La Copa Mundial de Fútbol de 2018 fue la 21.ª edición de la Copa Mundial de Fútbol , el campeonato mundial cuatrienal para selecciones nacionales de fútbol organizado por la FIFA . Se celebró en Rusia del 14 de junio al 15 de julio de 2018, después de que el país obtuviera los derechos de organización a fines de 2010. Fue la undécima vez que los campeonatos se celebraron en Europa , la primera vez que se celebraron en Europa del Este y la primera vez que se celebraron en dos continentes (Europa y Asia). Con un costo estimado de más de 14 200 millones de dólares, fue la Copa Mundial más cara jamás celebrada hasta que fue superada por la Copa Mundial de 2022 en Qatar . [1] [2]
La fase del torneo involucró a 32 equipos, de los cuales 31 llegaron a través de competiciones clasificatorias , mientras que la nación anfitriona Rusia se clasificó automáticamente. De los 32, 20 también habían aparecido en el evento de 2014 , mientras que Islandia y Panamá hicieron su debut en la Copa del Mundo. Se jugaron 64 partidos en 12 sedes en 11 ciudades. Alemania , el campeón defensor, fue eliminado en la fase de grupos por primera vez desde 1938. La nación anfitriona Rusia fue eliminada en los cuartos de final. En la final , Francia jugó contra Croacia el 15 de julio en el Estadio Luzhniki en Moscú . Francia ganó el partido 4-2, reclamando su segunda Copa del Mundo y convirtiéndose en el cuarto título consecutivo ganado por un equipo europeo, después de Italia en 2006 , España en 2010 y Alemania en 2014 .
El croata Luka Modrić fue elegido mejor jugador del torneo y ganó el Balón de Oro . El inglés Harry Kane ganó la Bota de Oro por haber marcado la mayor cantidad de goles durante el torneo (seis). El belga Thibaut Courtois ganó el Guante de Oro , que se otorga al portero con el mejor desempeño. Se estima que más de 3 millones de personas asistieron a los partidos durante el torneo.
Selección de anfitrión
Andrey Arshavin con el personal de la candidatura rusa celebra la concesión de la Copa Mundial de 2018 a Rusia el 2 de diciembre de 2010.
El Comité Ejecutivo de la FIFA, compuesto por 22 miembros , se reunió en Zúrich el 2 de diciembre de 2010 para votar a fin de elegir a los anfitriones de ambos torneos. [7] Rusia ganó el derecho a ser el anfitrión de 2018 en la segunda ronda de votación. La candidatura de Portugal/España quedó en segundo lugar, y la de Bélgica/Países Bajos en tercer lugar. Inglaterra, que aspiraba a ser sede de su segundo torneo, fue eliminada en la primera ronda. [8]
Los resultados de la votación fueron: [6]
Crítica de selección de anfitrión
El billete conmemorativo de 100 rublos celebra la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2018. Presenta una imagen del portero soviético Lev Yashin .
La elección de Rusia como sede fue controvertida. Entre los problemas se encontraban el alto nivel de racismo en el fútbol ruso, [9] [10] [11] los abusos de los derechos humanos por parte de las autoridades rusas, [12] [13] y la discriminación contra las personas LGBT en el gobierno (incluidas las leyes de propaganda gay ) junto con la sociedad rusa en general. [14] [15] La participación de Rusia en el conflicto en curso en Ucrania también había provocado pedidos de que se trasladara el torneo, en particular después de la anexión de Crimea . [16] [17] En 2014, el presidente de la FIFA, Sepp Blatter, declaró que "la Copa del Mundo ha sido otorgada y votada a Rusia y seguimos adelante con nuestro trabajo". [18]
Rusia fue criticada por presuntos abusos a trabajadores migrantes en la construcción de las sedes de la Copa del Mundo, [19] y Human Rights Watch informó de casos en los que los trabajadores no fueron remunerados, se les hizo trabajar en condiciones de frío peligrosamente frío o sufrieron represalias por plantear preocupaciones. [20] [21] Algunos expertos afirmaron que se trataba de trabajo esclavo. [22 ] [23] [24] En mayo de 2017, el presidente de la FIFA, Gianni Infantino, admitió que había habido abusos de los derechos humanos de los trabajadores norcoreanos involucrados en la construcción del Zenit Arena de San Petersburgo . [25] Para junio de 2017, al menos 17 trabajadores habían muerto en las obras de construcción de la Copa del Mundo, según la Internacional de Trabajadores de la Construcción y la Madera . [26] [27] En agosto, un grupo de ocho senadores estadounidenses pidió a la FIFA que considerara desestimar a Rusia como sede de la Copa del Mundo si una investigación independiente verificaba las acusaciones de que los norcoreanos estaban siendo sometidos a trabajos forzados. [28]
