The World Cup – it is the global spectacle that stops entire nations and forges history never to be forgotten.
Once every four years, the footballing community comes together for the highlight of the beautiful game – where legends are made forever.
From Johan Cruyff to Gerd Muller, Pele to Diego Maradona, the feats of some of the best players to have ever lived are immortalised in their actions at the World Cup.
With the latest instalment of this iconic competition upon us and set to take place over an epic five weeks in Russia, this is your information hub.
From teams to groups, players to stadiums, all the relevant information you need to know is right here.
World Cup 2018 Host Cities
The 2018 World Cup will take place between 12 stadiums and 11 cities, allowing travelling fans to take in different parts of Russia.
The main Luzhniki Stadium in Russia is the national stadium and the venue for the final, with a capacity of 81,000.
Games will also take place in Saint Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Saransk, Samara, Volgograd, Rostov and Sochi.
World Cup 2018 Competition Format
The World Cup has 32 teams competing, with the sides pooled in eight groups of four nations. The top two from each group will progress to the knockout stages.
Click on the relevant groups and teams below for profiles, previews, predictions and squads.
Teams competing – Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
Teams competing – Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran
Teams competing – France, Australia, Peru, Denmark
Teams competing – Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria
Teams competing – Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
Teams competing – Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea
Teams competing – Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England
Teams competing – Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan
World Cup Broadcasters
The World Cup is the most-anticipated sporting event on the planet and as such there has been an extraordinary amount of expenditure by broadcasters to win the rights to show the action.
Click here to find out how to watch the World Cup in different countries, while you can watch foreign coverage of the tournament online.
World Cup Sponsorships
There are a raft of new sponsors on board for this year’s competition in Russia, with the negative press around FIFA leading to some major companies pulling their support for the tournament.
Click here to find out who has invested in the World Cup and how much they have paid.
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