World Cup 2018: Football fever kicks off

June 14, 2018
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Football fever is officially upon us.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia kicks-off tonight between the hosts and group A rivals Saudi Arabia.

Who will break records? Who will cause controversy? And most importantly who will win?

You can enjoy an exciting summer of football and keep up with all the World Cup 2018 highlights on our dedicated video hub, bringing you viral videos, insider moments, interviews and top coverage from the 32-team camps

In the meantime, here’s a look at how the past five World Cups have been won as we eagerly await this year’s showdown.


GERMANY 2014

Germany celebrates World Cup 2014 win 

The 2014 World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, saw Germany and Argentina go head-to-head, with Die Mannschaft crowned world champions for a fourth time thanks to Mario Gotze's only goal of the game in extra-time. 


SPAIN 2010

Spain celebrates 2010 World Cup win
The 2010 FIFA World Cup final, also known as the Battle of Johannesburg, saw Spain defeat the Netherlands 1–0 with a goal from Andrés Iniesta four minutes from the end of extra-time, giving the Spanish their first ever World Cup win. 


ITALY 2006 

Italy celebrates World Cup 2006 win
Italy won the 2006 World Cup after defeating France in Berlin, Germany on July 9, 2006. The match required penalties to settle the winner having ended 1-1 after extra-time and it was Italy that kept their nerve from the spot to win 5-3. The match is best remembered for French star Zinedine Zidane ending his illustrious career in ignominy after being sent off for head-butting Italy’s Marco Materazzi.


BRAZIL 2002 

Brazil celebrates World Cup 2002 winBrazil and Germany vied for the 2002 World Cup in Yokohama, Japan. Incredibly, this was the first match between the two teams in the history of the World Cup. Brazil would go on to lift the trophy thanks to a 2-0 victory orchestrated by the brilliant Ronaldo’s brace. It gave Brazil its most recent, and fifth, World Cup trophy.


FRANCE 1998 

France celebrates 1998 World Cup win
The final of the 1998 World Cup saw hosts France take on Brazil. The French side defeated the Brazilians 3-0, getting French hands on the Jules Rimet trophy for the first time. Zidane was the hero on this occasion, scoring twice before Emanuel Petit wrapped things up in the dying moments of the match.


Who will win the World Cup 2018? 

Throughout World Cup history winners have only ever come from Europe and South America. This year, there are four Arab nations at the World Cup; can Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco or Tunisia change history? Share your predictions using #CheerWithOSN and get a chance to win every time an Arab team scores in Russia
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