El racismo y los símbolos neonazis exhibidos en el pasado por algunos fanáticos del fútbol ruso generaron críticas, [29] con incidentes documentados de cánticos raciales, pancartas que arrojaban mensajes llenos de odio y, a veces, agresiones a personas del Cáucaso y Asia Central . [30] [31] En marzo de 2015, el entonces vicepresidente de la FIFA, Jeffrey Webb, dijo que Rusia planteaba un gran desafío desde el punto de vista del racismo y que no se podía celebrar una Copa del Mundo allí en las condiciones actuales. [32] En julio, el funcionario antidiscriminación de las Naciones Unidas , Yuri Boychenko, dijo que las autoridades del fútbol ruso no habían comprendido completamente qué era el racismo y necesitaban hacer más para combatirlo. [33] Para abordar esto, así como las preocupaciones sobre el vandalismo en general, los servicios de inteligencia rusos incluyeron en la lista negra a más de 400 fanáticos que no podían ingresar a los estadios en junio de 2018, y otros 32 países también enviaron oficiales para ayudar a la policía local a verificar que los asistentes tuvieran tarjetas de identificación válidas. [34]
Las acusaciones de corrupción en los procesos de licitación y las preocupaciones por el soborno por parte del equipo ruso y la corrupción de los miembros de la FIFA para las Copas Mundiales de 2018 y 2022 llevaron a amenazas de la FA de Inglaterra de boicotear el torneo. [35] Afirmaron que cuatro miembros del comité ejecutivo habían solicitado sobornos para votar por Inglaterra, y Sepp Blatter había dicho que ya se había acordado antes de la votación que Rusia ganaría. [36] La FIFA nombró a Michael J. García , un fiscal estadounidense, para investigar y producir un informe sobre las acusaciones de corrupción. Aunque el informe nunca se publicó, la FIFA publicó un resumen de 42 páginas de sus hallazgos según lo determinado por el juez alemán Hans-Joachim Eckert . El resumen de Eckert absolvió a Rusia y Qatar de cualquier irregularidad, pero fue denunciado por los críticos como un encubrimiento. [37] Debido a la controversia, la FA se negó a aceptar que Eckert absolviera a Rusia de la culpa. Greg Dyke pidió una nueva revisión del caso y David Bernstein pidió un boicot a la Copa del Mundo. [38] [39] García criticó el resumen por ser "materialmente incompleto" con "representaciones erróneas de los hechos y conclusiones", y apeló al Comité de Apelación de la FIFA. [40] [41] El comité se negó a escuchar su apelación, por lo que García renunció para protestar por la conducta de la FIFA, citando una "falta de liderazgo" y falta de confianza en la independencia de Eckert. [42]
El 3 de junio de 2015, el FBI confirmó que las autoridades federales estaban investigando los procesos de licitación y adjudicación de las Copas Mundiales de 2018 y 2022. [ 43] [44] En una entrevista publicada el 7 de junio de 2015, Domenico Scala , el jefe del Comité de Auditoría y Cumplimiento de la FIFA, declaró que "si hubiera evidencia de que las adjudicaciones a Qatar y Rusia se produjeron solo debido a votos comprados, entonces las adjudicaciones podrían cancelarse". [45] [46] El príncipe Guillermo de Gales y el ex primer ministro británico David Cameron asistieron a una reunión con el vicepresidente de la FIFA Chung Mong-joon en la que se discutió un acuerdo de intercambio de votos para el derecho a albergar la Copa Mundial de 2018 en Inglaterra . [47] [48]
Equipos
Calificación
Por primera vez en la historia de la Copa Mundial de la FIFA, todas las naciones elegibles (las 209 asociaciones miembro de la FIFA , excepto Rusia, el país anfitrión que clasificó automáticamente) solicitaron ingresar al proceso de clasificación. [49] Zimbabwe e Indonesia fueron descalificados más tarde antes de jugar sus primeros partidos, [50] [51] mientras que Gibraltar y Kosovo , que se unieron a la FIFA el 13 de mayo de 2016 después del sorteo de clasificación pero antes de que comenzara la clasificación europea, también participaron en la competencia. [ cita requerida ] Los lugares en el torneo se asignaron a las confederaciones continentales, y la asignación se mantuvo sin cambios con respecto a la Copa Mundial de 2014. [52] [53] El primer partido de clasificación, entre Timor Oriental y Mongolia , comenzó en Dili el 12 de marzo de 2015 como parte de la clasificación de la AFC , [54] [55] [56] y el sorteo de clasificación principal tuvo lugar en el Palacio Konstantinovsky en Strelna , San Petersburgo, el 25 de julio de 2015. [57] [58]
De las 32 naciones clasificadas para jugar en la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2018, 20 países compitieron en el torneo anterior en 2014. Tanto Islandia como Panamá se clasificaron por primera vez, y el primero se convirtió en el país más pequeño en términos de población en llegar a la Copa del Mundo. [59] Otros equipos que regresaron después de ausencias de al menos tres torneos fueron: Egipto , que regresó a la final después de su última aparición en 1990; Marruecos , que compitió por última vez en 1998; Perú , que apareció por última vez en 1982; Senegal , que compitió por segunda vez después de llegar a los cuartos de final en 2002. Polonia , Arabia Saudita , Túnez y Suecia también regresaron después de 12 años . Fue la primera vez que tres países nórdicos ( Dinamarca , Islandia y Suecia ) y cuatro naciones árabes (Egipto, Marruecos, Arabia Saudita y Túnez ) se clasificaron para la Copa del Mundo. [60]
El sorteo se llevó a cabo el 1 de diciembre de 2017 a las 18:00 MSK en el Palacio Estatal del Kremlin en Moscú. [63] [64] Los 32 equipos fueron sorteados en ocho grupos de cuatro, seleccionando un equipo de cada uno de los cuatro bombos clasificados.
