2014 World Cup Venues

On the 12^th of June the Fifa World Cup will start in the country that holds the most titles, Brazil. 64 matches will be hosted across 12 cities with the final being held in the countries capital on the 12^th of July. 32 teams will battle it out for the most coveted trophy in world football in a month of football that the world will stop and stand still for.

Here is a look at the stadiums and the cities that will be featuring in the tournament.

Home to both Athletico Mineiro and Cruzeiro the Mineirão has been opened since 1965 and has also been modernised for the forthcoming World Cup. The arena has a capacity of 64,000 and will play host to Colombia vs Greece, Belgium vs Algeria, Argentina vs Iran and Costa Rica vs England for the group matches and 2 further games in the competition.

The stadium in the capital also goes under the name Mané Garrincha as tribute to the former World Cup winning star. With a capacity of 71,412 the stadium will host 3 games after the group stage games which include Switzerland vs Ecuador, Colombia vs Ivory Coast, Cameroon vs Brazil and Portugal vs Ghana.

This stadium has been one of the more controversial new builds as the area it is situated in doesn’t have a team in the top division. At the time of writing the stadium was still waiting to be completed but will hold 40,000 when it is. Chile vs Australia, Russia vs Korea republic, Nigeria vs Bosnia-Herzegovina and Japan vs Colombia will be the only games held here.

Another new build with a completed capacity of 41,000.The Arena da Baixada has had its ups and downs in construction due to safety fears for workers, a problem that has blighted the world cup preparations. This stadium will hold the following 4 group matches, Iran vs Nigeria, Honduras vs Ecuador, Australia vs Spain and Algeria vs Russia.

This stadium is another that has been redeveloped for the tournament after initially opening in 1973. The new capacity will be an impressive 63, 903 and the new work includes an underground car park and new lower tier. The games held at the Arena Castelão, Fortaleza will be Uruguay vs Costa Rica, Brazil vs Mexico, Germany vs Ghana and Greece vs Ivory Coast.

This stadium is another that has been redeveloped for the tournament after initially opening in 1973. The new capacity will be an impressive 63, 903 and the new work includes an underground car park and new lower tier. The games held at the Arena Castelão, Fortaleza will be Uruguay vs Costa Rica, Brazil vs Mexico, Germany vs Ghana and Greece vs Ivory Coast.

The new build in Natal will have a capacity of 43,000 and was designed by Christopher Lee, the leading sports architect not the actor famous for his depiction of Dracula. Mr Lee has described his design, incorporating a petal style, as "the most perfect stadium in South America". This stadium will host Mexico vs Cameroon, Ghana vs USA, Japan Vs Greece and Italy vs Uruguay in the group stages.

Originally opening in 1969 after fans contributing the materials needed to build the stadium the stadium has been undergoing redevelopment in preparation for the tournament and will have a capacity of 52,000. The games that will be hosted here inclue, France vs Honduras, Australia vs Netherlands, Korea republic vs Algeria and Nigeria vs Argentina as well as 1 game from the first round of the knockout stages.

This 46,000 arena, purpose built for the World Cup Brazil 2014 will also house a university campus and a solar power plant making it one of the more multipurpose stadiums that will feature. It will host 5 games in total including 1 from the first knockout stages and Ivory Coast vs Japan, Italy vs Costa Rica, Croatia vs Mexico and USA vs Germany from the group stages.

The Maracanã is the most famous arena that will feature at the 2014 Brazil World Cup having initially been built for the 1950 World Cup. The stadium has a capacity of 78,838 and has been the subject of some redevelopment from the old concrete roofed stadium that used to hold more than 200,000 fans. With a new fibreglass roof and a single tier structure now in place the stadium has been brought up to date and will host 7 games in total including Argentina vs Bosnia – Herzegovina, Spain vs Chile, Belgium vs Russia and Ecuador vs France from the group games, one game from the first knockout stages, a quarter final and the Final itself.

Another new build that has faced problems including a partial roof collapse during torrential rain, the Arena Fonte Nova will host 6 games in front of its 53,700 capacity crowds. The group games played here will be Spain vs Netherlands, Germany vs Portugal, Switzerland vs France and Bosnia – Herzegovina vs Iran as well as two further matches.

The final stadium that will feature at the 2014 Brazil World Cup is the Arena de Itaquera in Sao Paulo. This 48,000 new build stadium will be home to SC Corinthians following the world cup. In order to qualify for the minimum capacity to hold the first match of the world cup the stadium will have 20,000 removable seats installed for the tournament. The games being held here are, as mentioned, the first of the tournament featuring Brazil taking on Croatia. The other games to be played here will be Uruguay vs England, Netherlands vs Chile and Korea Republic vs Belgium as well as 1 of the first knockout games and a semi-final.

That concludes the list of stadiums that we will see at the Fifa 2014 World Cup in Brazil. There have been a few problems from demonstrations to construction issues but the tournament finally looks to be on track and promises to be another great spectacle in the history of football. Why not take our poll and let us know who you think will be lifting the cup on the 12th of July.