FIFA World Cup dates. Main contenders for victory

A grand event for all football fans will start in June 2018. The 2018 World Championship will be held for the first time in history in our country. The dates for the 2018 FIFA World Cup are from June 14 to July 15. The final preparations for the large-scale event are now being completed. According to the organizers, the turnout of fans will be a record number of 1 million people.

About the Championship

The World Cup is the main international football event held by the World Football Federation (FIFA). Tournaments, like the Olympics, are held exactly once every four years. The final for the title of champions attracts a huge number of spectators. For example, about 716 million people watched the fight for the world champion title in 2006.

The entire history of the competition includes only 8 countries that won the main title. Brazil has won the FIFA World Cup 5 times. 4 times the coveted award was in the hands of Italy and Germany, 3 times in Argentina and Uruguay, and once the main award went to Spain, France and England.

The location of the sporting event is determined by FIFA members by voting. The verdict is made at least 6 years before the start of the games. The last competition was held in 2014, where the German team became champions, and Brazil was chosen as the venue. In 2018, for the first time, a national event will be held in the Russian Federation.

World Cup 2018, countries

On December 2, 2010, in Zurich, representatives of the football association announced that Russia would host the 21st FIFA world tournament. Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Portugal also competed for the right to become the host country.

For the first time in history, matches will be held in Eastern Europe, in two parts of the world - Asia and Europe. 12 stadiums will host football matches in 11 cities.

Over the course of a month, 32 teams, divided into 8 groups, will fight to reach the playoffs. The following countries will compete for the main prize:

Russia.
Belgium.
Brazil.
Iran.
Mexico.
Japan.
South Korea.
Saudi Arabia.
Germany.
England.
Spain.
Nigeria.
Costa Rica.
Poland.
Egypt.
Serbia.
Iceland.
Portugal.
Uruguay.
France.
Colombia.
Argentina.
Panama.
Senegal.
Switzerland.
Morocco.
Tunisia.
Croatia.
Sweden.
Australia.
Peru.
Denmark.

A total of 209 countries from Africa, Oceania, South, North and Central America, Europe and Asia took part in the qualifying tournaments in 2015-2017. During the qualifying matches, 32 countries were selected. The start date for the 2018 FIFA World Cup was announced on June 14.

Dates and venues, list of cities

Moscow. The main sporting event will begin on June 14. The first opening match will take place on this day at the Luzhniki venue. Since 2013, its active reconstruction began to increase its capacity; now the sports arena will be able to accommodate about 81 thousand spectators. This main Moscow venue will host the opening, closing, semi-final and final games. The dates for the 2018 FIFA World Cup for this sports ground are June 14, July 10-11, July 15.

In this city, matches will also be held at the Otkritie Arena. For fans it is known under another name - “Spartak”. After reconstruction, the capacity of the site is 45 thousand people.

Saint Petersburg. There will be a match for 3rd place, one semi-final and group games. The competition will take place at the modern innovative complex St. Petersburg Arena, which seats 69 thousand spectators.

Saransk. At the Mordovia Arena stadium, the capacity will be increased to 45 thousand due to additional stands, which will be dismantled after the World Cup.

Sochi. The football competition will take place at the Fisht arena, which was built for the start of the 2014 Olympics. The stadium will host several group matches, as well as the 1/8 finals.

Samara. The Samara Arena building was built especially for the championship. The quarter finals and group stages will take place here. In total, the sports facility will host 6 football games.

Kaliningrad. The 35,000-seat Arena Baltika stadium will host the group stage matches. A total of four matches are scheduled here in June (16th, 22nd, 25th and 28th).

Kazan. The Kazan Arena sports facility was built specifically for the 2018 championship. But it has already earned the title of excellent venue during the 2013 Universiade and the Aquatics Championship.

Ekaterinburg. Construction of the Ekaterinburg Arena began on the site of the former stadium from the late 50s. After the World Cup, the 35,000-seat site will be used for the local Ural team, as well as for hosting sports and cultural city events.

Volgograd. After the World Cup, the arena will reduce its capacity to 35 thousand people and will serve for training of the local football club, as well as for large-scale competitions and events.

Nizhny Novgorod. The new international-class stadium will host 4 games. The dates are set for June 18, 21, 24 and 27, as well as July 1 and 6.