Para el sorteo, los equipos fueron asignados a cuatro bombos basados completamente en la Clasificación Mundial de la FIFA de octubre de 2017. El bombo uno contenía al anfitrión Rusia (que fue asignado automáticamente a la posición A1) y los mejores siete equipos. El bombo dos contenía los siguientes ocho mejores equipos, y así sucesivamente para los bombos tres y cuatro. [65] Esto fue diferente de los sorteos anteriores, cuando solo el bombo uno se basó en las clasificaciones de la FIFA mientras que los bombos restantes se basaron en consideraciones geográficas. Sin embargo, los equipos de la misma confederación todavía no fueron sorteados entre sí para la fase de grupos, excepto que dos equipos de la UEFA podían estar en cada grupo. Los bombos para el sorteo se muestran a continuación. [66]
Escuadrones
Inicialmente, cada equipo tenía que nombrar una lista preliminar de 30 jugadores, pero en febrero de 2018 se aumentó a 35. [67] A partir de la lista preliminar, el equipo tenía que nombrar una lista final de 23 jugadores (tres de los cuales tenían que ser porteros) antes del 4 de junio. Los jugadores de la lista final podían ser reemplazados por lesiones graves hasta 24 horas antes del inicio del primer partido del equipo. Estos reemplazos no necesitaban haber sido nombrados en la lista preliminar. [68]
Para los jugadores nombrados en la lista preliminar de 35 jugadores, hubo un período de descanso obligatorio entre el 21 y el 27 de mayo de 2018, a excepción de aquellos involucrados en la final de la Liga de Campeones de la UEFA 2018 que se jugó el 26 de mayo. [69]
Arbitraje
El 29 de marzo de 2018, la FIFA publicó la lista de 36 árbitros y 63 árbitros asistentes seleccionados para supervisar los partidos. [70] El 30 de abril de 2018, la FIFA publicó la lista de 13 árbitros asistentes de vídeo, que actuaron únicamente en esta capacidad en el torneo. [71]
El árbitro Fahad Al-Mirdasi de Arabia Saudita fue destituido el 30 de mayo de 2018 por un intento de arreglo de partidos , [72] junto con sus dos árbitros asistentes, sus compatriotas Mohammed Al-Abakry y Abdulah Al-Shalwai. No se designó un nuevo árbitro, pero se añadieron a la lista dos árbitros asistentes, Hasan Al Mahri de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos e Hiroshi Yamauchi de Japón. [73] [74] El árbitro asistente Marwa Range de Kenia también se retiró después de que la BBC publicara una investigación realizada por un periodista ghanés que lo implicaba en un escándalo de sobornos. [75]
Las operaciones del VAR para todos los partidos se llevaron a cabo desde una única sede en Moscú, que recibía imágenes en directo de los partidos y estaba en contacto por radio con los árbitros en el campo. [78] Se instalaron sistemas para comunicar información relacionada con el VAR a los locutores y se utilizaron imágenes en las pantallas gigantes de los estadios para los aficionados presentes. [78]
El VAR tuvo un impacto significativo en varios partidos. [79] El 15 de junio de 2018, el primer gol de Diego Costa contra Portugal se convirtió en el primer gol de la Copa del Mundo basado en una decisión del VAR; [80] el primer penalti como resultado de una decisión del VAR fue otorgado a Francia en su partido contra Australia el 16 de junio y resultó en un gol de Antoine Griezmann . [81] Se otorgaron un número récord de penaltis en el torneo, un fenómeno atribuido parcialmente al VAR. [82] En general, la nueva tecnología fue elogiada y criticada por los comentaristas. [83] La FIFA declaró que la implementación del VAR fue un éxito después de la primera semana de competición. [84]
Lugares
Rusia propuso las siguientes ciudades anfitrionas: Kaliningrado , Kazán , Krasnodar , Moscú , Nizhni Nóvgorod , Rostov del Don , San Petersburgo , Samara , Saransk , Sochi , Volgogrado , Yaroslavl y Ekaterimburgo . [85] Cada ciudad elegida estaba ubicada en la Rusia europea (excepto Ekaterimburgo, [86] que está ubicada en Asia pero se encuentra muy cerca de la frontera entre Europa y Asia) con el fin de reducir el tiempo de viaje de los equipos en el enorme país. El informe de evaluación de la oferta declaró: "La oferta rusa propone 13 ciudades anfitrionas y 16 estadios, superando así el requisito mínimo de la FIFA. Tres de los 16 estadios serían renovados y 13 serían de nueva construcción". [87]
