F O R THE PRIVILEGED FEW It’s Kick Off Time: Focus on Tactics, Not Statistics June 2014 www.mashreqgold.com mashreq F O R THE PRIVILEGED FEW 2014 FIFA World Cup Report 05 June 2014 It’s Kick Off Time: Focus on Tactics, Not Statistics We are pleased to launch our Special Report on the 20th edition of the FIFA World Cup 2014, which kicks-off on 12th June in Brazil, when the hosts face Croatia. The tournament will last for just over a month during which the 32 qualified teams will play a total of 64 matches in 12 cities, including the grand Finale on 13th July at the Maracana in Rio De Janeiro. We are sure you will be closely following the progress of your respective national teams, if they are playing in the tournament. Even if your national team is not involved in the action, we hope, either as neutrals or supporters of a team, you will be interested in the results. Brazil is staging the FIFA World Cup for the second time, the first being in 1950. Brazil and football are synonymous! Brazil is a football crazy nation. Since the first World Cup in 1930, only eight teams have won the title. Among them is five-time winner, Brazil, followed by Italy Moreover, Brazil is the only country to have participated in all 19 editions of this event. The country has produced some of the greatest players in the history of world football, including Pelé, Garrincha, Ronaldo and Kaká. Brazilian players have won the Ballon d‘Or five times in the past 15 years. Football is almost a religion in the country. In 1950, when Brazil lost the final match to Uruguay, a distressed fan committed suicide and three others died from heart attack. According to FIFA.com, the official site for the event, Brazilian fans purchased more than sixty percent of the tickets that went on sale online in mid-April 2014. World Cup likely to boost tourism in Brazil Several sectors, including civil construction, food and beverage, business services, and tourism and hospitality, are likely to benefit from the global event. In the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa, 3.2 million people attended the tournament. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism, 3.7 million people are estimated to travel across the country during the month- long tournament. Approximately 1.9 million fans are estimated to travel to the 12 Brazilian cities hosting matches and FIFA fan fests, while another 1.8 million visitors would travel to Brazil to enjoy the festivities around the World Cup. Moreover, an average foreign tourist would attend four World Cup matches and spend approximately USD2,488 during the visit. Overall, the Brazilian economy is expected to grow by USD3.03 billion, led by tourist inflow during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Minister of Tourism, Vinicius Lages, noted that the financial turnover in tourism may be more than double if the multiplier effect of indirect and induced financial transactions resulting from these visitors is considered. Brazilian government under criticism The government is estimated to have spent more than USD11 billion on World Cup preparations. Yet, there are delays in the completion of infrastructure projects and stadium constructions. According to market sources, the soccer stadiums in Natal and Porto Alegre still need work, while the Itaquerao stadium has not received approval from the fire department for the entire seating section. The stadiums were due to be completed last year. The delays have led to criticism from FIFA and angry protests have taken place in various cities over exceeding costs. Brazil’s national team under pressure to win Playing on home soil has its advantages, although Brazil has yet to win the tournament at home. Six host countries have won the title in previous editions: Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934), England (1966), Germany (1974), Argentina (1978), and France (1998). Brazil and Sweden were runners-up when they hosted the tournament in 1950 and 1958, while Chile (1962), Italy (1990), and Germany (2006) finished in the third place. It is interesting to note that a national team with a foreign coach has never won the World Cup. On 16 July, 1950, the entire nation mourned as Uruguay defeated Brazil in the finals. The match, termed as ―Maracanazo‖, is considered to be national tragedy and distresses the country to date. Accordingly, Brazil is under tremendous pressure given the high expectations from the country to win its first World Cup on home soil. Popular choice team, Champion, Runners Up and Award Winners We took inputs from our colleagues and clients over the last month and based on the number of votes polled for each player, we have come up with a Popular 11 (P 11). Furthermore, based on your votes, we also have the Champion and the Runners up for this edition, and winners of individual performance awards such as the Golden Ball, Golden Boot and Golden Glove. The response was overwhelming as we received