Rostov-on-Don. The Rostov Arena stadium began operating at the end of December 2018. The complex will host 4 group stage matches and the 1/8 finals.

Thus, 11 Russian cities are given a unique opportunity to host world competitions. There will be 64 matches in total. 12 sports facilities have been prepared for the upcoming games.

The official mascot of the 2018 World Cup will be a funny wolf named Zabivaka. He was selected on the official FIFA website by voting. The modern animal wears orange glasses, which help him accurately hit the goal, and his clothes use the colors of the Russian flag.

For a long time now, bookmakers and sports analysts have been betting on the winner of the upcoming world championship. The main contender for victory is the current world champion Germany. “The invincible machine of coach Joachim Löw” has every chance to take one of the leading places in the standings. Experts also assign good positions to Spain, France, Argentina and Brazil.

Will the opening of the 2018 World Cup take place in Moscow?

Russian fans of the king of team sports are looking forward to next year: the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be held in our country. The organizers are planning a record attendance of the matches - one million fans. The list of championship cities has already been determined and preparations for sports facilities are underway.

FIFA World Cup: dates

A total of 64 matches will take place during the World Cup. The group stage will take place from June 14 to 28. The opening match will take place on June 14 at Luzhniki.

Table: Schedule of group stage matches

date	Place and time
15.06	Ekaterinburg (17.00), St. Petersburg (18.00), Sochi (21.00)
16.06	Kaliningrad (21.00), Kazan (13.00), Moscow (Spartak 16.00), Saransk (19.00)
17.06	Moscow (“Luzhniki” 18.00), Rostov-on-Don (21.00), Samara (16.00)
18.06	Nizhny Novgorod (15.00), Sochi (18.00), Volgograd (21.00)
19.06	Moscow (Spartak 15.00), St. Petersburg (21.00), Saransk (18.00)
20.06	Kazan (21.00), Moscow (Luzhniki 15.00), Rostov-on-Don (18.00)
21.06	Ekaterinburg (17.00), Nizhny Novgorod (21.00), Samara (19.00)
22.06	Kaliningrad (20.00), St. Petersburg (15.00), Volgograd (18.00)
23.06	Moscow (Spartak 15.00), Rostov-on-Don (21.00), Sochi (18.00)
24.06	Ekaterinburg (20.00), Kazan (21.00), Nizhny Novgorod (15.00)
25.06
26.06	Moscow (“Luzhniki” 17.00), Rostov-on-Don (21.00), St. Petersburg (21.00), Sochi (17.00)
27.06	Ekaterinburg (19.00), Kazan (17.00), Moscow (Spartak 21.00), Nizhny Novgorod (21.00)
28.06	Kaliningrad (20.00), Samara (18.00), Saransk (21.00), Volgograd (17.00)

Then, on June 29, there will be a day of rest for athletes and fans, and will it start on the 30th? finals. On the same day, matches will take place in Kazan at 17.00 and in Sochi at 21.00. Two meetings will be held on July 1: in Moscow (Luzhniki) at 17.00 and in Nizhny Novgorod at 21.00. The matches on July 2 will take place in Rostov-on-Don (21.00) and Samara (18.00). The final semi-final matches will be held in Moscow (Spartak) on July 3 at 21.00 and in St. Petersburg at 17.00.
Before the quarter finals, two days of rest are planned - July 4 and 5.

The next four games for reaching the semi-finals will take place:

06.07 in Kazan at 21.00 and Nizhny Novgorod at 17.00;
07.07 in Samara at 18.00 and in Sochi at 21.00.

The semi-final games are scheduled for July 10-11. They will be held respectively in St. Petersburg and Moscow at Luzhniki at 21.00. The match for third place will take place in St. Petersburg on July 14 at 17.00, and the final game in the capital on July 15 at 18.00 at the Luzhniki Stadium. On this day the champion team of the 2018 FIFA World Cup will be announced.

