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World Cup fever
09 Jun 2014 — Brazil, the only nation to win the World Cup five times, is hosting the tournament for the first time since 1950 this summer. Preparations for the sporting event have been marred by delays, cost overruns, constructions accidents and protests, but the focus is now starting to shift to football with the opening game between hosts Brazil and Croatia in Sao Paulo set for June 12. Rio will host the final on July 13. Thirty-two national teams representing the best in football will be vying for the World Cup, the event that, every four years, makes football fans of us all. This is the time for football's largest international festival.
Replicas of the Brazilian national football team jerseys are displayed for sale on a street in Brasilia May 23, 2014. – Reuters pic, June 9, 2014.
Employees conduct a final check to fix any cavities in the seams of balls inside the football factory that produces official match balls for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, in Sialkot, Punjab province May 16, 2014. – Reuters pic, June 9, 2014.
View of sand statues depicting Brazil's forward Neymar (left) and Argentina's forward Lionel Messi at Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 7, 2014. – AFP pic, June 9, 2014.
People eat snacks under Brazilian flags at a market decorated for the upcoming World Cup in Sao Paulo June 7, 2014. – Reuters pic, June 9, 2014.
Blue tang and coris gaimard (orange fish) take food from a bait packed ball in a fish tank designed to resemble a football pitch at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo, yesterday, as part of a new attraction which will be displayed until June 29 during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Japan (blue team colour) will play against Ivory Coast on June 14. – AFP pic, June 9, 2014.
A Brazilian football fan plays with a football as he poses for a photograph on a beach in Rio de Janeiro yesterday. – Reuters pic, June 9, 2014.
Tourists enjoy the sunset on top of Corcovado mountain at the base of the Christ the Redeemer statue, ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro yesterday. – Reuters pic, June 9, 2014.
People are seen in a bar next to the pavement of a road painted in the colours of the Brazilian flag at the entrance of Santa Marta shantytown (favela) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, yesterday, just days ahead of FIFA World Cup 2014. – AFP pic, June 9, 2014.
A boy heads a football in front of a decorated roadside wall with FIFA World Cup players and teams' national flags on the outskirts of Kolkata, ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil June 6, 2014. – Reuters pic, June 9, 2014.
A woman shows her nails after being painted with the flags of countries that will participate in the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro May 29, 2014. – Reuters pic, June 9, 2014.
Brazilian artist Jambeiro paints a graffiti in reference to the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro June 4, 2014. – Reuters pic, June 9, 2014.
An aerial view of a neighbourhood decorated for the 2014 World Cup in Manaus, June 3, 2014. The stadium will host four matches of the tournament. – Reuters pic, June 9, 2014.
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