The tournament began on 12 June with a group stage and concluded on 13 July with the championship match.[6] It was the second time that Brazil hosted the competition, the first being in 1950.
The national teams of 31 countries advanced through qualification competitions to participate with the host nation Brazil in the final tournament. A total of 64 matches were played in 12 cities across Brazil in either new or redeveloped stadiums. For the first time at a World Cup finals, match officials used goal-line technology, as well as vanishing foam for free kicks. As the winners, Germany qualified for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Fan Fest in the host cities in Brazil received 5 million people, and the country received 1 million guests from 202 countries around the world.