Where the championship will be held: cities and stadiums

The following stadiums will host the 2018 World Cup:

« Luzhniki" The opening and closing of the World Cup, semi-final and final games will take place here. Active reconstruction of the stadium has been underway since 2013. The work is scheduled to be completed this year. The stadium will have additional entrances, seats for fans with disabilities, and screens will be installed to broadcast matches. The capacity will increase, and the stadium will be able to accommodate about 81 thousand spectators.
« Opening Arena"or more commonly the Spartak stadium. Already during construction, it was planned that the stadium would host the 2018 World Cup, so adjustments were made, and now the Arena’s capacity is 45 thousand fans.
« St. Petersburg Arena"/"Krestovsky"/"Zenit Arena" - a new stadium in the northern capital. It will become a world-class multifunctional sports arena. The project of the grandiose structure was developed by the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. The stadium was put into operation in December 2016, but work to prepare for the World Cup games continues.
Olympic « Fisht“Sochi is being reconstructed: it is planned to dismantle the temporary roof and increase the number of seats to 45 thousand.
Construction " Kazan Arena» timed to coincide with the grandiose sporting event - the 2018 World Cup. The permanent capacity of the stadium will be more than 45 thousand seats. It is planned to build temporary structures for the World Cup, thanks to which the number of spectators can reach 60 thousand. The architectural project was developed by the British firm Populous. The multifunctional complex is ready for the 2018 World Cup.
Construction of the stadium Rostov Arena"for 45 thousand places they plan to complete this year.
Construction of a sports facility " Nizhny Novgorod"with a capacity of 45 thousand seats is also dedicated to the 2018 World Cup.
Stadium " Central» will host matches that will take place in Yekaterinburg. The facility is under reconstruction, during which it is expected to increase the number of places to 35 thousand.
« Baltika Arena"/"Kaliningrad Stadium" for 35 thousand spectators will be built from scratch especially for the World Cup.
The construction of the stadium in Volgograd is planned to be completed this year. " Volgograd Arena"will be able to accommodate 45 thousand fans.
Opening of the stadium Mordovia Arena"(45 thousand places) in Saransk was postponed until 2017.
« Cosmos Arena"/"Samara Arena" is also being built for the 2018 World Cup. Its capacity is 45 thousand seats.

Preparation of facilities for the FIFA World Cup is being completed. Fans are looking forward to 2018.

In 2018, our country has the great honor and responsibility of hosting the final part of the FIFA World Cup. Russia is not only becoming the host country of the World Cup for the first time, it will be the first among the Eastern European countries to host this sporting event of world significance.

When does the 2018 FIFA World Cup start in Russia?

The final part of the 21st FIFA Football Championship will be held in Russia. Dates from June 14 to July 15, 2018. The championship will be held at 12 stadiums in 11 cities. And of course, our Moscow occupies a special place among these cities.

Play-off matches: 1/8 - from June 30 to July 3, 1/4 games - July 6 and 7, semi-finals in St. Petersburg (July 10) and Moscow (July 11).

Finally, the match for third place will take place on July 14 in St. Petersburg, and the championship final will take place on July 15 in Moscow.

In which cities will the 2018 FIFA World Cup be held?

The world championship matches will be hosted by 12 stadiums in 11 Russian cities - Moscow (2 stadiums), St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Rostov-on-Don and Saransk.

Dates of the upcoming matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup

the meeting starts at 18:00 - first round - Russia - Saudi Arabia - 06/14/18;

the meeting starts at 15:00 - first round - Egypt - Uruguay - 06/15/18;

the meeting starts at 18:00 - first round - Morocco - Iran - 06/15/18;

the meeting starts at 21:00 - first round - Portugal - Spain - 06/15/18;

start of the meeting at 13:00 - first round - France - Australia - 06.16.18;

the meeting starts at 16:00 - first round - Argentina - Iceland - 06/16/18;

the meeting starts at 19:00 - first round - Peru - Denmark - 06.16.18;

start of the meeting at 22:00 - first round - Croatia - Nigeria - 06/16/18;

the meeting starts at 15:00 - first round - Costa Rica - Serbia - 06/17/18;

start of the meeting at 18:00 - first round - Germany - Mexico - 06/17/18;

the meeting starts at 21:00 - first round - Brazil - Switzerland - 06/17/18;

the meeting starts at 15:00 - first round - Sweden - South Korea - 06/18/18;

the meeting starts at 18:00 - first round - Belgium - Panama - 06/18/18;

start of the meeting at 21:00 - first round - Tunisia - England - 06/18/18;

the meeting starts at 15:00 - first round - Colombia - Japan - 06/19/18;

the meeting starts at 18:00 - first round - Poland - Senegal - 06/19/18.

