The vast country that is Russia is hosting the tournament with 12 stadiums total in 11 different cities.
Moscow: Moscow is housing two of the stadiums for the World Cup, one is the Otkritie Arena which is home of Spartak Moscow and has a capacity of 45,360 people. This stadium will host 5 games during the tournament.
Moscow: Luzhniki stadium is the biggest stadium in Russia. This stadium seats 81,000 people and is where the World Cup Final 2018 will be played.
Saint Petersburg: Krestovsky Stadium, this stadium plays host to local side Zenit and also has a retractable roof. The capacity is 68,134 seats.
Sochi: Fisht Olympic Stadium was built for the Winter Olympics back in 2014 and now lies waiting for it's taste of Football at this years World Cup. Seating capacity is 47,659 for the tournament.
Kazan: Kazan Arena was also newly built, in 2013 for the rich owners of local side Rubin Kazan. It seats 45,379 and will play host to 6 tournament matches.
Volgograd: Volgograd Arena, home to FC Rotor Volgograd is located in southern Russia and was purpose built for this years World Cup. It has only been open a few weeks. It seats 45,568 people and plays hosts to England's first game of the tournament!
Kaliningrad: Kaliningrad Stadium, hosts FC Baltika Kaliningrad from the next season after completion of the stadium came around March 2018. This stadium seats 35,212 people and sits just 45km away from Poland!
Yekaterinburg: Central Stadium, this stadium is the furthest eastern stadium in this years world cup and has a capacity of 35,696 people.
Saransk: Mordovia Arena, home to FC Mordovia Saransk this stadium was purpose built for the tournament as well. The stadium seats 44,442 people.
Nizhny Novgorod: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium is another purpose built stadium which will play host to FC Olimpiyets Nizhny Novgorod home games next season. With a capacity of 44,899 it is a very pretty stadium.
Rostov-on-Don: Rostov Arena hosts FC Rostov and serves as host to Brazil's first tournament game. Capacity is at 45,000 seats.
Samara: Cosmos Arena is where FC Krylia Sovetov Samara play in the Russian league and was purpose built for this tournament. It seats 44,918 people.
Teams
Groups!
Schedule
Opening Match - Thursday, Jun 14 3:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) Last 16 - Saturday, Jun 30 2:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) Quarter Finals - Friday, Jul 06 2:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) Semi Finals - Tuesday, Jul 10 6:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00) World Cup Final - Sunday, Jul 15 3:00pm GMT (GMT+00:00)
Format
This year’s World Cup will probably be the last time we have the regular format we are used to. With 2022 being highlighted as the plan to implement the new 48 team world cup, this Russian version will be the last of the standard 32 teams. So the format for those who do not remember is;
32 Teams Seeded into 8 Groups of 4
Round Robin Groups
3 Points per win, 1 Points a draw, 0 points for a loss
Top 2 Teams Advance
Bottom 2 Eliminated
Tiebreakers - Goal Difference, then Goals Scored, then Head to Head
Last 16 is a Pre Deteremined bracket where Group Winners play Group Runner Ups
Each knockout match is regular 90 minutes, then extra time and penalties if needed
More To Come!
Over the next few days before the World Cup i will bring out the Power Rank! Which will mean the World Cup is pretty much spoiled as my predictions are that good! On top of that i will get a group thread out for every group so you can build the hype up and get trash talking and fanboying N1E style! CSS: FO-nTTaX Graphics: Sneirac Awesomeness: Panda
Went with B. I don't cheer for Spain, but living here, their matches are interesting and hyped. My gf is Moroccan, so that adds some magic there, and I legit think they have a decent team that can beat Portugal (not Spain tho).
Not having the Netherlands there means none of the groups are really interesting tho
ye group H and A have like, both spots up for grabs. every other group I'm at least certain of one team making it.
Then again all world cups have big upsets even in the group stage. 2014 had spain failing (granted, in group with chile and netherlands), Italy and England failing (getting #3 and #4 in group where Costa Rica and Uruguay advanced), and Portugal getting #3 behind USA. 2010 had France getting #4 in group with Uruguay, Mexico and South Africa and Italy getting #4 in a group with Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand (rofl).. Actually funny how none of those teams managed to qualify this time around. But anyway, I was as certain Italy was gonna advance from that last group in 2010 as I was about any team advancing from any group this world cup, so well, anything can happen.
I doubt anybody predicted Costa Rica to finish 1st ahead of England, Italy, and Uruguay in 2014 either. I hope at least 2 African teams and at least 1 Asian team can pull some major upset.
