The 2018 World Cup was held amidst a lot of controversy but was carried off seamlessly producing one of the best tournaments for years. France won the trophy for the second time in their history beating Croatia in the final 4-2 at the Luzhniki stadium in the capital Moscow.
Many of the FIFA officials that awarded the World Cup to Russia (along with the 2022 world cup in Qatar) were found later to be less than honest in their dealings. It is therefore possible, as many believe, that the award of the tournament to Russia could have been partial fix. Whether that is or isn’t the case the fact of the matter is Russia held the World Cup and did a very good job of it.
Croatia were the main surprises reaching the final, they beat England along the way in the Semi-Finals – many were not predicting either team to get that far. Russia themselves did extremely well, as rank outsiders expectations were low and many locals simply just didn’t want to be embarrassed. As it turned out Russia reached the Quarter Finals beating the likes of Spain along the way.
Many of the stadiums were built especially for the 2018 World Cup, and all performed magnificently. In our historical archive below you can see all of the stadiums and fixtures used during the tournament. Click the images to see the most recent guide of the stadiums.
World Cup 2018 Stadiums
| Stadium | Year Opened | Capacity | Ave Attendance | Record Attendance | Record Attendance Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmos Arena FC Krylia Sovetov Samara |
2018 | 44,918 | 41,525 | 41,970 | Uruguay v Russia (2018) |
| Ekaterinburg Arena FC Ural |
1957 | 35,696 | 4,617 | 27,000 | FC Ural v FC Khimki (2011) |
| Fisht Olympic Stadium | 2013 | 47,659 | 30,472 | 37,923 | Germany v Mexico (2017) |
| Kaliningrad Stadium FC Baltika Kaliningrad |
2017 | 35,212 | 33,062 | 33,973 | Spain v Morocco (2018) |
| Kazan Arena FC Rubin Kazan |
2013 | 45,105 | 11,871 | 42,951 | Rubin Kazan v Liverpool (2015) |
| Krestovsky Stadium Zenit St. Petersburg |
2017 | 68,134 | 49,708 | 64,468 | Russia v Egypt (2018) |
| Luzhniki Stadium Russia |
1956 | 81,000 | 78,011 | 102,538 | USSR v Italy (1963) |
| Mordovia Arena FC Mordovia Saransk |
2017 | 44,442 | 40,049 | 41,685 | Iran v Portugal (2018) |
| Nizhny Novgorod Stadium FC Olimpiyets Nizhny Novgorod |
2017 | 44,899 | 43,150 | 43,319 | England v Panama (2018) |
| Otkritie Arena Spartak Moscow |
2014 | 45,360 | 30,077 | 44,884 | Spartak v CSKA (2016) |
| Rostov Arena FC Rostov |
2018 | 45,000 | 43,183 | 43,472 | South Korea v Mexico (2018) |
| Volgograd Arena FC Rotor Volgograd |
2017 | 45,568 | 40,245 | 42,189 | Japan v Poland (2018) |
Fixtures
Group A
| Fixture | UK KO Time | City | Stadium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Russia |
v |  S Arabia |
14th June, 16:00 | Moscow | Luzhniki Stadium |
 Egypt |
v |  Uruguay |
15th June, 13:00 | Yekaterinburg | Kestovsky Stadium |
| Russia |
v | Egypt |
19th June, 19:00 | St Petersburg | Ekaterinburg Arena |
| Uruguay |
v | S Arabia |
20th June, 16:00 | Rostov | Rostov Arena |
| Uruguay |
v | Russia |
25th June, 15:00 | Samara | Cosmos Arena |
| S Arabia |
v | Egypt |
25th June, 15:00 | Volgograd | Volgograd Arena |
Group B
| Fixture | UK KO Time | City | Stadium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Morocco |
v |  Iran |
15th June, 16:00 | St Petersburg | Kestovsky Stadium |
 Portugal |
v |  Spain |
15th June, 19:00 | Scohi | Fisht Olympic Stadium |
| Morocco |
v | Portugal |
20th June, 13:00 | Moscow | Luzhniki Stadium |
| Iran |
v | Spain |
20th June, 19:00 | Kazan | Kazan Arena |
| Iran |
v | Portugal |
25th June, 19:00 | Saransk | Mordovia Arena |
| Spain |
v | Morocco |
25th June, 19:00 | Kaliningrad | Kaliningrad Stadium |
Group C
| Fixture | UK KO Time | City | Stadium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 France |
v |  Australia |
16th June, 11:00 | Kazan | Kazan Arena |
 Peru |
v |  Denmark |
16th June, 17:00 | Saransk | Mordovia Arena |
| Denmark |
v | Australia |
21st June, 13:00 | Samara | Cosmos Arena |
| France |
v | Peru |
21st June, 16:00 | Yekaterinburg | Ekaterinburg Arena |
| Denmark |
v | France |
26th June, 15:00 | Moscow | Luzhniki Stadium |
| Australia |
v | Peru |
26th June, 15:00 | Scohi | Fisht Olympic Stadium |
Group D
| Fixture | UK KO Time | City | Stadium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina |
