World Cup 2018 schedule: All the groups, fixtures, kick-off time and venues for the tournament in Russia
The biggest football event in the world - FIFA World Cup is all set to arrive kick-off from 14th June 2018. Called as the ultimate trophy which every team and player wants to get their hands on. Russia will be hosting the 21st edition of the greatest football event. After a long gap of 12 years, FIFA World Cup is coming back to Europe, Germany hosted it way back in 2006.
In this mega event, 32 teams will battle hard for over period of one month to achieve the ultimate glory. The most prominent teams who are playing in this tournament are Spain, Brazil, Argentina, France, Portugal and Germany. 2006 Champions Italy failed to make the cut in this edition after a poor outing in the qualifiers.
Last time in 2014, Brazil hosted the biggest football extravaganza where Germany emerged as the World Champion by beating the Lionel Messi-led Argentina side by 1-0 in the finals. This time the competition will be a lot tougher as many teams have redeemed themselves from the last edition of the cup. We saw Portugal winning the Euro Cup in 2016, Spain also look confident and eager to bounce back after their poor performance in the last outing of FIFA World Cup. France will also a team to look out for as they have some quality young talent in their squads like Mbappe, Greizmann, Dembele and Umtiti. Brazil are also seeking to take revenge from Germany for their 7-1 humiliation in the semifinal stage of 2014 world cup. Argentina will also be gearing up to win this world cup for their greatest player Lionel Messi who might be playing his last World Cup.
The one-month long tournament will have total 64 matches and the finale will be played on 15th July. All the 32 teams are divided into eight groups which will consist of four teams each. The top two sides from each group will qualify further for Round of 16.
Here is the list of each group of FIFA World Cup 2018.
Group A: Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
Group B: Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran
Group C: France, Australia, Peru, Denmark
Group D: Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria
Group E: Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
Group F: Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea
Group G: Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England
Group H: Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan
Fixtures of the FIFA World Cup 2018 (Date and Time in IST):
June 14/6/2018, Thursday
Russia vs Saudi Arabia (8:30pm)
June 15/6/2018, Friday
Egypt vs Uruguay (5:30pm)
Morocco vs Iran (8:30pm)
Portugal vs Spain (11:30pm)
June 16/6/2018, Saturday
France vs Australia (3:30pm)
Argentina vs Iceland (6:30pm)
Peru vs Denmark (9:30pm)
Croatia vs Nigeria (5:30pm)
June 17/6/2018, Sunday
Costa Rica vs Serbia (12:30am)
Germany vs Mexico (8:30pm)
Brazil vs Switzerland (11:30pm)
June 18/6/2018, Monday
Sweden vs South Korea (5:30pm
Belgium vs Panama 8:30pm
Tunisia vs England 11:30pm
June 19/6/2018, Tuesday
Poland vs Senegal (5:30pm)
Colombia vs Japan (8:30pm)
Russia vs Egypt (11:30pm)
June 20/6/2018, Wednesday
Portugal vs Morocco (5:30pm)
Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia (8:30pm)
Iran vs Spain (11:30pm)
June 21/6/2018, Thursday
France vs Peru (5:30pm)
Denmark vs Australia (4:30pm)
Argentina vs Croatia (11:30pm)
June 22/6/2018, Friday
Brazil vs Costa Rica (5:30pm)
Nigeria vs Iceland (8:30pm)
Serbia vs Switzerland (4:30pm)
June 23/62018, Saturday
Belgium vs Tunisia (5:30pm)
Germany vs Sweden (8:30pm)
South Korea vs Mexico (11:30pm)
June 24/6/2018, Sunday
England vs Panama (5:30pm)
Japan vs Senegal (8:30pm)
Poland vs Colombia (11:30pm)
June 25/6/2017, Monday
Saudi Arabia vs Egypt (7:30pm)
Uruguay vs Russia (8:30pm)
Iran vs Portugal (11:30pm)
Spain vs Morocco (10:30pm)
June 26/6/2018, Tuesday
Australia vs Peru (7:30pm)
Denmark vs France (7:30pm)
Nigeria vs Argentina (11:30pm)
Iceland vs Croatia (11:30pm)
June 27/6/2018, Wednesday
South Korea vs Germany (7:30pm)
Mexico vs Sweden (7:30pm)
Serbia vs Brazil (11:30pm)
Switzerland vs Costa Rica (11:30pm)
June 28/6/2018, Thursday
Japan vs Poland (7:30pm)
Senegal vs Colombia (7:30pm)
Panama vs Tunisia (11:30pm)
England vs Belgium (10:30pm)
Round of 16:
June 30/6/2018, Saturday
Group C winners vs Group D runners-up (7:30pm)
Group A winners vs Group B runners-up (11:30pm)
July 1/7/2018, Sunday
Group B winners vs Group A runners-up (7:30pm)
Group D winners vs Group C runners-up (11:30pm)
July 2/7/2018, Monday
Group E winners vs Group F runners-up (12:30am)
Group G winners vs Group H runners-up (11:30pm)
Group F winners vs Group E runners-up (7:30pm)
Group H winners vs Group G runners-up (11:30pm)
Quarterfinals:
July 6/7/2018, Friday
QF1: Winner (Group C winner vs Group D runners-up) vs Winner (Group A winners vs Group B runners-up) (7:30pm)
QF2: Winner (Group E winners vs Group F runners-up) vs Winner (Group G winners vs Group H runners-up) (11:30pm)
July 7/7/2018, Saturday
QF3: Winner (Group F winners vs Group E runners-up) vs Winner (Group H winners vs Group G runners-up) (11:30pm)
QF4: Winner (Group B winners vs Group A runners-up) vs Winner (Group D winners vs Group C runners-up) (12:00am)
Semi-finals:
July 10/7/2018, Tuesday
Quarter-final 1 vs Quarter-final 2 (11:30pm)
July 11/7/2018, Wednesday
Quarter-final 3 vs Quarter-final 4 (11:30pm)
Third place playoff:
July 14/7/2018, Saturday
Loser of semi-final 1 vs Loser of semi-final 2
Final:
July 15/7/2018, Sunday
Winner of Semi-final 1 vs Winner of Semi-final 2 (8:30pm)
Venues for FIFA World Cup 2018
1. Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
2. Saint Petersburg Stadium, Saint Petersburg
3. Fisht Stadium, Sochi
4. Ekaterinburg Arena, Ekaterinburg
5. Kazan Arena, Kazan
6. Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
7. Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
8. Samara Arena, Samara
9. Mordovia Arena, Saransk
10. Volgograd Stadium, Volgograd
11. Spartak Stadium, Moscow
12. Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad
Where to watch FIFA World Cup 2018 in India:
The FIFA World Cup 2018 broadcasting rights have been bought by Sony Sports Network and the matches will be aired live on Sony Ten 2/HD, Sony Ten 3/HD and Sony Liv App.
