The opening ceremony is 8 days away. The 23-man squads have been made official, so it’s the perfect time to take a look at the groups and fixtures of World Cup 2018.
The draw for this World Cup was pretty balanced. There is no particular group of death like there usually is. Almost all groups have their own favorites and outsiders. On paper, it seems obvious who’s going to finish where in most of them. However, paper projections rarely pan out. Group H is the only one that’s relatively even and difficult to predict. France (Group C), Argentina (Group D), Brazil (Group E) and Germany (Group F) are all odds-on favorites in their respective groups, while Spain and Portugal will tussle for first place in Group B. The same applies to England and Belgium in Group G. Russia will hope that it can take advantage of a lenient draw and advance to the second stage in Group A.
Group stage fixtures:
Thursday 14 June
17:00 – Russia vs. Saudi Arabia (Group A), Moscow (Luzhniki)
Friday 15 June
14:00 – Egypt vs. Uruguay (Group A), Yekaterinburg
17:00 – Morocco vs. Iran (Group B), St. Petersburg
20:00 – Portugal vs. Spain (Group B), Sochi
Saturday 16 June
12:00 – France vs. Australia (Group C), Kazan
15:00 – Argentina vs. Iceland (Group D), Moscow (Spartak Stadium)
18:00 – Peru vs. Denmark (Group C), Saransk
21:00 – Croatia vs. Nigeria (Group D), Kaliningrad
Sunday 17 June
14:00 – Costa Rica vs. Serbia (Group E), Samara
17:00 – Germany vs. Mexico (Group F), Moscow (Luzhniki)
20:00 – Brazil vs. Switzerland (Group E), Rostov-on-Don
Monday 18 June
14:00 – Sweden vs. South Korea (Group F), Nizhny Novgorod
17:00 – Belgium vs. Panama (Group G), Sochi
20:00 – Tunisia vs. England (Group G), Volgograd
Tuesday 19 June
14:00 – Colombia vs. Japan (Group H), Saransk
17:00 – Poland vs. Senegal (Group H), Moscow (Spartak Stadium)
20:00 – Russia vs. Egypt (Group A), St. Petersburg
Wednesday 20 June
14:00 – Portugal vs. Morocco (Group B), Moscow (Luzhniki)
17:00 – Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia (Group A), Rostov-On-Don
20:00 – Iran vs. Spain (Group B), Kazan
Thursday 21 June
14:00 – Denmark vs. Australia (Group C), Samara
17:00 – France vs. Peru (Group C), Yekaterinburg
20:00 – Argentina vs. Croatia (Group D), Nizhny Novgorod
Friday 22 June
14:00 – Brazil vs. Costa Rica (Group E), St. Petersburg
17:00 – Nigeria vs. Iceland (Group D), Volgograd
20:00 – Serbia vs. Switzerland (Group E), Kaliningrad
Saturday 23 June
14:00 – Belgium vs. Tunisia (Group G), Moscow (Spartak Stadium)
17:00 – South Korea vs. Mexico (Group F), Rostov-on-Don
20:00 – Germany vs. Sweden (Group F), Sochi
Sunday 24 June
14:00 – England vs. Panama (Group G), Nizhny Novgorod
17:00 – Japan vs. Senegal (Group H), Yekaterinburg
20:00 – Poland vs. Colombia (Group H), Kazan
Monday 25 June
16:00 – Uruguay vs. Russia (Group A), Samara
16:00 – Saudi Arabia vs. Egypt (Group A), Volgograd
20:00 – Spain vs. Morocco (Group B), Kaliningrad
20:00 – Iran vs. Portugal (Group B), Saransk
Tuesday 26 June
16:00 – Denmark vs. France (Group C), Moscow (Luzhniki)
16:00 – Australia vs. Peru (Group C), Sochi
20:00 – Nigeria vs. Argentina (Group D), St. Petersburg
20:00 – Iceland vs. Croatia (Group D), Rostov-on-Don
Wednesday 27 June
16:00 – South Korea vs. Germany (Group F), Kazan
16:00 – Mexico vs. Sweden (Group F), Yekaterinburg
20:00 – Serbia vs. Brazil (Group E), Moscow (Spartak Stadium)
20:00 – Switzerland vs. Costa Rica (Group E), Nizhny Novgorod
Thursday 28 June
16:00 – Japan vs. Poland (Group H), Volgograd
16:00 – Senegal vs. Colombia (Group H), Samara
20:00 – England vs. Belgium (Group G), Kaliningrad
20:00 – Panama vs. Tunisia (Group G), Saransk
Round of 16 fixtures:
Saturday 30 June
16:00 – Group C winner vs. Group D runner-up, Kazan (Match 50)
20:00 – Group A winner vs. Group B runner-up, Sochi (Match 49)
Sunday 1 July
16:00 – Group B winner vs. Group A runner-up, Moscow (Luzhniki) (Match 51)
20:00 – Group D winner vs. Group C runner-up, Nizhny Novgorod (Match 52)
Monday 2 July
16:00 – Group E winner vs. Group F runner-up, Samara (Match 53)
20:00 – Group G winner vs. Group H runner-up, Rostov-on-Don (Match 54)
Tuesday 3 July
16:00 – Group F winner vs. Group E runner-up, St. Petersburg (Match 55)
20:00 – Group H winner vs. Group G runner-up, Moscow (Spartak Stadium) (Match 56)
Quarter-final fixtures:
Friday 6 July
16:00 – Winner Match 49 vs. Winner Match 50, Nizhny Novgorod (Match 57)
20:00 – Winner Match 53 vs. Winner Match 54, Kazan (Match 58)
Saturday 7 July
16:00 – Winner Match 55 vs. Winner Match 56, Samara (Match 60)
20:00 – Winner Match 51 vs. Winner Match 52, Sochi (Match 59)
Semi-final fixtures:
Tuesday 10 July
20:00 – Winner Match 57 vs. Winner Match 58, St. Petersburg (Match 61)
Wednesday 11 July
20:00 – Winner Match 59 vs. Winner Match 60, Moscow (Luzhniki) (Match 62)
Third place play-off match:
Saturday 14 July
16:00 – Loser Match 61 vs. Loser Match 62, St. Petersburg
Final
Sunday 15 July
17:00 – Winner Match 61 vs. Winner Match 62, Moscow (Luzhniki)
*All times are GMT+2
