2014 FIFA World Cup facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
2014 FIFA World Cup

Copa do Mundo da FIFA Brasil 2014
Germany lifting the World Cup trophy.
Tournament details
Host country	Brazil
Dates	13 June – 13 July
Teams	32 (from 6 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)
← 2010 2018 →

The 2014 FIFA World Cup was a huge international football tournament. It was the 20th time the FIFA World Cup was held. The event took place in Brazil from June 12 to July 13, 2014. This was the second time Brazil hosted the World Cup. It was also the fourth time a South American country hosted the tournament.

Germany won the World Cup. They beat Argentina 1–0 in the final match. The team that won the previous World Cup, Spain, did not make it past the first round. They lost to the Netherlands and Chile. Brazil, the host country, was knocked out after a big 1–7 loss to Germany.

Teams That Played

     Countries that played in the World Cup      Countries that did not qualify      Countries that did not enter      Countries not part of FIFA

Thirty-two teams from all over the world played in the 2014 World Cup. These teams earned their spots through qualifying games. Brazil automatically qualified because they were the host country.

Prize Money for Teams

All teams got money to help them prepare for the tournament. The winning teams received even more money.

Host Cities and Stadiums

Twelve cities in Brazil were chosen to host the World Cup games. The final match was played at the famous Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. This stadium also hosted the final of the 1950 World Cup.

Group Stage Matches

The 32 teams were divided into eight groups, from Group A to Group H. In the group stage, teams played against others in their group.

• A win gave a team 3 points.
• A draw (tie) gave 1 point.
• A loss gave 0 points.

The top two teams from each group moved on to the next round.

Group A

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Brazil	3	2	1	0	7	2	+5	7
Mexico	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7
Croatia	3	1	0	2	6	6	0	3
Cameroon	3	0	0	3	1	9	–8	0

Group B

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Netherlands	3	3	0	0	10	3	+7	9
Chile	3	2	0	1	5	3	+2	6
Spain	3	1	0	2	4	7	–3	3
Australia	3	0	0	3	3	9	–6	0

Group C

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Colombia	3	3	0	0	9	2	+7	9
Greece	3	1	1	1	2	4	–2	4
Côte d'Ivoire	3	1	0	2	4	5	–1	3
Japan	3	0	1	2	2	6	–4	1

Group D

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Costa Rica	3	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7
Uruguay	3	2	0	1	4	4	0	6
Italy	3	1	0	2	2	3	–1	3
England	3	0	1	2	2	4	–2	1

Group E

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
France	3	2	1	0	8	2	+6	7
Switzerland	3	2	0	1	7	6	+1	6
Ecuador	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
Honduras	3	0	0	3	1	8	–7	0

Group F

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Argentina	3	3	0	0	6	3	+3	9
Nigeria	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
Bosnia and Herzegovina	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3
Iran	3	0	1	2	1	4	–3	1

Group G

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Germany	3	2	1	0	7	2	+5	7
United States	3	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
Portugal	3	1	1	1	4	7	–3	4
Ghana	3	0	1	2	4	6	–2	1

Group H

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Belgium	3	3	0	0	4	1	+3	9
Algeria	3	1	1	1	6	5	+1	4
Russia	3	0	2	1	2	3	–1	2
South Korea	3	0	1	2	3	6	–3	1

Knockout Stage: The Finals Begin

After the group stage, 16 teams moved on to the knockout stage. In this part of the tournament, if a team loses, they are out! Games could go into extra time or even penalty shootouts if the score was tied.

Round of 16

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

28 June – Belo Horizonte

Brazil (p)

1 (3)

4 July – Fortaleza

Chile

1 (2)

Brazil

2

28 June – Rio de Janeiro

Colombia

1

Colombia

2

8 July – Belo Horizonte

Uruguay

0

Brazil

1

30 June – Brasília

Germany

7

France

2

4 July – Rio de Janeiro

Nigeria

0

France

0

30 June – Porto Alegre

Germany

1

Germany (aet)

2

13 July – Rio de Janeiro

Algeria

1

Germany (aet)

1

29 June – Fortaleza

Argentina

0

Netherlands

2

5 July – Salvador

Mexico

1

Netherlands

0 (4)

29 June – Recife

Costa Rica

0 (3)

Costa Rica (p)

1 (5)

9 July – São Paulo

Greece

1 (3)

Netherlands

0 (2)

1 July – São Paulo

Argentina (p)

0 (4)

Third place

Argentina (aet)

1

5 July – Brasília

12 July – Brasília

Switzerland

0

Argentina

1

Brazil

0

1 July – Salvador

Belgium

0

Netherlands

3

Belgium (aet)

2

United States

1

Round of 16

The Round of 16 saw exciting matches where teams fought to stay in the tournament. Brazil won a close game against Chile in a penalty shootout. Colombia beat Uruguay, and the Netherlands came back to win against Mexico. Costa Rica also won their match on penalties against Greece. Germany and Belgium both won their games in extra time. Argentina also needed extra time to beat Switzerland.

