in a 1–1 draw. With Russia formerly playing as the Soviet Union, the sides had faced each other seven times, including two matches at the World Cup, one in the 1962 FIFA World Cup group stage, won by the Soviet Union 2–1, and the other one at the 1970 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, won by Uruguay 1–0.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Uruguay vs Russia
Luis Suárez curled a low free-kick into the bottom-right corner after Yury Gazinsky's foul on Rodrigo Bentancur. Denis Cheryshev struck a half-volley straight at Fernando Muslera. He then found the net at the other end on 23 minutes, though, as his touch diverted Diego Laxalt's first-time effort past Igor Akinfeev. In the 36th minute, Igor Smolnikov picked up his second booking after lunging in on Edinson Cavani, just eight minutes after being carded for a foul on Matías Vecino. Muslera's pass enabled Russia to counter, though Artem Dzyuba sent his close-range effort well wide. In the final minute of normal time, Cavani thumped home the rebound after Akinfeev had kept out Diego Godín's header.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Uruguay vs Russia
Russia are the first European side to fail to top their group as the host nation since Spain in 1982, and they are equal with South Africa (2010) in suffering the heaviest defeat as hosts in the group stage – both defeated 3–0 by Uruguay. Uruguay are the first side to win all three of their group games (scoring five goals) without conceding a single goal since Argentina in 1998 (seven goals scored, none conceded). Cavani became just the second player to score a goal in three separate World Cup tournaments for Uruguay after Luis Suárez. Muslera became Uruguay's all-time leading appearance maker at the World Cup (14) overtaking Ladislao Mazurkiewicz.


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Uruguay vs Russia
Assistant referees:Djibril Camara (Senegal)El Hadji Samba (Senegal)Fourth official:Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia)Reserve assistant referee:Hasan Al Mahri (United Arab Emirates)Video assistant referee:Clément Turpin (France)Assistant video assistant referees:Paweł Gil (Poland)Cyril Gringore (France)Daniele Orsato (Italy)


2018 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Saudi Arabia vs Egypt
The two teams had met in six previous matches, the most recent one in the 2007 Pan Arab Games, won by Egypt 2–1.