TIMO WERNER

AFTER RAISING THE WORLD CUP eight miles from Copacabana Beach four years ago, Germany hopes to lift the trophy four miles from the Kremlin on July 15 and become the first repeat champion in more than a half-century.

The soccer world gathers at 12 stadiums in 11 cities across the European portion of Russia starting June 14 for a 32-day, 64-match championship. Much has changed since Brazil, when Die Mannschaft humiliated the host Selecao 7-1 in the 2014 semifinals, then left Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium with a 1-0 extra-time win over Argentina on Mario Goetze’s 113th-minute goal.

The United States will be missing from soccer’s showcase after seven straight appearances. Four-time champion Italy will be watching from home for the first time since 1958, its streak of 14 consecutive appearances ended by a playoff loss to Sweden. The Netherlands, which lost the 2010 final to Spain, missed out after slumping to third in its qualifying group. And Chile failed to qualify after consecutive Copa

America titles. Iceland and Panama are World Cup debutantes, Peru is back for the first time since 1982, and Egypt ends an absence dating to 1990.

Germany and Brazil are the pretournament favorites, and France is fancied behind them with a young roster. England will try to end more than five decades of hurt since winning its only major title on home soil at Wembley in 1966. Mexico will try to advance past the second round for the first time since 1986, but El Tri opens against Germany and its likely second-round opponent is Brazil.

There also has been a generational change within FIFA. Many of its leaders have moved from penthouses to prisons following indictments by the U.S. Department of Justice that detailed kickbacks to be as much a part of soccer as free kicks.

Expect controversy on a regular basis.

FIFA’s Congress votes June 13 on the host of the 2026 tournament, and a joint bid by the U.S., Mexico and Canada is competing against Morocco — where most of the infrastructure would have to be built — on a ballot that includes a SAT-like none-of-the-above option.

Following the drug-testing scandal that engulfed the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, FIFA’s medical committee chairman said no Russians will be involved in collection of urine and blood samples, which will be flown to Lausanne, Switzerland, for analysis.

VAR will be the acronym of the moment: video assistant referees in soccer-speak, instant replay for most viewers at home.

And as soon as the final whistle of the tournament is blown at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium, attention will shift to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, moved to Nov. 21 through Dec. 18 because of summer desert heat and compressed to 28 days because it is in the middle of the European club season. Gianni Infantino, who succeeded the disgraced Sepp Blatter as FIFA president in 2016, has discussed increasing the World Cup field from 32 to 48 in 2022, four years ahead of schedule.

Some of the top story lines likely to dominate play in Russia:

MESSI AND RONALDO

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have split the last 10 FIFA Player of the Year awards, and this is likely their last chance to win a World Cup. Messi turns 31 on June 24, two days before Argentina finishes the first round against Nigeria, and has lost four finals with the Albiceleste. Ronaldo, 33, helped Portugal win the 2016 European Championship for its first major title.

BREAKOUT STARS?

Brazil’s Neymar, England’s Harry Kane, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, France’s Antoine Griezmann and Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne are stars who could lift themselves into Player of the Year contention with stellar World Cups.

BACK TO BACK

Italy in 1934 and ’38, and Brazil in 1958 and ’62 are the only teams to win consecutive World Cups. Germany was 10-0 in qualifying, the only European team with a perfect record, and outscored opponents 43-4.

PLAY IT AGAIN

Following the first use of goal-line technology at a World Cup in 2014, FIFA has expanded off-the-field decision-making. A video assistant ref can notify the referee by headset of the need to reverse a decision if there is a “clear error” involving goals and their buildups, penalty kicks, straight red cards, and mistaken identify for red and yellow cards.

ICE ICE BABY

Iceland at about 335,000 becomes the least-populous nation to appear in a World Cup, a mark that had been held since 2006 by Trinidad and Tobago at 1.3 million.

SPLIT SCREEN?

The World Cup final starts two hours after the beginning of the Wimbledon men’s singles final. If Spain and Rafael Nadel are playing for titles, and the tennis isn’t decided in straight sets, which station to turn to?

BY THE NUMBERS

0— The winners of the Confederations Cup warm-up tournament have never gone on to win the World Cup the following year.

3— The last three European winners of the World Cup didn’t advance from their group as defending champions.

4— Games will be played across four time zones in Russia — from Kaliningrad in the west to Yekaterinburg in the east.

5— Brazil is the most successful team in World Cup history with five titles, followed by Italy and Germany with four.

12— The most goals in a World Cup match came in the 1954 quarterfinals when Austria beat Switzerland 7-5.