v |  Iceland |
16th June, 14:00 | Moscow | Otkritie Arena |
 Croatia |
v |  Nigeria |
16th June, 20:00 | Kaliningrad | Kaliningrad Stadium |
| Argentina |
v | Croatia |
21st June, 19:00 | Nizhny Novgorod | Nizhny Novgorod |
| Nigeria |
v | Iceland |
22nd June, 16:00 | Volgograd | Volgograd Arena |
| Nigeria |
v | Argentina |
26th June, 19:00 | St Petersburg | Kestovsky Stadium |
| Iceland |
v | Croatia |
26th June, 19:00 | Rostov | Rostov Arena |
Group E
| Fixture | UK KO Time | City | Stadium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Costa Rica |
v |  Serbia |
17th June, 13:00 | Samara | Cosmos Arena |
 Brazil |
v |  Switzerland |
17th June, 19:00 | Rostov | Rostov Arena |
| Brazil |
v | Costa Rica |
22nd June, 13:00 | St Petersburg | Kestovsky Stadium |
| Serbia |
v | Switzerland |
22nd June, 19:00 | Kaliningrad | Kaliningrad Stadium |
| Serbia |
v | Brazil |
27th June, 19:00 | Moscow | Otkritie Arena |
| Switzerland |
v | Costa Rica |
27th June, 19:00 | Nizhny Novgorod | Nizhny Novgorod |
Group F
| Fixture | UK KO Time | City | Stadium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Germany |
v |  Mexico |
17th June, 16:00 | Moscow | Luzhniki Stadium |
 Sweden |
v |  South Korea |
18th June, 13:00 | Nizhny Novgorod | Nizhny Novgorod |
| South Korea |
v | Mexico |
23rd June, 16:00 | Rostov | Rostov Arena |
| Germany |
v | Sweden |
23rd June, 19:00 | Scohi | Fisht Olympic Stadium |
| South Korea |
v | Germany |
27th June, 15:00 | Kazan | Kazan Arena |
| Mexico |
v | Sweden |
27th June, 15:00 | Yekaterinburg | Ekaterinburg Arena |
Group G
| Fixture | UK KO Time | City | Stadium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belgium |
v |  Panama |
18th June, 16:00 | Scohi | Fisht Olympic Stadium |
 Tunisia |
v |  England |
18th June, 19:00 | Volgograd | Volgograd Arena |
| Belgium |
v | Tunisia |
23rd June, 13:00 | Moscow | Otkritie Arena |
| England |
v | Panama |
24th June, 13:00 | Nizhny Novgorod | Nizhny Novgorod |
| England |
v | Belgium |
28th June, 19:00 | Kaliningrad | Kaliningrad Stadium |
| Panama |
v | Tunisia |
28th June, 19:00 | Saransk | Mordovia Arena |
Group H
| Fixture | UK KO Time | City | Stadium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Colombia |
v |  Japan |
19th June, 13:00 | Moscow | Otkritie Arena |
 Poland |
v |  Senegal |
19th June, 16:00 | Saransk | Mordovia Arena |
| Japan |
v | Senegal |
24th June, 16:00 | Yekaterinburg | Ekaterinburg Arena |
| Poland |
v | Colombia |
24th June, 19:00 | Kazan | Kazan Arena |
| Japan |
v | Poland |
28th June, 15:00 | Volgograd | Volgograd Arena |
| Senegal |
v | Colombia |
28th June, 15:00 | Samara | Cosmos Arena |
Round of 16
| Fixture | UK KO Time | City | Stadium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France |
v | Argentina |
30th June, 15:00 | Kazan | Kazan Arena |
| Uruguay |
v | Portugal |
30th June, 19:00 | Scohi | Fisht Olympic Stadium |
| Spain |
v | Russia |
1st July, 15:00 | Moscow | Luzhniki Stadium |
| Croatia |
v | Denmark |
1st July, 19:00 | Nizhny Novgorod | Nizhny Novgorod |
| Brazil |
v | Mexico |
2nd July, 15:00 | Samara | Cosmos Arena |
| Belgium |
v | Japan |
2nd July, 19:00 | Rostov | Rostov Arena |
| Sweden |
v | Switzerland |
3rd July, 15:00 | St Petersburg | Kestovsky Stadium |
| Colombia |
v | England |
3rd July, 19:00 | Moscow | Otkritie Arena |
Quarter Finals
| Fixture | UK KO Time | City | Stadium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uruguay |
v | France |
6th July, 15:00 | Nizhny Novgorod | Nizhny Novgorod |
| Brazil |
v | Belgium |
6th July, 19:00 | Kazan | Kazan Arena |
| Sweden |
v | England |
7th July, 15:00 | Samara | Cosmos Arena |
| Russia |
v | Croatia |
7th July, 19:00 | Scohi | Fisht Olympic Stadium |
Semi-Finals
| Fixture | UK KO Time | City | Stadium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France |
v | Belgium |
10th July, 19:00 | St Petersburg | Kestovsky Stadium |
| Croatia |
v | England |
11th July, 19:00 | Moscow | Luzhniki Stadium |
Third Place Play Off
| Fixture | UK KO Time | City | Stadium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium |
v | England |
14th July, 15:00 | St Petersburg | Kestovsky Stadium |
World Cup 2018 Final – Sunday 15th July 16:00
| Fixture | UK KO Time | City | Stadium | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France |
v | Croatia |
15th July, 16:00 | Moscow | Luzhniki Stadium |