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The 2018 World Cup will be one of the biggest and most anticipated events of the year with a viewership that is expected to cross over a billion. Be it across stadiums, television, internet and social media, the World Cup in Russia will feature 32 teams from six different continents.
However, with all the great countries participating there are also some notable countries who will be missing out such as Netherlands, Italy, Chile, Turkey, Wales, and the United States.
The standard has been set high for Russia following a successful 2014 World Cup in Brazil. And both teams and fans will have the opportunity to embrace some of the brand new and spanking stadiums in Russia.
We take a look at the venues for the 2018 World Cup:
#1 Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
Capacity: 81,000
Schedule
Match #1: Russia vs Saudi Arabia - June 14, 18:00 local time (20:30 IST)
Match #11: Germany vs Mexico - June 17, 18:00 local time (20:30 IST)
Match #19: Portugal vs Morocco - June 20, 15:30 local time (17:30 IST)
Match #37: Denmark vs France - June 26, 17:00 local time (19:30 IST)
Match #51: Round of 16, Group B Winner vs Group A Runner Up - July 1, 17:00 local time (19:30 IST)
Match #62: Semi Final, Winner Match #59 vs Winner Match #60 - July 11, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #64: Final - July 15 - 18:00 local time (20:30 IST)
Opened in the year 1955, the Luzhniki Stadium has gone through renovations and transformations on four different occasions in the last 60 years. The stadium has played host to several different sports and tournaments other than football; the most notable one being the final of the Ice Hockey World Championship in 1957.
However, the stadium has also been the host for UEFA competitions. The 1999 UEFA Cup final was played here. But the most memorable game that was played here was the 2008 Champions League final where Manchester United beat Chelsea on penalties.
#2 Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
Capacity: 47,659
Schedule
Match #3: Portugal vs Spain - June 15, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #13: Belgium vs Panama - June 18, 18:00 local time (20:30 IST)
Match #27: Germany vs Mexico - June 23, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #38: Australia vs Peru - June 26, 17:00 local time (19:30 IST)
Match #49: Round of 16, Group A Winner vs Group B Runner Up - June 30, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #59: Quarter Final, Winner Match #51 vs Winner Match #52 - July 7, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
The Fisht Olympic Stadium was opened in 2013. In 2014, it staged the opening and closing ceremonies for the Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics. Two years later, it was used for the Confederations Cup and now the World Cup.
The venue hosted three group matches and the semi-final of the 2017 Confederations Cup. The average goals per match scored were four and it recorded an average attendance of 30,472.
#3 Saint Petersburg Stadium, St.Petersburg
Capacity: 68,134
Schedule
Match #4: Morocco vs Iran - June 15, 18:00 local time (20:30 IST)
Match #17: Russia vs Egypt - June 19, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #25: Brazil vs Costa Rica - June 22, 15:00 local time (17:30 IST)
Match #39: Nigeria vs Argentina - June 26, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #55: Round of 16, Group F Winner vs Group E Runner-up - July 3, 17:00 local time (19:30 IST)
Match #61: Semi Final, Winner Match #57 vs Winner Match #58 - July 10, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #63: Third Place playoff, Loser Match #61 vs Loser Match #62 - July 14, 17:00 local time (19:30 IST)
The Saint Petersburg Stadium is also known as the Krestovsky Stadium or Zenit Arena. It serves as the home for FC Zenit St.Petersburg. The opening of the stadium was delayed for nearly a decade after delays in completion.
However, it finally served as a venue for the 2017 Confederations Cup, hosting four matches in total - including the final of the tournament where Germany beat Chile.
#4 Spartak Stadium, Moscow
Capacity: 45,360
Schedule
Match #7: Argentina vs Iceland - June 16, 16:00 local time (18:30 IST)
Match #15: Poland vs Senegal - June 19, 18:00 local time (20:30 IST)
Match #29: Belgium vs Tunisia - June 23, 15:00 local time (17:30 IST)
Match #41: Serbia vs Brazil - June 27, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #56: Round of 16, Group H Winner vs Group G Runner-up - July 3, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
The Spartak Stadium, also known as Otkrytiye Arena, serves as the home for FC Spartak Moscow. The city of Moscow will be the only Russian city with two different stadiums.
It was opened in 2014 enabling FC Spartak to make the move from their old stadium. This particular venue was also one of the four hosts for the 2017 Confederations Cup.
The fans of Spartak also got the chance to witness their club play Champions League football in this stadium where they saw their club record a 1-1 draw against Liverpool and a historic win over Sevilla, trashing them 5-1 at home.
#5 Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
Capacity: 45,000
Schedule
Match #9: Brazil vs Switzerland - June 17, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #18: Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia - June 20, 18:00 local time (20:30 IST)
Match #28: South Korea vs Mexico - June 23, 18:00 local time (20:30 IST)
Match #40: Iceland vs Croatia - June 26, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #54: Round of 16, Group G Winner vs Group H Runner-up - July 2, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
The foundation for the stadium in the city of Rostov was laid in 2014 and the Rostov Arena was finally opened in 2017.
Post the 2018 World Cup it will be the host for Russian club FC Rostov, enabling the club to move from their old stadium Olimp-2. The stadium is located on the banks of the Don River.
