NEWS14 Surprising Things You Need To Know About The 2014 FIFA World Cup
It's totally ok if you have absolutely no idea about that little thing going on in Brazil right now called the World Cup. It's just the most-watched sporting event in the world (more so than the Olympics!) where the best soccer teams across the globe compete for the title. No biggie. Here's all you need to know about the games, the players, the celebrity fans and more:
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1. 64 matches of soccer teams from 31 countries will compete for the World Cup title.
2. This year's cup runs from today, June 12, until July 13, 2014.
3. This is only the second time since 1978 that the World Cup has been held in South America.
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4. The games will be held in various stadiums across 12 different cities in Brazil, with the finals taking place in Rio de Janeiro.
5. Rio de Janeiro is home to 6.3 million people. You may recognize it from that little animated movie called Rio, maybe?:
6. Brazil, who's won five World Cups in the past, is expected to win the tournament again this year, but Spain, who won in 2010, is a major contender, too.
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7. The team that wins this year's cup will walk away with $35 million. The runner up gets a hefty $25 mill.
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8. Brazil is home to tons of A-List celebrities, including models Alessandra Ambrosio and Gisele Bunchen.
9. According to Bleacher Report, Gisele is a fan of the World Cup even though her husband plays (American) football. She'll be rooting for the Selecao (Brazil's national team) during the competition.
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10. Cristiano Rinaldo, who will be competing with the Portugal team, is one of the most marketable soccer players right now. He's super famous all over the world, but here in the US, he's most known for having had a fling that one time with Kim Kardashian.
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11. Shakira's beau, Gerard Pique, will also be competing this year with Spain's team. He won three trophies in the 2010 World Cup.
12. Remember David Beckham? The former soccer champ played with England in three consecutive World Cups in 1998, 2002 and 2006.
13. The official song to this year's games is "We Are One (Ole Ole)," a collaboration between Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez. Both superstars are going to perform it LIVE at today's opening ceremony.
youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGtWWb9emYI&w=640&h=360
14. The channels through which you can watch the games vary by country, but the US version of ESPN.com will be live streaming many of the games and providing tons of commentary, so feel free to join in. You can also check out our list of the Best Bars to Watch the World Cup in that are scattered all across the country.
There ya have it! Are you going to be following along with the games all month long? Tweet us @OKMagazine.
