FIFA World Cup 2014 was held in Brazil from June 12th to July 13th 2014 and it was the 20th edition of the FIFA World Cup. It was the second time that Brazil had hosted the tournament, the first being in 1950. The FIFA World Cup 2014 was a tournament of dreams, excitement and suspense. It was one of the most spectacular tournaments ever held, and it will go down in history as one of the greatest sporting events of all time.
The tournament featured 32 teams and these teams were divided into 8 groups. Group A featured Brazil, Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon. Group B featured Spain, Netherlands, Chile and Australia. Group C featured Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan. Group D featured Uruguay, Costa Rica, England and Italy. Group E featured Switzerland, Ecuador, France and Honduras. Group F featured Argentina, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria. Group G featured Germany, Portugal, Ghana and USA, and Group H featured Belgium, Algeria, Russia and South Korea. Bosnia & Herzegovina made their first appearance in World Cup.
The group stage saw some intense matches, with Brazil and Croatia playing out a thrilling 3-1 win in opening match on 12th June 2014, with Mexico beating Cameroon 1-0 in the other match. Group stage also saw exit of defending Champions Italy and one of the strong team of tournament i.e., England.
Round of 16 began on 28th June 2014, the round featured Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Uruguay, France, Nigeria, Germany, Algeria, Netherlands, Mexico, Costa Rica, Greece, Argentina, Switzerland, Belgium and USA.
In quarter-finals, Brazil defeated Columbia 2-1. Germany beat France 1-0, Netherlands defeated Costa Rica 4-3 on Penalty Kicks and Argentina defeated Belgium 1-0.
In the 1st Semi-Finals on 8th July 2014, Germany beat Brazil 7-1 in one of the most incredible matches ever seen, while Argentina beat the Netherlands on penalties 4-2, in 2nd Semi-Final on 9th July 2014.
The final was an epic affair played on 13th July 2014 at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, with both teams creating chances and hitting the woodwork. It was eventually settled by a goal from Mario Gotze in the 113th minute, which was enough to give Germany their fourth World Cup victory.