Really tough to call the most interesting group. Gotta give fifa at least some credit for finally going to seed all teams instead of making pots based on geography. Only group A is clearly separated from the others. So here's how I see it: A: Even group, the only outcome that would surprise me would be saudi arabia advancing. But whoever does is highly unlikely to make it past the ro16, so the most important thing here is that russia do well and give little excuse to hooligans. B: The only group where it whould be obvious who advances. Good thing spain and portugal are not playing each other last though. I wouldnt mind an upset though C: Opening game between Peru and Denmark should decide whoever finishes 2nd and have a real shot against whoever wins the next group. D: Not sure here. I got croatia as a dark horse. Despite what I read from some experts, I definitely see Argentina making out of the group, but it might be close and I'm not sure they win it. And they wont get past france in the ro16 if they dont. This group could be a fireworks or anticlimatic given that nigeria and iceland are being talked up a lot. E: This will be a real test for brazil, but they should win it in the end. The race for 2nd place for second place is all open, I think the uncertainty is in which shape serbia and costa rica turn up. If serbia make second place, I might rather have germany face brazil instead of serbia because we (the german public) have a history of not taking these balcan nations seriously and, surprisingly, the national team always underperforms against them. F: Germany should win this. Mexico should have the edge over sweden, but the schedule doesnt favor them as the german team usually steamrolls their first game and then struggles in the second. So on the final matchday, I expect sweden to only need a draw against Mexico, which they will get. G: Belgium and England should take this. And the english actually look humble enough to not fail early on this time. H: Big FFA. Cant call it, but in the end whoever advances should go out in the ro16 anyway.
So in the end, the most interesting group should be D. But purely for entertainment value and tension in only the group itself, while neglecting the greater scheme of the knockout stage, I'm going for H. It is the most likely to have all teams with everything to play for until the last matchday.
On June 06 2018 02:45 Liquid`Drone wrote: ye group H and A have like, both spots up for grabs. every other group I'm at least certain of one team making it.
Then again all world cups have big upsets even in the group stage. 2014 had spain failing (granted, in group with chile and netherlands), Italy and England failing (getting #3 and #4 in group where Costa Rica and Uruguay advanced), and Portugal getting #3 behind USA. 2010 had France getting #4 in group with Uruguay, Mexico and South Africa and Italy getting #4 in a group with Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand (rofl).. Actually funny how none of those teams managed to qualify this time around. But anyway, I was as certain Italy was gonna advance from that last group in 2010 as I was about any team advancing from any group this world cup, so well, anything can happen.
I happened to be at a boardwalk bar in Atlantic City for the Italy England game... I learnt many italian curse words that day..
The groups and the bracket seem very balanced. I would put my money on Germany and Uruguay. Well rounded homogenous squads with world class individualists and two coaches with a lot of experience. So I think they will both make it to the final in which I see Germany as a favourite by a small margin.
On June 06 2018 21:27 Pandemona wrote: I'll put those polls in Power Rank thread no problem. After you see my amazing rankings it might change your mind
I smell an Engerland bias all the way from over here.
Groups D,F,H are the most interesting for me while G got to be the most boring even if I'm a long suffering England fan due to EPL. Looking forward to Switerland topping E for the huge amount of salt and "obvious" referee/ FIFA "matchfixing".
Also odds on Kane breaking a metatarsal bone? It may become an Engerland tradition
On June 06 2018 02:34 Acrofales wrote: My gf is Moroccan, so that adds some magic there, and I legit think they have a decent team that can beat Portugal (not Spain tho).
Nah, I'm highly confident we're going to draw vs Morocco. It's possible to get out of the group stage with 3 pts right?
On June 06 2018 02:34 Acrofales wrote: My gf is Moroccan, so that adds some magic there, and I legit think they have a decent team that can beat Portugal (not Spain tho).
Nah, I'm highly confident we're going to draw vs Morocco. It's possible to get out of the group stage with 3 pts right?
Group H is clearly the most balanced group (3 mid-tier teams + 1 weak team), Followed by Group A (Uruguay clear favourites + 2 mid-tier teams + 1 weak team. (Yes, Asian teams are rather weak sauce )
Group D is both high-level and also balanced. Argentina is struggling to get their groove, still too dependent on Messi magic, and have a new coach who's more conservative and tactical minded. Croatia's got the technical skills (Modric, Rakitic, etc). Iceland is a silent assassin. Nigeria is seasoned and stable. Argentina's a sure bet, but I can see 3 teams having 4-5 points and Argentina finishing 2nd even.
On June 08 2018 06:55 warding wrote: Portugal played an unrecognizable attacking football against Algeria, winning 3-0. Worrying signs... things are not looking good.
Give us back Guerrero!
