World Cup 2018 Promises Excitement

Every four years, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) organizes the World Cup, which is an international association football competition that is contested by the senior men’s national teams of nations that are members of FIFA.

Set to commence on June 14, this will be the 21st World Cup, with the first tournament being held in 1930. After their bid was granted in 2010, Russia was awarded hosting rights, with notable venues consisting of Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Sochi.

The tournament will consist of 32 teams, from five different confederations. 31 of those teams were determined through qualifying competitions, while Russia was automatically qualified for being the host nation. Powerhouses that qualified for this World Cup include Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Spain, England, and France.

Brazil, the most successful football team in the tournament’s history, is aiming for their 6th championship, as they previously won in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002. Unfortunately, Brazil may be best remembered for their destruction in the 2014 semi final, in which they lost to eventual champion Germany, 7-1. They followed up with a poor performance in the 3rd place match against the Netherlands, in which they were defeated 3-0.

Germany is looking to repeat as champions, after they garnered their fourth title in 2014 by defeating Argentina 1-0 in the finals. The Germans have been impressive in competitions lately, as they won the 2017 Confederations Cup, which was also held in Russia.

Lionel Messi, the Argentinian forward who is arguably the greatest footballer on the planet, has been subject to criticism, as he has failed to win a major competition with his national team. Despite winning numerous competitions with the Spanish club, Barcelona, he has yet to win a cup with Argentina. One of the other great football players in this era, Cristiano Ronaldo, is set to compete in the World Cup with his Portuguese side. Portugal has experienced immense success lately, as they won the UEFA Euro Cup in 2016, and finished 3rd in the 2017 Confederations Cup.