La elección final de las ciudades anfitrionas se anunció el 29 de septiembre de 2012. El número de ciudades se redujo aún más a 11 y el número de estadios a 12, ya que Krasnodar y Yaroslavl fueron eliminados de la lista final. De los 12 estadios utilizados para el torneo, tres ( Luzhniki , Ekaterimburgo y Sochi ) habían sido ampliamente renovados y los otros nueve eran completamente nuevos; se gastaron 11.800 millones de dólares en albergar el torneo. [89]
Sepp Blatter había dicho en julio de 2014 que, dadas las preocupaciones sobre la finalización de las sedes en Rusia, el número de sedes para el torneo podría reducirse de 12 a 10. [90] También dijo: "No vamos a estar en una situación, como es el caso de uno, dos o incluso tres estadios en Sudáfrica , donde sea un problema de lo que se hace con estos estadios". [91]
Reconstrucción del Estadio Central de Ekaterimburgo en enero de 2017
En octubre de 2014, en su primera visita oficial a Rusia, el comité de inspección de la FIFA y su director, Chris Unger , visitaron San Petersburgo, Sochi, Kazán y ambas sedes de Moscú. Quedaron satisfechos con el progreso. [92] El 8 de octubre de 2015, la FIFA y el comité organizador local acordaron los nombres oficiales de los estadios que se utilizarían durante el torneo. [93] De las doce sedes, el Estadio Luzhniki en Moscú y el Estadio de San Petersburgo, los dos estadios más grandes de Rusia, fueron los más utilizados; ambos albergaron siete partidos. Sochi, Kazán, Nizhni Nóvgorod y Samara albergaron seis partidos cada uno, incluido un partido de cuartos de final cada uno, mientras que el Estadio Otkritie en Moscú y el Estadio Rostov albergaron cinco partidos, incluido un partido de octavos de final cada uno. Volgogrado , Kaliningrado , Ekaterimburgo y Saransk albergaron cuatro partidos cada uno, pero no albergaron ningún partido de la fase eliminatoria.
Estadios
Exterior del estadio Otkrytie Arena
En Moscú
Se construyeron o renovaron doce estadios en once ciudades rusas para la Copa Mundial de la FIFA. Entre 2010 (cuando se anunció a Rusia como anfitriona) y 2018, se construyeron nueve de los doce estadios (algunos en lugar de sedes antiguas y obsoletas) y los otros tres se renovaron para el torneo. [94]
Kaliningrado: Estadio de Kaliningrado (nuevo). Los primeros pilotes se colocaron en el terreno en septiembre de 2015. El 11 de abril de 2018 albergó su primer partido.
Moscú: Estadio Luzhniki (muy reformado). Es el estadio más grande del país y estuvo cerrado por reformas en 2013. Se inauguró en noviembre de 2017.
Moscú: Estadio Spartak (nuevo). Este estadio es el estadio del FC Spartak de Moscú . De acuerdo con los requisitos de la FIFA, durante la Copa Mundial de 2018 se lo llamó Estadio Spartak en lugar de su nombre habitual Otkritie Arena. Albergó su primer partido el 5 de septiembre de 2014.
Nizhni Nóvgorod: Estadio de Nizhni Nóvgorod (nuevo). La construcción de este estadio comenzó en 2015 y finalizó en diciembre de 2017. [95]
Rostov del Don: Rostov Arena (nuevo). El estadio está situado en la orilla izquierda del río Don . La construcción finalizó el 22 de diciembre de 2017.
San Petersburgo: Estadio de San Petersburgo (nuevo). La construcción comenzó en 2007 después de que se despejara el sitio, anteriormente ocupado por el Estadio Kirov . El proyecto se completó oficialmente el 29 de diciembre de 2016. [96] Ha sido sede de partidos de la Copa FIFA Confederaciones 2017 y sirvió como sede de la Eurocopa 2020 de la UEFA .
Samara: Samara Arena (nuevo). La construcción comenzó oficialmente el 21 de julio de 2014 y finalizó el 21 de abril de 2018.
Saransk: Mordovia Arena (nuevo). El estadio de Saransk debía entrar en funcionamiento en 2012, a tiempo para la inauguración de la Spartakiad de toda Rusia , pero el plan fue revisado y la inauguración se reprogramó para 2017. El estadio albergó su primer partido el 21 de abril de 2018.
Sochi: Estadio Fisht (ligeramente renovado). Este estadio albergó las ceremonias de inauguración y clausura de los Juegos Olímpicos de Invierno de 2014. Posteriormente, fue renovado para preparar la Copa FIFA Confederaciones 2017 y la Copa Mundial de 2018.
Volgogrado: Arena Volgogradskaya (nueva). La Arena Volgogradskaya se construyó en el terreno del Estadio Central , demolido , al pie del complejo conmemorativo Mamayev Kurgan . Fue puesta en servicio el 3 de abril de 2018. [97]
Ekaterimburgo: Estadio Ekaterimburgo (renovado a fondo). El Estadio Central de Ekaterimburgo fue renovado con motivo de la Copa Mundial de la FIFA. Sus gradas tienen capacidad para 35.000 espectadores. El proyecto de renovación finalizó en diciembre de 2017.