Algeria took a very bad turn when they appointed Madjer (yeah the one who popularised the move) as a coach because of his popularity instead of his coaching skills. He got the job because a rich man close to the brother of the President wanted him, it was probably his last game on the bench.
Madjer's press conference was something like "the players let me down and you're haters because I was a famous player and you're all jealous".
On June 07 2018 01:18 haitike wrote: I'm so excited for Worldcup.
Casually I will be visiting England when the WC begins, so it is going to be hilarious watching matches there in some pub xDD
Watching football in England is great. I was studying in the UK in 2009 or 2010 when Man City won the title in the 93rd minute against some bottom table team. Was sitting in the JCR together with 50% man city and 50% man u fans, what an experience...
On the WC front, Belgium took a rather easy 3-0 victory vs Egypt (without Salah obviously), though if the papers are to be believed we were still pretty terrible. I didn't care enough to watch No new injuries at least...
On June 07 2018 01:18 haitike wrote: I'm so excited for Worldcup.
Casually I will be visiting England when the WC begins, so it is going to be hilarious watching matches there in some pub xDD
Watching football in England is great. I was studying in the UK in 2009 or 2010 when Man City won the title in the 93rd minute against some bottom table team. Was sitting in the JCR together with 50% man city and 50% man u fans, what an experience...
On the WC front, Belgium took a rather easy 3-0 victory vs Egypt (without Salah obviously), though if the papers are to be believed we were still pretty terrible. I didn't care enough to watch No new injuries at least...
I don't mean to be anal, but City won the first premier league title in 2012.
I was in studying England in 2007 when they lost to Croatia and missed the Euro 2008. That was pretty fun.
On June 07 2018 01:18 haitike wrote: I'm so excited for Worldcup.
Casually I will be visiting England when the WC begins, so it is going to be hilarious watching matches there in some pub xDD
Watching football in England is great. I was studying in the UK in 2009 or 2010 when Man City won the title in the 93rd minute against some bottom table team. Was sitting in the JCR together with 50% man city and 50% man u fans, what an experience...
On the WC front, Belgium took a rather easy 3-0 victory vs Egypt (without Salah obviously), though if the papers are to be believed we were still pretty terrible. I didn't care enough to watch No new injuries at least...
I don't mean to be anal, but City won the first premier league title in 2012.
I was in studying England in 2007 when they lost to Croatia and missed the Euro 2008. That was pretty fun.
Eh 2012 then, I was there from 2009 to 2013 I also saw the David Green fiasco live with about 100 English ppl watching, that was another great moment.
This looks to be surprisingly transparent and relatively sensible. If I understand correctly, we (the viewers) will get to see exactly what the referee is seeing in a situation where he is going for a review himself. Though not necessarily what the VAR team are looking at (well, this would meant to have like 10+ splitscreens going), which will most likely still lead to controversy when the referee makes a decision based on the VAR information in his ear without having a look himself (or more precisely, the focus of controversy will switch from the ref to the VAR team).
Statistically european teams and powerhouse teams are more likely to advance. The thing is though that it's also likely that several teams that are statistically likely to win will end up not winning. For example, looking just at the bracket percentages given, the average of those 15 percentages given is 65%, which means that average about 5 out of 15 predictions will not come true. (ignoring that there'd be a change in future percentages caused by earlier upsets).
This is why I get annoyed when i hear any version of 'there are only like 3 groups where the outcome for top 2 is not given' - if you have 5 groups where there's an 80% chance of two particular teams advancing (and imo only spain+portugal and england+belgium are even there) then it's quite likely that one of those groups will get an underdog advancing. .
On June 13 2018 23:50 Liquid`Drone wrote: Statistically european teams and powerhouse teams are more likely to advance. The thing is though that it's also likely that several teams that are statistically likely to win will end up not winning. For example, looking just at the bracket percentages given, the average of those 15 percentages given is 65%, which means that average about 5 out of 15 predictions will not come true. (ignoring that there'd be a change in future percentages caused by earlier upsets).
This is why I get annoyed when i hear any version of 'there are only like 3 groups where the outcome for top 2 is not given' - if you have 5 groups where there's an 80% chance of two particular teams advancing (and imo only spain+portugal and england+belgium are even there) then it's quite likely that one of those groups will get an underdog advancing. .
On June 14 2018 15:30 mahrgell wrote: The most spectacular opening game in WC history is today!
This is a real hype killer :[
Who gets the opening game in 2026? Will we we get Canada vs Madagascar (they surely have a chance to qualify with 48 teams) as opener?
#67(saudi arabia) vs #70(russia) in WC opener surely has to be the record for the matchup of lowest ranked teams in the opener in a WC.