2018 FIFA World Cup schedule. Play-offs

FIFA World Cup 2018: match schedule for June 30, 2018
Match 49. 1/8 finals. Kazan. 1st place in group C - 2nd place in group D

Match 50. 1/8 finals. Sochi. 1A - 2B

FIFA World Cup 2018: match schedule for July 1, 2018
Match 51. 1/8 finals. Moscow, Luzhniki. 1B - 2A

Match 52. 1/8 finals. Nizhny Novgorod. 1D - 2C

FIFA World Cup 2018: match schedule for July 2, 2018
Match 53. 1/8 finals. Rostov-on-Don. 1G - 2H

Match 54. 1/8 finals. Samara. 1E - 2F

FIFA World Cup 2018: match schedule for July 3, 2018
Match 55. 1/8 finals. Moscow, Otkritie Arena. 1H - 2G

Match 56. 1/8 finals. Saint Petersburg. 1F - 2E

Match 57. 1/4 finals. Kazan. Winner 53 - winner 54.

Match 58. 1/4 finals. Nizhny Novgorod. P49 - P50.

Match 59. 1/4 finals. Samara. P55 - P56

Match 60. 1/4 finals. Sochi. P51 - P52.

Match 61. 1/2 finals. Saint Petersburg. P57 - P58

Match 62. 1/2 finals. Moscow, Luzhniki. P59 - P60

2018 FIFA World Cup: match schedule for July 14, 2018
Match 63. Match for 3rd place. Saint Petersburg.

Fan ID

In order to attend matches, you must have a ticket and a personalized spectator card, also known as a fan passport. If you only have a ticket in your hands, unfortunately, you won’t be allowed into the match.

A fan passport is issued free of charge and is valid for all matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. This passport and match ticket will allow fans to travel free of charge on World Cup host city transport on match days.

There is already a single 24-hour hotline for fans regarding transportation issues. The Rospotrebnadzor department also operates a hotline regarding hotel services for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

FIFA World Cup in Russia: Match schedule is a section that allows all football fans to freely navigate the calendar of matches of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and be aware of all the necessary information on any of them. That is, you will never be late for a match or to watch it, and you will know in advance which game will take place.

If desired or necessary, in this same section everyone will be able to find all the information on each match of the tournament. To do this, just click on any game in World Championship 2018 calendar.

Inside each match before the game, you will be able to find the names of the refereeing team and get acquainted with the tentative lineups for the match, or you can offer your vision of the game and discuss it in a chat with other football fans. As the game progresses, you will have access to a text broadcast of each match, which will always be available and will not go anywhere after the meeting. After the game, you will also be able to find out the authors of the goals and those who chalked up cards or other effective actions worthy of the meeting minutes. Also, inside each match, all the current news on it will be available - which preceded the meeting or appeared following its results.

FIFA World Cup 2018 dates

12 stadiums in 11 Russian cities will host matches of this summer's main event. The dates for the 2018 FIFA World Cup have been set for a long time. Most football fans have already marked key dates on the calendar. Some will see the matches from the stadium, and millions of people around the world will watch the 2018 World Cup on TV.

If you are not very often interested in football, then remember: the opening date of the 2018 FIFA World Cup is June 14. On this day, the Russian team will open the tournament with a match against the Saudi Arabian team at Luzhniki. Russia will play the rest of its group matches at the World Cup on June 19 and 25 – against Egypt and Uruguay.

This and other dates for the 2018 FIFA World Cup can be viewed in our table - select matches of specific groups or the entire group stage. As the tournament progresses, the table will be updated when the participants in specific playoff matches become known.

Knowing the start date of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and other days of matches of the Russian national team is also important due to the fresh initiative of the Vice-Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Igor Lebedev. The deputy proposes to make the days of matches of the Russian national team a weekend for the entire country.

Key dates for the 2018 FIFA World Cup

June 14 – opening match at Luzhniki
June 14-28 – group stage matches
June 30 – start of playoff matches
July 10 and 11 – semi-final matches
July 14 – match for 3rd place
July 15 – final

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