The FIFA World Cup 2014 was the 20th FIFA World Cup. It was played in Brazil. The tournament took place at twelve venues across the country. It was the second time that Brazil has hosted the competition, the first being in 1950.
The tournament started with a magnificent opening ceremony at Brasilia Stadium, Sao Paolo on 12 June 2014. It concluded on 13 July with the Championship match at Maracana Stadium, Rio de Janeiro. Germany won the tournament, defeating runners-up Argentina by 1-0 in the final match. Brazil, the host country, got the fourth place.
Thirty one national football teams advanced through qualifying competitions that began in June 2011 to participate with host nation Brazil in the final tournament. A total of 64 matches were being played in twelve cities across Brazil. For the first time at a World Cup final, 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 - Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, England, France, Uruguay and Spain - qualified for this competition. The defending champion Spain was eliminated at the group stage, along with previous winners England and Italy. Germany was the first European team to win a World Cup in the Americas. This result marked for the first time that sides from the same continent had won three successive World Cups (following Italy in 2006 and Spain in 2010).
In the tournament, 171 goals (2.67) per match were scored. James Rodriguez, a Colombian star was the top scorer with 6 goals. Argentine sensation Lionel Messi was elected as the best player of the tournament. French young star Paul Pogba was elected the best young player. German player Manuel Neuer won the golden gloves as the best goalkeeper.
During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Fan Fest in the host cities received 5 million people and the country received 1 million foreigners from 202 countries.
| Word | Meaning | Parts of speech |
|---|---|---|