| Children watch the World Cup opening match between Brazil and Croatia in an alley at the Mangueira slum, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, June 12, 2014. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) |
From the stadium in Sao Paulo to sofas in Germany, from a pub in Nairobi to a cafe in Miami, from a Rio
slum to outer space, nearly half the world’s population was expected to tune in to the World Cup,
soccer’s premier event which kicked off Thursday in Brazil.
Even football-loving Pope Francis got a touch of World Cup fever. He sent a video message on Brazilian
television before the match, saying the world’s most popular sport can promote peace and solidarity.
The inaugural game had everything aficionados love — passion, drama, spectacle, goals and a refereeing
controversy. Here are just a few of the billions of spectators who got caught up in it all.
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