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The 2014 Fifa World Cup begins on Thursday as hosts Brazil open the tournament against Croatia.
2014年世界杯将于周四开赛,开场赛由主办国巴西对战克罗地亚。
The month-long tournament sees 32 nations compete for a place in the final in Rio on Sunday, 13 July.
The opening match will be preceded by a ceremony in Sao Paulo that pays tribute to nature, people and football.
"Let me tell you the time has arrived. We are going together. This is our World Cup," said Brazil coach Luis Felipe Scolari on Wednesday.
Last year more than a million people took to the streets of major Brazilian cities to protest against what they see as excessive spending on the World Cup.
The host country's government is keen to prevent a repeat of some of the violence seen at those protests, and Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff has said she will not allow violent demonstrations1 to mar2 the World Cup.
Thousands of extra police and soldiers will be deployed3 to ensure the matches get under way smoothly4.
England open their World Cup campaign against Italy on Saturday, 14 June - a game you can see live on the BBC in the UK.
Hosts Brazil start as favourites to win the World Cup for a sixth time, while holders6 Spain are aiming to win a fourth major tournament in a row after winning the European Championships two years ago.
The other seeded teams are Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Argentina, Germany and Belgium.
Match of the Day presenter7 Gary Lineker believes there are four teams with a realistic chance of winning the tournament.
"I have a feeling it will come down to four countries, although unfortunately I do not think one of them will be England," said former England striker Lineker.
"I'm going for Germany, Spain, Argentina or Brazil but I feel that the pressure may well be a little too much for the host nation."
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上一篇:2014世界杯 巴西已准备完毕 下一篇:“小罗”惊现训练场 梅西认错人 |
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