The 18 biggest soccer stadiums in the world

Capacity: 80,093

Home team: Universitario de Deportes

The largest stadium in South America — a continent famous for its love of football — Estadio Monumental has hosted a number of World Cup qualifiers since it was finished in 2000, and is sometimes used by the national team.

Capacity: 80,372

Home team: Selangor FA

One of the biggest venues in Asia, the Shah Alam stadium occasionally doubles as what might be the world's most magnificent go-kart circuit in the off season, run by Asian Formula 2000 Champion driver Ng Wai Leong.

Capacity: 81,000

Home team: Russia

The only venue on the list to require an artificial pitch thanks to the harsh Moscow weather, the Luzhniki stadium saw tragedy in 1982 when a stampede killed 66 people. It's currently being renovated for the 2018 World Cup.

Capacity: 81,044

Home teams: Spanish national team, and Real Madrid

Home to the world's richest football club, the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium opened in 1944 and has been hosting world class football ever since. Real Madrid's president Florentino Pérez once said "we want to make the Santiago Bernabéu the best stadium in the world," and made upgrades a priority when he began his role.

Capacity: 81,338

Home team: French national team

The only stadium in the world to host both a football and rugby World Cup final, the Stade de France saw its national football team winning on home soil in 1998. Like many on the list, the stadium often has the biggest music acts in the world playing when sport's not on.

Capacity: 81,359

Home team: Borussia Dortmund

Known as Westfalenstadion in Germany, the stadium is officially named Signal Iduna Park thanks to a sponsorship arrangement lasting until 2021. It first opening in 1974, and is now home to one of Germany's most successful clubs.

Capacity: 83,500

Home team: Australian national team

Known by locals as the Olympic Stadium, the ANZ was completed in 1999 as the main venue for the 2000 Olympic Games. Since then it's hosted a lot of football too, especially World Cup qualifiers.

Capacity: 86,000

Home team: Egyptian national team

The Borg El Arab Stadium boasts a 200 capacity hotel for visiting teams, as well as a giant running track around the pitch perimeter for athletic events in the summer.

Capacity: 87,411

Home team: Malaysian national team

Initially built for the 1998 Commonwealth Games, the Bukit Jalil National Stadium has also hosted the AFC Asian Cup. If football's not your thing, you can also catch Disney On Ice here when it's in the area.

Capacity: 88,083

Home team: Indonesian national team

Finished in 1962, the "GBK Stadium" — as it is sometimes known — was funded partly by a loan from the Soviet Union. Some of the world's biggest clubs have played here as they toured the Asian continent.

Capacity: 90,000

Home team: English national team

The home of English football, Wembley was reconstructed between 2002-07, at an estimated cost of £757 million ($1.1 billion). Its arch can be seen for miles around West London, and when it's not hosting football games it's a world famous concert venue.

Capacity: 92,542

Home teams: Various qualifiers and exhibition matches

One of the USA's most famous stadiums, the Rose Bowl is also the country's biggest soccer stadium, playing home to the 1994 World Cup final and several qualifiers thereafter.

Capacity: 94,736

Home teams: South African national team and the Kaizer Chiefs

Also known as "Soccer City," the FNB (First National Bank) Stadium opened in 1989 before being renovated for the 2010 World Cup. Viewers of that tournament may recall the sounds of vuvuzelas ringing through the air.

Capacity: 95,225

Home teams: Iranian national team, Esteghlal FC, and Pesepolis FC

Opened in 1973, the Azadi Stadium was almost the main venue for the 1984 Olympic Games until political issues forced Iran to drop the bid. Apparently the architecture is designed to heighten noise, which can be intimidating for visiting teams.

Capacity: 95,500

Home teams: Mexican national team, and Club América

The first stadium to host two football World Cup Finals, Estadio Azteca was the venue of Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" goal in the competition's 1986 Quarter Finals. The stadium's name is a tribute to Mexico's Aztec heritage.

Capacity: 99,354

Home team: FC Barcelona

The second richest club team in the world also plays in the second biggest football stadium in the world. The venue also hosts a number of Catalan teams. Fans were polled in 2000 and voted to make the title "Camp Nou" official, rather than a nickname. It was previously called the Estadi del FC Barcelona.

Capacity: 150,000

Home team: North Korean national team

The biggest stadium of any non-racing sport by some margin, North Korea's gigantic Rungrado May Day Stadium puts on massive shows celebrating the country and government when it's not being used for soccer. More ominously, reports suggest the stadium was also used as the site of an execution of military Generals accused of plotting assassination attempts against state leaders.