Campamentos base del equipo
Los campamentos base fueron utilizados por las 32 selecciones nacionales para alojarse y entrenarse antes y durante el torneo de la Copa Mundial. El 9 de febrero de 2018, la FIFA anunció los campamentos base de cada equipo participante. [110]
Con un costo estimado de más de $14,2 mil millones a junio de 2018 [update], [114] el evento de la FIFA 2018 fue la Copa Mundial más cara de la historia, superando el costo de $11,6 mil millones de la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2014 en Brasil. [114] [115]
El gobierno ruso había destinado originalmente un presupuesto de alrededor de 20 mil millones de dólares, [116] que luego se redujo a 10 mil millones de dólares, para los preparativos de la Copa Mundial. La mitad se gastó en infraestructura de transporte. [117] Como parte del programa de preparación para la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2018, se implementó un subprograma federal, "Construcción y renovación de infraestructura de transporte", con un presupuesto total de 352 500 millones de rublos, con 170 300 millones de rublos provenientes del presupuesto federal, 35 100 millones de rublos de presupuestos regionales y 147 100 millones de rublos de inversores. [118] El mayor rubro del gasto federal fue la infraestructura de aviación con un costo de 117 800 millones de rublos. [119] La construcción de nuevos hoteles fue un área crucial del desarrollo de infraestructura en las ciudades anfitrionas de la Copa Mundial. Los costos continuaron aumentando a medida que avanzaban los preparativos. [115]
Gasto en infraestructura
El Aeropuerto Internacional Platov en Rostov del Don fue modernizado con sistemas automatizados de control de tráfico aéreo . También se instalaron sistemas modernos de vigilancia, navegación, comunicación, control y soporte meteorológico . [120] El Aeropuerto Koltsovo en Ekaterimburgo fue modernizado con herramientas de ingeniería de radio para la operación de vuelo y recibió una segunda pista. El Aeropuerto Saransk recibió un nuevo sistema de navegación; se construyeron dos nuevos hoteles en la ciudad: el Mercure Saransk Centre ( Accor Hotels ) y el Four Points by Sheraton Saransk, así como algunas otras instalaciones de alojamiento más pequeñas. [121] En Samara , se instalaron nuevas líneas de tranvía. [122] El Aeropuerto Khrabrovo en Kaliningrado fue modernizado con equipos de radionavegación y meteorología. [123] La renovación y modernización de las herramientas de ingeniería de radio para las operaciones de vuelo se completó en los aeropuertos de Moscú , San Petersburgo , Volgogrado , Samara , Ekaterimburgo, Kazán y Sochi . [120] El 27 de marzo, el Ministerio de Industria de la Construcción, Vivienda y Servicios Públicos de Rusia informó que se habían puesto en funcionamiento todas las comunicaciones dentro de su área de responsabilidad. La última instalación puesta en funcionamiento fue una estación de tratamiento de residuos en Volgogrado. En Ekaterimburgo, donde se celebraron cuatro partidos, los costes de organización aumentaron a más de 7.400 millones de rublos, superando los 5.600 millones de rublos asignados originalmente con cargo al presupuesto estatal y regional. [124]
Voluntarios
Abanderados voluntarios en el campo antes del partido de la fase de grupos de Bélgica (bandera representada) contra Túnez
El 1 de junio de 2016 se abrieron las solicitudes de voluntarios para el Comité Organizador Local de Rusia 2018. El Programa de Voluntarios de la Copa Mundial de la FIFA Rusia 2018 recibió alrededor de 177.000 solicitudes [125] y contrató a un total de 35.000 voluntarios [ 126] . Recibieron capacitación en 15 centros de voluntarios del comité organizador local con sede en 15 universidades y en centros de voluntarios en las ciudades anfitrionas. Se dio preferencia, especialmente en áreas clave, a aquellos con conocimiento de un idioma extranjero y experiencia de voluntariado, pero no necesariamente a los ciudadanos rusos [127] .