#6 Samara Arena, Samara
Capacity: 44,918
Schedule
Match #10: Costa Rica vs Serbia - June 17, 16:00 local time (18:30 IST)
Match #22: Denmark vs Australia - June 21, 16:00 local time (18:30 IST)
Match #33: Uruguay vs Russia - June 25, 18:00 local time (20:30 IST)
Match #48: Senegal vs Colombia - June 28, 18:00 local time (20:30 IST)
Match #53: Round of 16, Group E Winner vs Group F Runner-up - July 2, 18:00 local time (20:30 IST)
Match #60: Quarter Final, Winner Match #55 vs Winner Match #56 - July 7, 18:00 local time (20:30 IST)
The Samara Arena, also known as Cosmos Arena, broke ground in 2014 and took three years to be completed at a cost of $320 million.
After the 2018 World Cup, it will serve as a host to Russian second division club FC Krylia Sovetov Samara, letting them make the move from their old stadium which only has a capacity of 33,000.
#7 Kazan Arena, Kazan
Capacity: 45,379
Schedule
Match #5: France vs Australia - June 16, 13:00 local time (15:30 IST)
Match #20: Iran vs Spain - June 20, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #31: Poland vs Colombia - June 24, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #43: South Korea vs Germany - June 27, 17:00 local time (19:30 IST)
Match #50: Round of 16, Group C Winner vs Group D Runner-up - June 30, 17:00 local time (19:30 IST)
Match #58: Quarter-Final, Winner Match #53 vs Winner Match #54 - July 6, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Prior to the 2018 World Cup, the Kazan Arena has hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2013 Summer Universiade, the 2015 World Aquatics Championship and the 2017 Confederations Cup.
After the conclusion of the World Cup, FC Rubin Kazan will move into the stadium and make this their new home. The venue hosted four matches in the Confederations Cup - including the semi-final between Portugal and Chile.
#8 Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad
Capacity: 35,212
Schedule
Match #8: Croatia vs Nigeria - June 16, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #26: Serbia vs Switzerland - June 22, 20:00 local time (22:30 IST)
Match #36: Spain vs Morocco - June 25, 20:00 local time (22:30 IST)
Match #45: England vs Belgium - June 28, 20:00 local time (22:30 IST)
The stadium is still unfinished and the due date for the stadium to be opened has been set for 22 March 2018. The construction process hasn't been completed and it is currently running behind schedule.
The concept is based on the design of Bayern Munich's home stadium, Allianz Arena. Post the World Cup, it will be the new home for FC Baltika Kaliningrad of the Russian Football National League.
#9 Mordovia Arena, Saransk
Capacity: 44,442
Schedule
Match #6: Peru vs Denmark - June 16, 19:00 local time (21:30 IST)
Match #16: Colombia vs Japan - June 19, 15:00 local time (17:30 IST)
Match #35: Iran vs Portugal - June 25, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #46: Panama vs Tunisia - June 28, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Another stadium in Russia which is still due for completion, the Mordovia Arena, is set to be completed soon.
After the conclusion of the World Cup, it will host FC Mordovia Saransk of the Russian Premier League. The estimated cost of construction is $300 million.
#10 Volgograd Arena, Volgograd
Capacity: 45,568
Schedule
Match #14: Tunisia vs England - June 18, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #24: Nigeria vs Iceland - June 22, 18:00 local time (20:30 IST)
Match #34: Saudi Arabia vs Egypt - June 25, 17:00 local time (19:30 IST)
Match #47: Japan vs Poland - June 28, 17:00 local time (19:30 IST)
This is another venue in Russia which is still under construction and running behind schedule. The original opening was planned for 2017 but the lack of progress has delayed the opening of the stadium.
After the completion of the World Cup, it will serve as the home for FC Rotor Volgograd of the Russian National Football League.
#11 Ekaterinburg Arena, Ekaterinburg
Capacity: 35,696
Schedule
Match #2: Egypt vs Uruguay - June 15, 17:00 local time (19:30 IST)
Match #21: France vs Peru - June 21, 20:00 local time (22:30 IST)
Match #32: Japan vs Senegal - June 24, 20:00 local time (22:30 IST)
Match #44: Mexico vs Sweden - June 27, 19:00 local time (21:30 IST)
This stadium has the second-lowest capacity among all World Cup stadiums. It is also known by the name of Central Stadium.
The capacity of the stadium is expected to be reduced to 23,000 before becoming the new home of FC Ural Yekaterinburg. The stadium has a long history since its inception in 1957.
The venue has served as a host to other sports also in the past, particularly tennis. It has also hosted three international matches at the U-21 level in 2012. It took a span of five years for renovation from the year 2006 to 2011.
#12 Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
Capacity: 44,899
Schedule
Match #12: Sweden vs South Korea - June 18, 15:00 local time (17:30 IST)
Match #23: Argentina vs Croatia - June 21, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #30: England vs Panama - June 24, 15:00 local time (17:30 IST)
Match #42: Switzerland vs Costa Rica - June 27, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #52: Round of 16, Group D Winner vs Group C Runner-up - July 1, 21:00 local time (23:30 IST)
Match #57: Quarter Final, Winner Match #49 vs Winner Match #50 - July 6, 17:00 local time (19:30 IST)
The Nizhny Novgorod Stadium construction was completed in December 2017. Like other new stadiums in Russia, this venue will also become the new home for a Russian club, namely FC Olimpiyets Nizhny Novgorod of the Russian National Football League.
