World Cup 2014 Cities Map: Locations, Venues, Fixture Info for FIFA Tournament

Brazil will be the focus of the sports world quite a bit over the next few years. In 2016, Rio de Janeiro will serve as the host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics. But first, cities around the nation will welcome fans from around the globe for the 2014 World Cup.

A total of 12 different venues are slated to host matches during the month-long event. Given the size of Brazil, some cities like Manaus are quite a distance away from the other sites, which will lead to some intense travel for certain national teams.

With that in mind, let's check out all of the important stadium details. Those are followed by a complete schedule for the marquee international event and a deeper dive into the host nation's chances of raising the World Cup trophy on home soil.

Venue Information

Cities Map via FIFA

Stadium Schedule via FIFA

City	Stadium	Matches
Rio de Janeiro	Estadio do Maracana	Group, Knockout & Final
Brasilia	Estadio Nacional	Group, Knockout & Third
Belo Horizonte	Estadio Mineirao	Group & Knockout
Sao Paulo	Arena de Sao Paulo	Group & Knockout
Salvador	Arena Fonte Nova	Group & Knockout
Fortaleza	Estadio Castelao	Group & Knockout
Porto Alegre	Estadio Beira-Rio	Group & Knockout
Recife	Arena Pernambuco	Group & Knockout
Cuiaba	Arena Pantanal	Group
Manaus	Arena da Amazonia	Group
Natal	Arena das Dunas	Group
Curitiba	Arena da Baixada	Group

Tournament Fixtures

Date	Time (ET)	Group	Match	TV
June 12	4 p.m.	A	Brazil vs. Croatia	ESPN
June 13	12 p.m.	A	Mexico vs. Cameroon	ESPN2
June 13	3 p.m.	B	Spain vs. Netherlands	ESPN
June 13	6 p.m.	B	Chile vs. Australia	ESPN2
June 14	12 p.m.	C	Colombia vs. Greece	ABC
June 14	3 p.m.	D	Uruguay vs. Costa Rica	ABC
June 14	6 p.m.	D	England vs. Italy	ESPN
June 14	9 p.m.	C	Ivory Coast vs. Japan	ESPN
June 15	12 p.m.	E	Switzerland vs. Ecuador	ABC
June 15	3 p.m.	E	France vs. Honduras	ABC
June 15	6 p.m.	F	Argentina vs. Bosnia-H.	ESPN
June 16	12 p.m.	G	Germany vs. Portugal	ESPN
June 16	3 p.m.	F	Iran vs. Nigeria	ESPN
June 16	6 p.m.	G	Ghana vs. USA	ESPN
June 17	12 p.m.	H	Belgium vs. Algeria	ESPN
June 17	3 p.m.	A	Brazil vs. Mexico	ESPN
June 17	6 p.m.	H	Russia vs. South Korea	ESPN
June 18	12 p.m.	B	Australia vs. Netherlands	ESPN
June 18	3 p.m.	B	Spain vs. Chile	ESPN
June 18	6 p.m.	A	Cameroon vs. Croatia	ESPN
June 19	12 p.m.	C	Colombia vs. Ivory Coast	ESPN
June 19	3 p.m.	D	Uruguay vs. England	ESPN
June 19	6 p.m.	C	Japan vs. Greece	ESPN
June 20	12 p.m.	D	Italy vs. Costa Rica	ESPN
June 20	3 p.m.	E	Switzerland vs. France	ESPN
June 20	6 p.m.	E	Honduras vs. Ecuador	ESPN
June 21	12 p.m.	F	Argentina vs. Iran	ESPN
June 21	3 p.m.	G	Germany vs. Ghana	ESPN
June 21	6 p.m.	F	Nigeria vs. Bosnia-H.	ESPN
June 22	12 p.m.	H	Belgium vs. Russia	ABC
June 22	3 p.m.	H	South Korea vs. Algeria	ABC
June 22	6 p.m.	G	USA vs. Portugal	ESPN
June 23	12 p.m.	B	Netherlands vs. Chile	ESPN
June 23	12 p.m.	B	Australia vs. Spain	ESPN2
June 23	4 p.m.	A	Croatia vs. Mexico	ESPN
June 23	4 p.m.	A	Cameroon vs. Brazil	ESPN2
June 24	12 p.m.	D	Italy vs. Uruguay	ESPN
June 24	12 p.m.	D	Costa Rica vs. England	ESPN2
June 24	4 p.m.	C	Japan vs. Colombia	ESPN
June 24	4 p.m.	C	Greece vs. Ivory Coast	ESPN2
June 25	12 p.m.	F	Nigeria vs. Argentina	ESPN
June 25	12 p.m.	F	Bosnia-H. vs. Iran	ESPN2
June 25	4 p.m.	E	Ecuador vs. France	ESPN
June 25	4 p.m.	E	Honduras vs. Switzerland	ESPN2
June 26	12 p.m.	G	United States vs. Germany	ESPN
June 26	12 p.m.	G	Portugal vs. Ghana	ESPN2
June 26	4 p.m.	H	South Korea vs. Belgium	ESPN
June 26	4 p.m.	H	Algeria vs. Russia	ESPN2
June 28	12 p.m.	R of 16	1A vs. 2B (Match 49)	ABC
June 28	4 p.m.	R of 16	1C vs. 2D (Match 50)	ABC
June 29	12 p.m.	R of 16	1B vs. 2A (Match 51)	ESPN
June 29	4 p.m.	R of 16	1D vs. 2C (Match 52)	ESPN
June 30	12 p.m.	R of 16	1E vs. 2F (Match 53)	ESPN
June 30	4 p.m.	R of 16	1G vs. 2H (Match 54)	ESPN
July 1	12 p.m.	R of 16	1F vs. 2E (Match 55)	ESPN
July 1	4 p.m.	R of 16	1H vs. 2G (Match 56)	ESPN
July 4	12 p.m.	Quarter	W53 vs. W54 (Match 57)	ESPN2
July 4	4 p.m.	Quarter	W49 VS. W50 (Match 58)	ESPN
July 5	12 p.m.	Quarter	W55 vs. W56 (Match 59)	ABC
July 5	4 p.m.	Quarter	W51 vs. W52 (Match 60)	ESPN
July 8	4 p.m.	Semis	W57 vs. W58 (Match 61)	ESPN
July 9	4 p.m.	Semis	W59 vs. W60 (Match 62)	ESPN
July 12	4 p.m.	3rd	L61 vs. L62	ESPN
July 13	3 p.m.	Title	W61 vs. W62	ABC

