The 2014 World Cup was hosted by the country of Brazil. It began on June 12, 2014 and concluded on July 13, 2014. It was held in twelve venues across the country and it marked the second time in the country’s history that it hosted the event. A total of 32 countries participated and ended with Germany beating Argentina by a score 1-0 to claim the cup. It marked the fourth time in their history that they’ve won the cup. It also marked the first time in the tournament's history that a team from Europe has emerged as the victor three consecutive times.
The tournament was broken down to eight groups of four teams. Each team in each group plays each other once and the teams that finish in first place and second place within their respective groups will advance to the knockout rounds. From there, if you lose, you go home.
They were as follows.
Group A
Brazil – advanced to knockout round
Mexico – advanced to knockout round
Croatia
Cameroon
Group B
Netherlands - advanced to knockout round
Chile- advanced to knockout round
Spain
Australia
Group C
Colombia - advanced to knockout round
Greece - advanced to knockout round
Ivory Coast
Japan
Group D
Costa Rica - advanced to knockout round
Uruguay - advanced to knockout round
Italy
England
Group E
France - advanced to knockout round
Switzerland - advanced to knockout round
Ecuador
Honduras
Group F
Argentina - advanced to knockout round
Nigeria - advanced to knockout round
Bosnia
Iran
Group G – the so called “Group of Death”
Germany- advanced to knockout round
United States of America - advanced to knockout round
Portugal
Ghana
Group H
Belgium- advanced to knockout round
Algeria - advanced to knockout round
Russia
South Korea
The Round of 16
Brazil (1) versus Chile (1) – Brazil advances on penalty kicks
Colombia (2)versus Uruguay (0)– Colombia advances
France (2) versus Nigeria (0) – France advances
Germany (2) versus Algeria (1)– Germany advances
Netherlands (2) versus Mexico (1) – Netherlands advances
Costa Rica (1) versus Greece (1) – Costa Rica advances on penalty kicks
Argentina (1) versus Switzerland (0) – Argentina advances
Belgium (2) versus United States (1) – Belgium advances
Quarter-finals, Round of 8
Brazil (2) versus Colombia (1) – Brazil advances
Germany (1) versus France (0) -Germany advances
Netherlands (0) versus Costa Rica (0) – Netherlands advances on penalty kicks
Argentina (1) versus Belgium (0) – Argentina advances
Semi Finals – Round of 4
Germany (7) versus Brazil (1) – Germany advances to finals
Argentina (0) versus Netherlands (0) – Argentina advances on penalty kicks
Finals - 3rd place game
Netherlands (3) versus Brazil (0) – Netherlands wins 3rd place
Germany (1) versus Argentina (0) – Germany wins World Cup 2014
The 2014 World Cup was notable for the host country of Brazil and not in a good way. The five goals Brazil gave up in the first half of the July 8 Germany game were more than it allowed in the entire tournament since 1998. The 7-1 loss was the country’s most lopsided since a 6-0 defeat to Uruguay in 1920. Brazil entered the semifinal unbeaten in 62 consecutive competitive home games, with a 43-0-19 record over that span dating back to 1975. They then lost two in a row by a combined score of 10-1. Their coach, Luiz Felipe Scolari, resigned one day after the tournament was over.