RIO DE JANEIRO (AFP) - Curitiba risks being dropped as a venue for this year's World Cup finals if work on the stadium fails to make significant progress, Fifa secretary-general Jerome Valcke said on Tuesday.

"We cannot organise a match without a stadium, this has reached a critical point," said Valcke.

Valcke, who has not held back from making critical remarks about preparations in the host nation during the lead-up to the finals, said he hoped rapid progress would be made so that Curitiba would not miss out on hosting matches.

Curitiba is set to host four group matches, including the meeting of holders Spain and Australia.

The finals run from June 12 to July 13.