Outlook for Host Nation

Brazil enters the tournament as one of four top contenders. Argentina, Germany and the defending champions from Spain make up the rest of that top-tier group. It would be an upset if one of those sides didn't win the title, even with a strong cast of secondary championship hopefuls.

As always, serving as the host nation can be either a positive or a negative. The amazing amount of crowd support can serve as a huge advantage. But a team must understand how to overcome the added pressure that comes along with that support.

The Selecao handled the situation perfectly one year ago in the Confederations Cup, which is basically a test run for the World Cup. They won the tournament with some truly outstanding performances, including a 3-0 win over Spain in the final.

Now they are expected to replicate the result on a much grander stage.

Vaishali Bhardwaj of Goal.com passed along comments manager Luiz Felipe Scolari made in the Times of India. He said it's up to them to turn the entire World Cup experience into a positive one for the country:

"

When Brazil play in the World Cup, people expect them to win it. That's not extra pressure, but that's normal for a Brazilian fan, as well as for a Brazilian footballer. If you realize this, the job will be easier.

I know there are issues [with how the tournament has been organized]. People are not happy. We have a duty to make them happy by winning the cup for them.

"

At the outset, it looks like Brazil has a great chance to do exactly that. The squad features everything you look for in a championship side.

The Selecao feature experience at the back, highlighted by Thiago Silva and Dani Alves, strength in the midfield thanks to Oscar and Paulinho and an attacking superstar capable of turning an entire match around on his own in Neymar.

Add in the home-field advantage and it's not hard to see why Bloomberg's simulations picked Brazil to raise the World Cup trophy, as noted by the outlet's David Stringer:

The journey won't be easy, of course. Group A could be trickier than it looks on paper with an underrated Croatia side and Mexico, which could bounce back on the big stage after a lackluster qualifying campaign. Cameroon also has some star power led by Samuel Eto'o.

Then the Round of 16 would feature a matchup against a side from Group B, which features Spain, Chile, the Netherlands and Australia. The first three of those teams are all dangerous.

Yet, despite the numerous hurdles that lie ahead, it's nothing Brazil can't handle. As long as it displays form on the same level or higher than the Confederations Cup, a deep run should be in the cards. And anything can happen once the tournament reaches the semifinals.

A lot will depend on the success of Neymar, who was the best player in last summer's tournament but went through some dry spells with Barcelona at the club level. If he gets back into top form, Brazil should prove itself as the team to beat.

And with a raucous crowd behind them, the Selecao will be an incredibly tough out.