That's not really fair, as the ghost nation (clearly my auto-correct likes Westworld too much. E: host nation) has only opened the world cup since 2006. And Germany is a powerhouse. South Africa vs Mexico wasn't exactly an epic match either... except for introducing the world to vuvuzelas, that is. But at least that was followed immediately by Uruguay vs France, which people were more hype about. Now, we have just this one match.
Does anyone think a 8-3 result can happen? Like germans lost to hungarians once in a world cup. (Totally didn't dig up the result because I'm butthurt of 7-1 lol)
Took me a while to find the world cup threads since I usually use liquidlegends.net and apparently the world cub sub forum does not exist there. Now I have to log in to teamliquid.net as well just to use the world cup threads, which is pretty annoying.
Four games with four different kickoff times, and each of them looks attractive in a different way. Today might be the day that is the most about simply enjoying football with no stress yet. At least for me as a german
- half the goals have been scored from set pieces so far - there have been already as many direct freekick goals (3) as in the entire WC'14 - there have been already more missed penalties (2) than in the entire WC '14 (1), excluding penalty shootouts, obv. (for all the haters: you can also say, that Messi missed as many penalties at this WC as all participants did in the WC '14)
World Cup: Japan fans impress by cleaning up stadium After a heated World Cup match, the stands are usually left with food waste, cups and wrappers scattered in the heat of the moment.
Japanese fans certainly had reason to go wild on Tuesday night. Their side won their opening game, beating Colombia 2-1, and securing the team's first victory against a South American side.
But after the team swept Colombia off the pitch, Japanese fans also did their share of sweeping: meticulously cleaning up their rows and seats in the stadium.
Equipped with large rubbish bags they brought along, the fans marched through the rows picking up rubbish, to leave the place just as neat as they had found it.
And not for the first time - supporters of the "Samurai Blue" have never failed to stick to their good manners.
Yeah really cool, even if its something thats almost become expected of them at this point, their culture is indeed quite brilliant in terms of inculcating social responsibility.
FIFA investigations: - disciplinary investigations vs Xhaka and Shaqiri (both Switzerland) for their goal celebrations (showing the Albanian twin head eagle) vs Serbia - disciplinary investigation vs Krstajic (coach, Serbia) for demanding the ref "to be sent to DenHaag, like they did with us" after the Switzerland game - investigations vs Serbia, due to political/offending banners by their fans - investigations vs Argentina and Croatia due to violent fan clashes - Poland has to pay 10k Swiss Francs due to political/offending banners by their fans
You know guys what's the most sad part? Since Monday we're gonna have 2 matches being played at the same time (not saying im surprised) but 4pm CEST doesn't suit me :p
On June 24 2018 14:46 mahrgell wrote: FIFA investigations: - disciplinary investigations vs Xhaka and Shaqiri (both Switzerland) for their goal celebrations (showing the Albanian twin head eagle) vs Serbia - disciplinary investigation vs Krstajic (coach, Serbia) for demanding the ref "to be sent to DenHaag, like they did with us" after the Switzerland game - investigations vs Serbia, due to political/offending banners by their fans - investigations vs Argentina and Croatia due to violent fan clashes - Poland has to pay 10k Swiss Francs due to political/offending banners by their fans
No surprise: FIFA is now also investigating the two German staffers for their offensive celebrations towards the Swedish bench after the game.
Btw: this is only a very small part of the FIFA investigations... Earlier they also opened investigations against several host cities, due to empty seats, when officially all tickets were sold etc. And those banner investigations happen quite a lot too. So yeah... they are busy.
On June 25 2018 04:58 sharkie wrote: First European team that gets eliminated is Poland, the nation that tricked to get into pot 1
hey, fuck you ;-) it's sad and shame for Poland to play like that, but spamming that polish hate in every single possible thread is retarded, you know?
On June 25 2018 04:58 sharkie wrote: First European team that gets eliminated is Poland, the nation that tricked to get into pot 1
hey, fuck you ;-) it's sad and shame for Poland to play like that, but spamming that polish hate in every single possible thread is retarded, you know?
I havent spammed any Polish hate at all, 739.
Sorry if you felt that I did! But we all knew of Polish tricks regarding friendlies
On June 25 2018 04:58 sharkie wrote: First European team that gets eliminated is Poland, the nation that tricked to get into pot 1
hey, fuck you ;-) it's sad and shame for Poland to play like that, but spamming that polish hate in every single possible thread is retarded, you know?
The cheating Argentines and barbaric Africans salute you for absorbing some of Sharkie's drivel. Maybe there might be less left for them. Maybe...
EPT
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Hoping for good games. Don't think Germany will defend it's title, so let's see who can come up with a strong tournament performance :D
) 
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One too much! :D