Comienza la cuenta atrás de los 1.000 días en Moscú
El calendario completo fue anunciado por la FIFA el 24 de julio de 2015 sin los horarios de inicio, que se confirmaron más tarde. [131] [132] El 1 de diciembre de 2017, tras el sorteo final, la FIFA ajustó seis horarios de inicio. [133] [134]
Rusia quedó en la posición A1 en la fase de grupos y jugó el partido inaugural en el Estadio Luzhniki en Moscú el 14 de junio contra Arabia Saudita , los dos equipos peor clasificados del torneo en el momento del sorteo final. [135] El Estadio Luzhniki también albergó la segunda semifinal el 11 de julio y la final el 15 de julio. El Estadio Krestovsky en San Petersburgo albergó la primera semifinal el 10 de julio y el partido por el tercer puesto el 14 de julio. [136] [52]
La ceremonia de apertura tuvo lugar el jueves 14 de junio de 2018 en el Estadio Luzhniki de Moscú, antes del partido inaugural del torneo entre el país anfitrión Rusia y Arabia Saudita. [137] [138]
Al comienzo de la ceremonia, el presidente ruso Vladimir Putin pronunció un discurso, dando la bienvenida a los países del mundo a Rusia y llamando al fútbol una fuerza unificadora. [139] El delantero brasileño ganador de la Copa del Mundo Ronaldo entró al estadio con un niño con una camiseta de Rusia. [139] El cantante pop Robbie Williams cantó dos de sus canciones en solitario antes de que él y la soprano rusa Aida Garifullina realizaran un dueto. [139] Bailarines vestidos con las banderas de los 32 equipos en competencia aparecieron portando un cartel con el nombre de cada nación. [139] Al final de la ceremonia, Ronaldo reapareció con el balón oficial del partido que había regresado de la Estación Espacial Internacional a principios de junio. [139]
En la ceremonia inaugural de la Copa Mundial de la FIFA en el estadio Luzhniki participaron jóvenes de 211 países y regiones del programa social internacional para niños Fútbol por la Amistad . [140]
Fase de grupos
Los países participantes se dividieron en ocho grupos de cuatro equipos (grupos A a H). Los equipos de cada grupo jugaron entre sí en un sistema de todos contra todos , y los dos mejores equipos avanzaron a la fase eliminatoria. Diez equipos europeos y cuatro equipos sudamericanos avanzaron a la fase eliminatoria, junto con Japón y México.
Por primera vez desde 1938 , Alemania, vigente campeona, fue eliminada en la primera ronda. Este fue el tercer torneo consecutivo en el que los vigentes campeones fueron eliminados en la primera ronda, después de Italia en 2010 y España en 2014. Ningún equipo africano avanzó a la segunda ronda por primera vez desde 1982. Los criterios de juego limpio entraron en uso por primera vez cuando Japón se clasificó contra Senegal porque el equipo había recibido menos tarjetas amarillas. Solo un partido, Francia contra Dinamarca, fue sin goles. Hasta entonces, hubo un récord de 36 partidos consecutivos en los que se marcó al menos un gol. [141] Todas las horas que se indican a continuación son hora local . [133]
In the knockout stages, if a match was level at the end of normal playing time, extra time was played (two periods of 15 minutes each) and followed, if necessary, by a penalty shoot-out to determine the winners.[68] If a match went into extra time, each team was allowed to make a fourth substitution, the first time this had been allowed in a FIFA World Cup tournament.[76] Below is the bracket for the knockout round of the tournament, teams in bold denote match winners.[76]
There were 169 goals scored in 64 matches, for an average of 2.64 goals per match.
Twelve own goals were scored during the tournament, doubling the record of six set in 1998.[206]Goals scored from penalty shoot-outs are not counted towards an individual player's goal count.[207]
In total, only four players were sent off in the entire tournament, the fewest since 1978.[209]International Football Association Board technical director David Elleray stated a belief that this was due to the introduction of VAR, since players would know that they would not be able to get away with anything under the new system.[210]
A player is automatically suspended for the next match for the following offences:[68]
Receiving a red card (red card suspensions may be extended for serious offences)
Receiving two yellow cards in two matches; yellow cards expire after the completion of the quarter-finals (yellow card suspensions are not carried forward to any other future international matches)
The following suspensions were served during the tournament:
The following awards were given at the conclusion of the tournament. The Golden Boot (top scorer), Golden Ball (best overall player) and Golden Glove (best goalkeeper) awards were all sponsored by Adidas.[211]
Dream Team
The users of FIFA.com elected their Fan Dream Team.[212][213]
Additionally, FIFA.com shortlisted 18 goals for users to vote on as the tournament's best.[214] The poll closed on 23 July. The award was sponsored by Hyundai.[215]
All-Star Team
FIFA published an All-Star Team, this year called the Fantasy Team, based on player performances evaluated through statistical data.[216]
Prize money
Prize money amounts were announced in October 2017.[217]
Marketing
The typeface "Dusha" used for branding
Branding
The tournament logo was unveiled on 28 October 2014 by cosmonauts at the International Space Station and then projected onto Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre during an evening television programme. Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said the logo was inspired by "Russia's rich artistic tradition and its history of bold achievement and innovation", and FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated that it reflected the "heart and soul" of the country.[citation needed] For branding, Portuguese design agency Brandia Central created materials in 2014, with a typeface called Dusha – душа (Russian for 'soul') – designed by Brandia Central and edited by Adotbelow of the DSType Foundry in Portugal.[218]