entries not only from the GCC/MENA region but from Asia, Europe and North America as well. 2 It‘s Kick Off Time: Focus on Tactics, Not Statistics F O R THE PRIVILEGED FEW Venue Details 12 Stadiums of World Cup 2014 The stadiums are spread across the country‘s five regions, spanning 12 cities: capital Brasília, Cuiabá, Salvador, Fortaleza, Natal, Manaus, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, São Paulo, and Curitiba. The latter six cities would host the tournament for the second time in 2014. The opening match of the championship would be held at Arena de São Paulo in Brazil‘s largest city, São Paulo. The finals would be played in the historical Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, on July 13, 2014. This is the largest stadium in Brazil, and was also used for the 1950 edition of the game. Arena da Baixada is the smallest venue, with a capacity of 41,456. An average 5.33 matches would be played per venue. In 1950, a total of 1,045,246 fans watched the tournament, the largest audience until England 1966. Arena Amazônia Fortaleza Estádio Castelão Capacity : 42,374 Capacity : 64,856 Estádio das Dunas Manaus Capacity : 42,086 Natal Recife Arena Pernambuco Arena Pantanal Belo Capacity : 44,248 Capacity : 42,968 Horizonte Cuiabá Brasília Estádio Nacional Estádio Mineirão Capacity : 70,064 Capacity : 62,547 Salvador Arena Fonte Nova Capacity : 48,747 Rio de Janeiro São Paulo Estádio do Maracanã Arena da Baixada Capacity : 76,804 Capacity : 41,456 Arena de São Paulo Curitiba Capacity : 65,807 Porto Alegre Estádio Beira-Rio Capacity : 48,849 2014 FIFA World Cup Report | 3 It‘s Kick Off Time: Focus on Tactics, Not Statistics F O R THE PRIVILEGED FEW FIFA 2014 − Groups, Teams and Key Statistics Group A Group E Country Times FIFA Best performance Country Times FIFA Best performance qualified rank qualified rank Brazil 20 4 Winners (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) Ecuador 3 26 Round of 16 (2006) Cameroon 7 50 Quarter-finals (1990) France 14 16 Winners (1998) Croatia 4 20 Third place (1998) Honduras 3 30 Group stage (1982, 2010) Mexico 15 19 Quarter-finals (1970, 1986) Switzerland 10 8 Quarter-finals (1934, 1938, 1954) Group B Group F Country Times FIFA Best performance Country Times FIFA Best performance qualified rank qualified rank Australia 4 59 Round of 16 (2006) Argentina 16 7 Winners (1978, 1986) Chile 9 13 Third place (1962) Bosnia 1 25 NA Netherlands 10 15 Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010) Iran 4 37 Group stage (1978, 1998, 2006) Spain 14 1 Winners (2010) Nigeria 5 44 Round of 16 (1994, 1998) Group C Group G Country Times FIFA Best performance Country Times FIFA Best performance qualified rank qualified rank Colombia 5 5 Round of 16 (1990) Germany 18 2 Winners (1954, 1974, 1990) Côte d'Ivoire 3 21 Group stage (2006, 2010) Ghana 3 38 Quarter-finals (2010) Greece 3 10 Group stage (1994, 2010) Portugal 6 3 Third place (1966) Japan 5 47 Round of 16 (2002, 2010) USA 10 14 Third place (1930) Group D Group H Country Times FIFA Best performance Country Times FIFA Best performance qualified rank qualified rank Costa Rica 4 34 Round of 16 (1990) Algeria 4 25 Group stage (1982, 1986, 2010) England 14 11 Winners (1966) Belgium 12 12 Fourth place (1986) Italy 18 9 Winners (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) S. Korea 9 55 Fourth place (2002) Uruguay 12 6 Winners (1930, 1950) Russia 10* 18 Fourth place (1966) Source: ww.fifa.com; *This is the 3rd appearance of Russia at the World Cup. However, FIFA considers Russia as the successor team of the USSR; note: FIFA ranks as of May 2014 2014 FIFA World Cup Report | 4 It‘s Kick Off Time: Focus on Tactics, Not Statistics F O R THE PRIVILEGED FEW Mashreq - World Cup Popular Choice 11 (P 11) Manuel Neuer Phillip Vincent Lahm Company Thiago Sergio Silva Ramos Yahya Andre Bastian Toure Iniesta Schweinsteiger Robin Christiano Van Persie Ronaldo Lionel Messi Players of 16 countries were nominated for P 11 Some of the major footballing countries whose players did not get any votes are: Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Nigeria Germany has the most number of players (3) in P 11, followed by Spain (2) Christiano Ronaldo was the most popular player getting the highest number of votes Marcelo, Eden Hazard and Sergio Aguero missed selection in P 11 by a single vote only 2014 FIFA World Cup Report | 5 It‘s Kick Off Time: Focus on Tactics, Not Statistics F O R THE PRIVILEGED FEW Match Predictions and Awards Winners Groups Round of 16 QF SF Final SF QF Round of 16 Groups A Brazil Mexico A B Netherlands Spain B C Colombia Ivory Coast C D Uruguay Italy D E France Switzerland E F Bosnia Argentina F G Germany Belgium G H South Korea Portugal H Dark Horse A B C D E F G H Croatia Chile Japan England Ecuador Nigeria Ghana Russia Route to the Final At group stage, we don‘t expect any major surprises, although we have rated one team from each group as a dark horse.