There are a few things that bring people, especially man, together: food, sports, and beer. 2018 has been an eventful year already. For soccer teams from all over the world, this is the year when they can prove their talent, hard work, and passion again.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup is at its 21 edition of the Soccer World Championship and it’s taking place in Russia. The final tournament involves 32 teams in the game, including the host country, maintaining the format of the previous tournament. This is the first tournament that takes place in Eastern Europe.
The elections for the host country have started in January 2009, and the soccer associations had time until the second of February, 2009 to express their interest. Initially, nine countries wanted to host the 2018 tournament, but Mexico had withdrawn and Indonesia was eliminated because they didn’t sent the letter in a timely manner to FIFA. During the selections, the last three non-UEFA nations (Australia, Japan, and the United States) withdrew from hosting the event, and the UEFA nations have been withdrawn for the tournament in 2022. Finally, there were only four spots left: England, Russia, Holland/Belgium, and Spain/Portugal.
The twenty-two members of the FIFA executive committee from Zurich decided that on the 2nd of December 2010 will be voted the host country. Russia won the right to be the host country in the second round of voting.
All the nationals of the FIFA members’ federations were eligible for qualifications. Myanmar won the call to FIFA and was able to play the matches from home, after they were forbidden to do so due to the fans’ aggressive behavior during the FIFA World Cup in 2014 against Oman. Rusia has qualified automatically as host.
On the 25th of July 2015, the lots have been drawn at Saint Petersburg.
The love for soccer can be expressed in many ways. People spend time and money into supporting their favorite team. Others, express their love through soccer ball designs. I’m talking about Pablo Echeverri who design soccer balls themed after the 2018 FIFA World Cup, featuring some of the greatest teams of all times. In no specific order:
1. Argentina & Spain Soccer Ball Designs
2. Sweeden & Germany
3. Morocco, Iceland, Australia, Egypt
4. Colombia & Russia Soccer Ball Designs
5. England & France
6. Croatia, Korea, Panama, Saudi Arabia
7. Brazil & Portugal
8. Uruguay & Japan
Which team is your favorite? Which team do you think will win the World Cup this year? Let us know in the comment section below!
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