Ticketing
The first phase of ticket sales started on 14 September 2017, 12:00 Moscow Time, and lasted until 12 October 2017.[219]
The general visa policy of Russia did not apply to participants and spectators, who were able to visit Russia without a visa right before and during the competition regardless of their citizenship.[citation needed] Spectators were nonetheless required to register for a "Fan-ID", a special photo identification pass. A Fan-ID was required to enter the country visa-free, while a ticket, Fan-ID and a valid passport were required to enter stadiums for matches. Fan-IDs also granted World Cup attendees free access to public transport services, including buses, and train service between host cities. Fan-ID was administered by the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media, which could revoke this accreditation at any time to "ensure the defence capability or security of the state or public order".[128][129][130]
Merchandise
On 29 May 2018, Electronic Arts released a free update to their video game FIFA 18 that added content related to the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The expansion included a World Cup tournament mode with all teams and stadiums from the event, official television presentation elements, and World Cup-related content for the Ultimate Team mode.[220][221]
Panini continued their partnership with FIFA by producing stickers for their World Cup sticker album.[222] Panini also developed an app for the 2018 World Cup where fans could collect and swap virtual stickers, with 5 million fans gathering digital stickers for the tournament.[223][224]
Symbols
Mascot
Tournament mascot, wolf Zabivaka
The tournament's official mascot was unveiled on 21 October 2016, and selected through a design competition among university students. A public vote was used to select the mascot from three finalists—a cat, a tiger, and a wolf. The winner, with 53% or approximately 1 million votes, was Zabivaka—an anthropomorphic wolf dressed in the colours of the Russian national team. Zabivaka's name is a portmanteau of the Russian words забияка ("hothead") and забивать ("to score"), and his official backstory states that he is an aspiring football player who is "charming, confident and social".[225]
Match ball
Match ball "Telstar 18"Match ball for the knockout stage, "Telstar Mechta"
The official match ball, the "Telstar 18", was unveiled on 9 November 2017. It was based on the name and design of the first Adidas World Cup ball from 1970.[226] A special red-coloured variation, "Telstar Mechta", was used for the knockout stage of the tournament. The word mechta (Russian: мечта) means "dream" or "ambition".[227]
Goalkeepers noted that the ball was slippery and prone to having unpredictable trajectory.[228][229] In addition, two Telstar 18 balls popped in the midst of a first-round match between France and Australia, leading to further discussions over the ball's performance.[230][231]
Music
The official song of the tournament was "Live It Up", with vocals by Will Smith, Nicky Jam and Era Istrefi, released on 25 May 2018. Its music video was released on 8 June 2018.[232]
Other controversies
Thirty-three footballers who were alleged to be part of the Russian steroid programme are listed in the McLaren Report.[233] On 22 December 2017, it was reported that FIFA had fired a doctor who had been investigating doping in Russian football.[234] On 22 May 2018, FIFA stated that the investigations concerning all Russian players named for the provisional squad of the FIFA World Cup in Russia had been completed, with the result that insufficient evidence was found to support anti-doping rule violations.[235] FIFA's medical committee also decided that Russian personnel would not be involved in performing drug testing procedures at the tournament, an action taken to reassure teams that samples would not be tampered with.[236]
Russia relaxed its visa rules during the World Cup, allowing Fan ID holders to enter and exit Russia without a visa through 31 December 2018. Traffickers exploited this system to bring foreign sex trafficking victims into the country, especially from Nigeria.[237]Reuters had raised concerns about the victims' conditions, who had allegedly been forced into prostitution, with some of them enduring violent abuse.[238][239] Russian authorities were accused of doing little to fix to the issue, allegedly because many locals blamed the victims for falling into prostitution.[240][241]
Response to Skripal poisoning
In response to the March 2018 poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, British prime minister Theresa May announced that no British ministers or members of the royal family would attend the World Cup, and issued a warning to any travelling England fans.[242] Russia responded to the comments from the UK Parliament claiming that the West are trying to "take the World Cup out of Russia".[243] The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced Boris Johnson's statements that compared the event to the 1936 Olympics held in Nazi Germany as "poisoned with venom of hate, unprofessionalism and boorishness" and "unacceptable and unworthy" parallel towards Russia, a "nation that lost millions of lives in fighting Nazism".[244]
Critical reception
Facilities–such as the refurbished Luzhniki Stadium (pictured)–were one aspect of Russia's perceived success.
