World Cup 2014: Brazil set to commence competition

2014 Fifa World Cup: Brazil v Croatia

Venue: Arena de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo

Date: Thursday, 12 June

Commencement: 21:00 BST

Scope: Live content editorial on the BBC Sport site, live critique on BBC Radio 5 live; live on ITV

The 2014 Fifa World Cup starts on Thursday as hosts Brazil open the competition against Croatia.

The month-long competition sees 32 countries go after a spot in the last in Rio on Sunday, 13 July.

The opening match will be gone before by a service in Sao Paulo that pays tribute to nature, individuals and football.

"Wowser the time has arrived. We are going together. This is our World Cup," said Brazil mentor Luis Felipe Scolari on Wednesday.

A year ago more than a million individuals took to the roads of significant Brazilian urban communities to dissent against what they see as inordinate using on the World Cup.

The host nation's legislature is quick to keep a rehash of a portion of the roughness seen at those dissents, and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has said she won't permit savage shows to scratch the World Cup.

Stadium de Sao Paulo

Thursday's opening amusement will be held at the Arena de Sao Paulo

Many additional police and troopers will be sent to guarantee the matches get under way easily.

England open their World Cup crusade against Italy on Saturday, 14 June - an amusement you can see live on the BBC.

Roy Hodgson's group will additionally play Uruguay and Costa Rica in their Group D installations.

Has Brazil begin as top picks to win the World Cup for a sixth time, while holders Spain are meaning to win a fourth significant competition consecutively in the wake of winning the European Championships two years prior.

The other seeded groups are Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Argentina, Germany and Belgium.

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World Cup 2014: BBC Sport intellectuals make their picks

Match of the Day moderator Gary Lineker accepts there are four groups with a sensible shot of winning the competition.

"I have an inclination it will descend to four nations, in spite of the fact that sadly I don't think one of them will be England," said previous England striker Lineker.

"I'm striving for Germany, Spain, Argentina or Brazil yet I feel that the weight may well be verging on excessively much for the host country."

The host country have never lost their opening World Cup diversion, with the past 20 opening diversions delivering 14 triumphs and six draws for the hosts.

Scolari's Brazil side will be required to win in Sao Paulo on Thursday, in a match that commences at 21:00 BST.

A limit 65,000 swarm is normal for the match, with their adventure to the stadium maneuvered after metro laborers voted not to continue a strike over pay and the release of 42 associates.

The host city for the opening service had been propped for significant interruption after movement disorder was brought on by a five-day stoppage prior in the week.

As one issue maneuvered an alternate started, notwithstanding, with airfield specialists in Brazil's second biggest city Rio de Janeiro affirming a 24-hour strike beginning at midnight on Wednesday, significance modern movement will proceed through the opening day of the World Cup.

England's World Cup apparatuses

England v Italy, Manaus, 14 June 23:00 BST

Uruguay v England, Sao Paulo, 20:00 BST

Costa Rica v England, Belo Horizonte, 17:00 BST

Overseeing body Fifa said it had sold more than 2.9 million tickets, yet they were still accessible for a few matches on Wednesday, including some including Germany, Italy and France.

There will be 31 matches indicated live on BBC TV and internet, beginning with Spain v Netherlands on Friday, 13 June, and live content critique on every one of the 64 matches, accessible on the BBC Sport site and application for portable, tablet and associated TV.

BBC Radio 5 live will likewise be giving 24 days of live scope and 61 live match analyses from football's masterpiece competition.

The BBC will likewise show the 2018 and 2022 World Cup finals in Russia and Qatar in the wake of marking another rights bargain with Fifa.