2014 World Cup - Brazil

Host country	Brazil
Dates	12 June – 13 July 2014 (32 days)
Teams	32 (from 5 confederations)
Venue(s)	12 (in 12 host cities)
Final positions
Champions	Germany (4th title)
Runners-up	Argentina
Third place	Netherlands
Fourth place	Brazil
Tournament statistics
Matches played	64
Goals scored	171 (2.67 per match)
Attendance	3,429,873 (53,592 per match)
Top scorer(s)	James Rodríguez (6 goals)
Best player	Lionel Messi
Best young player	Paul Pogba
Bestgoalkeeper	Manuel Neuer

The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the tournament for the association football world championship, which took place at several venues across Brazil. Germany won the tournament and took its fourth title by defeating Argentina 1–0 in the final.

Official Logo

It began on 12 June with a group stage and concluded on 13 July with the championship match. It was the second time that Brazil has hosted the competition, the first being in 1950. Brazil was elected unchallenged as host nation in 2007 after the international football federation, FIFA, decreed that the tournament would be staged in South America for the first time since 1978 in Argentina, and the fifth time overall.

The national teams of 31 countries advanced through qualification competitions that began in June 2011 to participate with the host nation Brazil in the final tournament. A total of 64 matches were played in 12 cities across Brazil in either new or redeveloped stadiums. For the first time at a World Cup finals, match officials used goal-line technology, as well as vanishing foam for free kicks.

All world champion teams since the first World Cup in 1930 – Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spainand Uruguay – qualified for this competition. The title holders, Spain, were eliminated at the group stage, along with previous winners England and Italy. Uruguay was eliminated in the Round of 16 and France was eliminated at the quarter-finals. Host and 2013 Confederations Cup winner Brazil lost to Germany in the first semi-final. By winning the final, Germany became the first European team to win a World Cup in the Americas. This result marked the first time that sides from the same continent had won three successive World Cups (following Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010).

As the winners, Germany qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Fan Fest in the host cities received 5 million people, and the country received 1 million guests from 202 countries.

In March 2003, FIFA announced that the tournament would be held in South America for the first time since 1978, in line with its then-active policy of rotating the right to host the World Cup among different confederations. The decision meant that it would be the first time that two consecutive World Cups were staged outside Europe and the first time two consecutive World Cups were held in the Southern Hemisphere (the 2010 FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa). Only Brazil and Colombia formally declared their candidacy but, after the withdrawal of the latter from the process, Brazil was officially elected as host nation unopposed on 30 October 2007.

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

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

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

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

Winner: Germany