The 20th FIFA World Cup is scheduled to be held from June 12 to July 13 in Brazil. This is the country's second time to host the much-watched competition; its first time was in 1950. The competition will be joined by national teams from 31 other countries who advanced through qualifying competitions that started in June 2011. Sixty-four matches will be played in 12 cities in Brazil, and for the first time, a goal-line technology will be used to aid in refereeing. The defending champion is Spain, who defeated the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup final.

The group stage, or the first round, will have the 32 teams divided into 8 groups of 4 teams. Each will compete in 6 round robin games, where each team plays against each of the other teams in the same group. They will be awarded 3 points for a win, one for a draw, and zero for a loss. Those who will finish first and second in every group will move on to the second round of 16 teams.

- Group A consists of Brazil, Croatia, Cameroon, and Mexico.

- Group B will include Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, and Chile.

- Group C is composed of Colombia, Ivory Coast, Greece, and Japan.

- Group D is England, Uruguay, Italy, and Costa Rica.

- Group E consists of Switzerland, France, Ecuador, and Honduras.

- Group F includes Argentina, Nigeria, Iran, and Bosnia.

- Germany, Ghana Portugal, and the USA will join Group G.

- Algeria, Belgium, and South Korea, and Russia will be in Group H.

The knockout stage is set on June 28 onwards, while quarterfinals will start on July 4. Semi-finals will be on July 8 to 9, while battle for third place is scheduled on July 12. The final match is on July 13 at 4:00 in the afternoon local time. For tickets, the public can visit the official FIFA website or go to authorized locations in each host city. Four categories of tickets can be available, with the last one exclusive for Brazilian residents.