World Cup 2014: Full List of Fixtures, Locations and City Venues in Brazil

Whether your country is gearing up for a run to the final or simply hoping to advance past the group stage, every national team is gunning for a solid performance at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Action is set to take place across the country, with spectacular venues—many of which have been frantically built in the months leading up to play—ready to host hundreds of thousands of fans from all corners of the globe. From June 12 to July 13, Brazil will be the place to be in the sports world.

Each of the 32 national teams to have qualified face three matches to settle out their respective groups, and an early slip-up in these matches could doom elite countries to unfortunate draws in the round of 16 at best or, at worst, result in elimination. 

Let's take a look at every upcoming fixture in group play and glance ahead at some key matches.

Date	Match	Group	Time (ET)	Venue
June 12	Brazil vs. Croatia	A	4 p.m.	Sao Paulo
June 13	Mexico vs. Cameroon	A	12 p.m.	Natal
June 13	Spain vs. Netherlands	B	3 p.m.	Salvador
June 13	Chile vs. Australia	B	6 p.m.	Cuiaba
June 14	Colombia vs. Greece	C	12 p.m.	Belo Horizonte
June 14	Uruguay vs. Costa Rica	D	3 p.m.	Fortaleza
June 14	Ivory Coast vs. Japan	C	6 p.m.	Recife
June 14	England vs. Italy	D	6 p.m.	Manaus
June 15	Switzerland vs. Ecuador	E	12 p.m.	Brasilia
June 15	France vs. Honduras	E	3 p.m.	Porto Alegre
June 15	Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina	F	6 p.m.	Rio De Janeiro
June 16	Germany vs. Portugal	G	12 p.m.	Salvador
June 16	Iran vs. Nigeria	F	3 p.m.	Curitiba
June 16	Ghana vs. United States	G	6 p.m.	Natal
June 17	Belgium vs. Algeria	H	12 p.m.	Belo Horizonte
June 17	Brazil vs. Mexico	A	3 p.m.	Fortaleza
June 17	Russia vs. South Korea	H	6 p.m.	Cuiaba
June 18	Australia vs. Netherlands	B	12 p.m.	Porto Alegre
June 18	Cameroon vs. Croatia	A	3 p.m.	Manaus
June 18	Spain vs. Chile	B	6 p.m.	Rio De Janeiro
June 19	Colombia vs. Ivory Coast	C	12 p.m.	Brasilia
June 19	Uruguay vs. England	D	3 p.m.	Sao Paulo
June 19	Greece vs. Japan	C	6 p.m.	Natal
June 20	Costa Rica vs. Italy	D	12 p.m.	Recife
June 20	Switzerland vs. France	E	3 p.m.	Salvador
June 20	Ecuador vs. Honduras	E	6 p.m.	Curitiba
June 21	Argentina vs. Iran	F	12 p.m.	Belo Horizonte
June 21	Germany vs. Ghana	G	3 p.m.	Fortaleza
June 21	Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Nigeria	F	6 p.m.	Cuiaba
June 22	South Korea vs. Algeria	H	12 p.m.	Porto Alegre
June 22	United States vs. Portugal	G	3 p.m.	Manaus
June 22	Belgium vs. Russia	H	12 p.m.	Rio De Janeiro
June 23	Australia vs. Spain	B	12 p.m.	Curitiba
June 23	Chile vs. Netherlands	B	12 p.m.	Sao Paulo
June 23	Brazil vs. Cameroon	A	4 p.m.	Brasilia
June 23	Croatia vs. Mexico	A	4 p.m.	Recife
June 24	Italy vs. Uruguay	D	12 p.m.	Natal
June 24	Costa Rica vs. England	D	12 p.m.	Belo Horizonte
June 24	Japan vs. Colombia	C	4 p.m.	Cuiaba
June 24	Greece vs. Ivory Coast	C	4 p.m.	Fortaleza
June 25	Nigeria vs. Argentina	F	12 p.m.	Porto Alegre
June 25	Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Iran	F	12 p.m.	Salvador
June 25	Honduras vs. Switzerland	E	4 p.m.	Manaus
June 25	France vs. Ecuador	E	4 p.m.	Rio De Janeiro
June 26	United States vs. Germany	G	12 p.m.	Recife
June 26	Portugal vs. Ghana	G	12 p.m.	Brasilia
June 26	South Korea vs. Belgium	H	4 p.m.	Sao Paulo
June 26	Algeria vs. Russia	H	4 p.m.	Curitiba

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Group E	Group F	Group G	Group H
Brazil	Spain	Colombia	Italy
Croatia	Netherlands	Greece	Uruguay
Mexico	Australia	Japan	England
Cameroon	Chile	Ivory Coast	Costa Rica
France	Argentina	Germany	Russia
Switzerland	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Portugal	Belgium
Honduras	Iran	United States	Algeria
Ecuador	Nigeria	Ghana	South Korea

Notable Group Stage Matches

England vs. Italy

It won't take long for one of the most enticing fixtures of the group stage to reveal itself, as England and Italy battle for early Group D supremacy on June 14.

While both teams are filled with experienced players, there's little doubt that Italy will rely more heavily on experience. Andrea Pirlo marshals the midfield and Gianluigi Buffon's presence in goal holds together the back line, while 23-year-old Mario Balotelli has a breakout performance in Euro 2012 to lean on.

England and Roy Hodgson come into Brazil with a noticeably young squad, but with seasoned pros such as Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and James Milner in the squad, they still have a experience within their ranks.

It's tough to decide who out of England, Italy and Uruguay will advance from Group D, but not for Buffon, per Daily Mail's Matt Law. The Italy captain seems to believe that Italy has the upper hand:

"

At this moment, Italy are the team who can think about going the furthest compared with England and Uruguay – at least at the start of the tournament. The favourites are Brazil, Spain, Germany and Argentina. We are slightly further back.

"

Whether Italy are more suited to advance further than England, both sides should play out a hotly contested match. Knowing a loss this early would be detrimental to their chances of advancing in a rough group, expect the game to be a cagey affair.

Brazil vs. Mexico

After an unlikely gift from the Americans in World Cup qualifying, Mexico's national team embarks upon Brazil to face a group that they could very well advance from with a string of strong showings.

One of those three showings, though, has to come against the host country. 

Both sides kick things off in the World Cup's opening two matches before facing each other on June 17 in the second of there three group stage ties.

An opener against Cameroon could be just what the Mexicans need to get going, which they will certainly need to happen heading into their match against Brazil. If they do click into gear, they may surprise the hosts and get out with a point. 

However, it's tough to see a Mexico side that came within minutes of failing to make it to the tournament in the first place competing with the hosts of and favorites for the World Cup. 

Either way, this will likely be one of the fastest-paced games of the tournament. 

Ghana vs. United States

The United States were dealt an awfully rough hand in the 2014 World Cup by being slotted in Group G—the "group of death."

That makes their easiest match of the group stage one that the Americans will be hard-pressed to win.

Jurgen Klinsmann's young squad begin play in Brazil against Ghana, the team that bounced the U.S. from South Africa in a 120-minute thriller in the round of 16 four years ago.

USA's starting 11 has a completely new look from that game in 2010 and poses as many questions as it gives answers at this point. Experienced players such as Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley simply must start.

Ghana also have a few new faces, but the return of Sulley Muntari and Michael Essien in the midfield means that the African country won't be an easy out—as the U.S. learned in 2010.

Portugal and Germany await both of these teams following their matchup, so expect the U.S. and Ghana to have this opener circled on their calendars as the most winnable of the three. That should only up the ante for this showdown.