12— A dozen stadiums will be used for the 64 games, including two venues in Moscow.

16— FIFA was seeking 34 World Cup sponsors, but it has only attracted this many.

32— This could be the last World Cup with 32 teams with FIFA exploring expanding to 48 teams in Qatar in 2022.

45— Essam el-Hadary will become the oldest person to play at a World Cup match if he features for Egypt in Russia. The 45-year-old goalkeeper is looking to eclipse the record set by Colombia goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon, who was 43 when he played at the last World Cup in Brazil.

106— Germany has played 106 World Cup matches and scored 224 goals — more than any other country. The four-time champions have 66 wins, 20 draws and 20 losses.

58,151— Of the 2.9 million seats at the World Cup, 58,151 are reserved for VIPs and VVIPs.

66,000 rubles— The most expensive ticket for the final on July 15 costs 66,000 rubles ($1,000). The cheapest for non-Russians is 27,300 rubles ($445).

173,850— The highest attendance at a World Cup match came at the Maracana in 1950 when 173,850 watched Uruguay beat Brazil 2-1 to win the tournament. It was the last time FIFA used a round-robin format rather than a knockout phase, culminating in a final.

38 million— The World Cup winner will receive $38 million from a $400 million prize fund

209 million— FIFA will pay clubs from a $209 million fund for releasing players to national teams for the World Cup.

5.656 billion— FIFA’s projected revenue over four years of $5.656 billion is mostly generated from World Cup broadcasters and sponsors.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

At the last World Cup, Colombia forward James Rodriguez became one of the stars of the tournament with his trickery and eye for a spectacular goal.

Expect others to step up at this year’s tournament.

Here’s a look at some young players hoping to make a big impact at the World Cup in Russia:

BENJAMIN MENDY

When France won the World Cup in 1998, it was formidably effective down the left flank. Playmaker Zinedine Zidane would wait for left back Bixente Lizarazu to push up and they would swap passes with devastating speed.

France has a left back in the making in Benjamin Mendy.

Quick, powerful and skillful, the 23-year-old Mendy excelled for Monaco when it won the French league and reached the Champions League semifinals in 2017. It earned him a move to Manchester City, where a serious knee injury curtailed his progress. He recovered to play in City’s last few games of the season.

The attack-minded Mendy is also quick enough to track back when a move breaks down.

MARCO ASENSIO

Marco Asensio runs with the power and grace of former Brazil midfielder Kaka. The 22-year-old Spain midfielder likewise possesses a ferocious shot from outside the penalty area, excellent close control and endless stamina.

Asensio has a full passing range, too, either quickly to feet when playing it short, or hit with a golfer’s precision so the ball drops perfectly when playing it long.

Asensio has shown his tactical versatility when playing for Real Madrid, and is lethal on counterattacks with quick one-twos.

Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta were the heartbeat in Spain’s midfield when it won the 2010 World Cup. It could be Asensio’s time to shine.

LEROY SANE

Leroy Sane was shortlisted for the Player of the Year award and voted the English Premier League’s Young Player of the Year.

The son of a professional player and an Olympic gymnast, the 22-year-old Belgium left winger has speed, balance and agility that revive memories of a young Ryan Giggs when he was at Manchester United.

Sane scored 10 goals in City’s record-breaking league campaign and set up 15 others — second in assists behind teammate Kevin De Bruyne.

City manager Pep Guardiola says Sane can become one of the world’s best players and is impressed by the timing of his runs and his delivery.

OUSMANE DEMBELE

Ousmane Dembele is even quicker than France teammate Kylian Mbappe.

The 20-year-old forward is lethal launching runs from deep and is near-unstoppable when he’s in full flow.

Dembele displayed his vast repertoire in a Spanish league game for Barcelona against Villarreal recently. Receiving the ball near the halfway line with his back to play, he flicked it with his heel and beat three players before passing for Philippe Coutinho to score.

Dembele also scored a superb solo goal: a mixture of strength, skill and speed. Turning again from midfield, he took the ball past several players and dinked it over the goalkeeper.

His exquisite finish had a touch of former Brazil great Ronaldo about it.

TIMO WERNER

Timo Werner overcame injury and a mid-season slump to reaffirm his status as Germany’s leading striker.

The 22-year-old forward is virtually assured of his starting place on the national team after helping Leipzig claim a Europa League place. He finished strongly with two goals and two assists in his last two games.

Werner scored 21 goals in all competitions this season and looks back to his best.

Werner has explosive pace, strength and the ability to open up space and create opportunities for himself and teammates. The hard-working forward has scored seven goals in 12 appearances.