At the close of the World Cup, Russia was widely praised for its success in hosting the tournament, with Steve Rosenberg of the BBC deeming it "a resounding public relations success" for Putin, adding: "The stunning new stadiums, free train travel to venues and the absence of crowd violence has impressed visiting supporters. Russia has come across as friendly and hospitable: a stark contrast with the country's authoritarian image. All the foreign fans I have spoken to are pleasantly surprised."[245]
Despite the British Foreign Office and MPs repeatedly warning English football fans travelling to Russia of "racist or homophobic intimidation, hooligan violence and anti-British hostility",[246][247] fans who did travel said they received a warm welcome from ordinary citizens after arriving in Russia.[248][249]
FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated: "Everyone discovered a beautiful country, a welcoming country, that is keen to show the world that everything that has been said before might not be true. A lot of preconceived ideas have been changed because people have seen the true nature of Russia."[250] Infantino has proclaimed Russia 2018 to be "the best World Cup ever." 98 percent of the stadiums were sold out, there were 3 billion viewers on TV around the world and 7 million fans visited the fan fests.[251] It was the most viewed World Cup to date, and the third most viewed television broadcast, surpassing the Beijing Olympics in 2008.[citation needed]
Broadcasting rights
FIFA, through several companies, sold the broadcasting rights for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to various local broadcasters. After having tested the technology at limited matches of the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup,[252] and the 2014 FIFA World Cup (via private tests and public viewings in the host city of Rio de Janeiro),[253] the 2018 World Cup was the first World Cup in which all matches were produced in 4K ultra high definition. Host Broadcast Services (HBS) stated that at least 75% of the broadcast cut of each match would come from 4K cameras (covering the majority of main angles), with instant replays and some camera angles being converted up from 1080p high definition sources with limited degradation in quality. These broadcasts were made available from selected rightsholders and television providers.[254][255][256]
In February 2018, Ukrainian rightsholder UA:PBC stated that it would not broadcast the World Cup due to existing tensions with Russia amidst the Russo-Ukrainian War. This came in the wake of growing boycott of the tournament by the Football Federation of Ukraine and sports minister Ihor Zhdanov.[257][258] Additionally, the FFU refused to accredit journalists for the World Cup and waived their quota of tickets.[259] However, the Ukrainian state TV still broadcast the World Cup, and more than 4 million Ukrainians watched the opening match.[260]
Broadcast rights to the tournament in the Middle East were hampered by an ongoing diplomatic crisis in Qatar, which saw Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates cut diplomatic ties with Qatar—the home country of FIFA's Middle East and Africa rightsholder beIN Sports—in June 2017, over its alleged state support of terrorist groups. On 2 June 2018, beIN pulled its channels from Du and Etisalat, but with service to the latter restored later that day. Etisalat subsequently announced that it would air the World Cup in the UAE, and continue to offer beIN normally and without interruptions.[261][262][263] In Saudi Arabia, beIN was banned from doing business; as a result, its channels and other content have been widely and illegally repackaged by a broadcaster identifying itself as "beoutQ". While FIFA attempted to negotiate the sale of a package consisting of Saudi matches and the final indirectly, they were unable to do so. On 12 July 2018, FIFA stated that it had "engaged counsel to take legal action in Saudi Arabia and is working alongside other sports rights owners that have also been affected to protect its interests."[264][265]
In the United States, the 2018 World Cup was the first men's World Cup whose English rights were held by Fox Sports, and Spanish rights held by Telemundo. The elimination of the United States in the qualifiers led to concerns that U.S. interest and viewership of this World Cup would be reduced, noting that "casual" viewers of U.S. matches caused them to peak at 16.5 million in 2014, and determined how much Fox paid for the rights. During a launch event prior to the elimination, Fox stated that it had planned to place a secondary focus on the Mexican team in its coverage to take advantage of their popularity among Hispanic and Latino Americans. Fox stated that it was still committed to broadcasting a significant amount of tournament coverage.[266][267][268] Viewership was down overall compared to 2014; match scheduling and time zones were not as favourable to viewers in the Americas as they were in 2014. Many games aired in the morning hours, although Telemundo's broadcast of the Mexico-Sweden Group F match was announced as being its most-watched weekday daytime program in the network's history.[269][270]
Unlike previous tournaments, where the rights were bundled with those of South Korea, Korean Central Television acquired rights to the 2018 World Cup within North Korea. Broadcasts only began with the round of 16, and matches were tape delayed and edited for time. In addition, matches involving Japan were excluded from the broadcasts, due to strained relations and campaigns against the country.[271]
Sponsorship
Audience
A combined 3.572 billion unique viewers (live global 1-minute reach) – more than half of the global population aged four and over – tuned in to world football's ultimate competition, according to audience data for official broadcast coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[291]
The average global live audience for every game of the tournament was 191 million viewers (for a cumulative live audience of 12.224 billion viewers), a 2.1% increase over the 2014 tournament average of 187 million viewers, including that average audience in the early stages (group stage and round of 16) were bigger than in 2014. However, in 2018, the audience was 15 percent smaller for the semi-finals, 17 percent for the third place play-off, and 5.1 percent for the final, which was watched by 517 million people on average (only in-home TV viewers), compared to 545 million in 2014. Presumably, the reason for that is the smaller countries involved in the top four games compared to those in 2014, and only one global region (Europe) being represented in 2018 (compared to South America and Europe in 2014). However the live global 1-minute reach of the final was 1.12 billion people (884.37 in-home TV viewers and 231.82 million out-of-home and (or) digital-only viewers).[292]
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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Wikiquote has quotations related to 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for 2018 FIFA World Cup.
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Michy Batshuayi
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Juan Cuadrado
Kendall Waston
Milan Badelj
Christian Eriksen
Dele Alli
Benjamin Pavard
Toni Kroos
Alfreð Finnbogason
Karim Ansarifard
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Javier Hernández
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Victor Moses
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André Carrillo
Jan Bednarek
Pepe
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Salem Al-Dawsari
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Iago Aspas
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Josip Drmić
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Aziz Behich (against France)
Ahmed Fathy (against Russia)
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