Quarter-finals

In the Quarter-finals, Germany beat France 1-0. Brazil won against Colombia 2-1. Argentina defeated Belgium 1-0. The Netherlands and Costa Rica played to a 0-0 tie, with the Netherlands winning in a penalty shootout.

Semifinals

The semifinals had two very memorable games. Germany played Brazil in a match that ended 7-1 for Germany. This was a shocking result for the host nation. In the other semifinal, Argentina beat the Netherlands in a penalty shootout after a 0-0 tie.

Third-place Match

Brazil played the Netherlands for third place. The Netherlands won this match 3-0.

Final Match

The final was played between Germany and Argentina. The game was very tight and went into extra time. Mario Götze scored the winning goal for Germany in the 113th minute. This made Germany the 2014 FIFA World Cup champions!

2014 FIFA World Cup Winners
Germany 4th title

Top Scorers

These players scored the most goals in the tournament:

• 6 goals: James Rodríguez
• 5 goals: Thomas Müller
• 4 goals:
  • Lionel Messi
  • Neymar
  • Robin van Persie

Team Rankings

This table shows how all the teams ranked based on their performance in the tournament.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Germany	7	6	1	0	18	4	+14	19
2	Argentina	7	5	1	1	8	4	+4	16
3	Netherlands	7	5	2	0	15	4	+11	17
4	Brazil	7	3	2	2	11	14	–3	11
Teams out in the Quarter-finals
5	Colombia	5	4	0	1	12	4	+8	12
6	Belgium	5	4	0	1	6	3	+3	12
7	France	5	3	1	1	10	3	+7	10
8	Costa Rica	5	2	3	0	5	2	+3	9
Teams out in the Round of 16
9	Chile	4	2	1	1	6	4	+2	7
10	Mexico	4	2	1	1	5	3	+2	7
11	Switzerland	4	2	0	2	7	7	0	6
12	Uruguay	4	2	0	2	4	6	–2	6
13	Greece	4	1	2	1	3	5	–2	5
14	Algeria	4	1	1	2	7	7	0	4
15	United States	4	1	1	2	5	6	–1	4
16	Nigeria	4	1	1	2	3	5	–2	4
Teams out in the Group stage
17	Ecuador	3	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
18	Portugal	3	1	1	1	4	7	–3	4
19	Croatia	3	1	0	2	6	6	0	3
20	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3	1	0	2	4	4	0	3
21	Ivory Coast	3	1	0	2	4	5	–1	3
22	Italy	3	1	0	2	2	3	–1	3
23	Spain	3	1	0	2	4	7	–3	3
24	Russia	3	0	2	1	2	3	–1	2
25	Ghana	3	0	1	2	4	6	–2	1
26	England	3	0	1	2	2	4	–2	1
27	South Korea	3	0	1	2	3	6	–3	1
28	Iran	3	0	1	2	1	4	–3	1
29	Japan	3	0	1	2	2	6	–4	1
30	Australia	3	0	0	3	3	9	–6	0
31	Honduras	3	0	0	3	1	8	–7	0
32	Cameroon	3	0	0	3	1	9	–8	0

• These rankings show how well teams did in the tournament. They are not based on who beat whom directly.

Images for kids

• 

  Announcing of Brazil as hosts, 2007

• 

  Brazilian football fans at the FIFA Fan Fest in Brasília.

• 

  Adidas Brazuca

• 

  From left to right: Claudia Leitte, Pitbull, and Jennifer Lopez performing at the opening ceremony at the Arena de São Paulo, São Paulo.

• 

  The Estádio Nacional in Brasília during its rebuilt. The project was completed at a cost of US$900 million, against an original budget of US$300 million, making the stadium the second-most expensive football stadium in the world after England's Wembley Stadium.

See Also

In Spanish: Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 2014 para niños