But an 87-year-old in Brazil has eschewed such pleasures, and instead is using his golden years to perfect his keepy-uppy skills while parading up and down the Rio beachfront in his full national team kit.

The elderly gent seen in this Instagram clip hasn't been identified by name, for some reason, but the Internet confidently asserts that he was born in 1927.

We're not quite sure his age is being asserted without someone bothering to either find out (or make up) his name. Why stop with just his date of birth? We might as well also assert that he was one of the men who played on the losing Brazilian side in the 1950 World Cup final. Perhaps he was!

Ok, well, we just checked, and the last of the survivors from that team was centre back Juvenal Amarijo, who died in 2009. So this guy isn't a former World Cup star. But still - check out those keepy-uppy skills!

Portugal exited that tournament to France at the semi-final stage, and four years later Spain did for them in the last 16. Ronaldo scored just a solitary goal in 2010, the seventh in a 7-0 victory over North Korea. With Portugal failing to score in their other three games in the tournament, the World Cup was undoubtedly a let-down for the country and its most famous player.


"He is the most ambitious player I have met, with the hunger and desire to score in every game,”

Xabi Alonso said back in February. “He is impressive in terms of his athletic qualities and his technical abilities. He is a complete player; he has a great shot; he knows how to put his opponent off balance in one-on-one situations; he's great at finding space and he has great timing.”

Certainly those qualities were to the fore when Ronaldo dragged Portugal almost single-handedly to Brazil. His performance against Sweden in their play-off was sensational, his hat-trick in the second leg one of the finest displays in recent memory. Now he has to do the same in a tough group against Germany, Ghana and USA. Come through that and Portugal will likely face one of Belgium, Russia or South Korea.

“Of course, Portugal depends a lot on Cristiano Ronaldo, so it depends if he is fit or not, and depending on his performance in the World Cup. I think Portugal is not in the line of the favourites in national teams, but probably they are in the second line.

Danny Welbeck has emerged as a doubt for England's World Cup opener against Italy. 

The Football Association refused to comment on Welbeck on Tuesday evening.

If Welbeck is ruled out, the chances of Raheem Sterling starting the match will be vastly increased.
Sterling did not start England's final home game of the season against Peru, meaning he has only had 39 minutes' worth of action since the squad got together on May 19.

Hodgson, meanwhile, confirmed his squad had taken their anti-malaria tablets on Tuesday morning despite concerns over the side-effects.

Generally, one in 10 people experience stomach cramps, sickness or dizziness after taking the pills.

Argentina captain Lionel Messi has said he would like to play Barcelona teammate and Brazil forward Neymar in the World Cup final.

"For the way things are going I think we can get there. Hopefully I can play Neymar in the final, but if not him, then any team."

This will be Messi’s third World Cup, having debuted in the competition in 2006 and returned four years later under Diego Maradona.

Messi reflected on his past World Cup experiences, revealing his unhappiness with criticism that was levelled at him after Argentina disappointed in Germany, and what it was like to be coached by Maradona.


“They said I wasn’t bitter about the defeat, which wasn’t true.

“[Maradona and I] got along very well. He has a way of communicating things that is most special.
Messi returned to his attitude on the field, discussing how his mindset differs once he crosses the white line as compared to how he is away from the game.

“I don’t look anything like the person I am at home,” he said. “I like to win and if I have to fight or argue to do so, I will.

After four long years, the wait is over, and the FIFA World Cup is back. This year, Brazil hosts the tournament for the first time since 1950, and it kicks things off on its home turf Thursday against Croatia.

Thirty-two teams from all over the world will compete in the tournament. The teams are separated into eight different groups and will play a round-robin format. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stage, and the action will crescendo as each round passes.

Here is the full World Cup schedule, including dates, times and TV listings for all of the games. All times listed are Eastern Standard Time.

Thursday, June 12 
Group A: Brazil vs. Croatia, 4 p.m. (ESPN)

Friday, June 13 
Group A: Mexico vs. Cameroon, Noon (ESPN2)
Group B: Spain vs. The Netherlands, 3 p.m. (ESPN)
Group B: Chile vs. Australia, 6 p.m. (ESPN2)

Saturday, June 14 
Group C: Colombia vs. Greece, Noon (ABC)
Group D: Uruguay vs. Costa Rica, 3 p.m. (ABC)
Group D: England vs. Italy, 6 p.m. (ESPN)
Group C: Ivory Coast vs. Japan, 9 p.m. (ESPN)

Sunday, June 15 
Group E: Switzerland vs. Ecuador, Noon (ABC)
Group E: France vs. Honduras, 3 p.m. (ABC)
Group F: Argentina vs. Bosnia, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

Monday, June 16 
Group G: Germany vs. Portugal, Noon (ESPN)
Group F: Iran vs. Nigeria, 3 p.m. (ESPN)
Group G: United States vs. Ghana, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

Tuesday, June 17 
Group H: Belgium vs. Algeria, Noon (ESPN)
Group A: Brazil vs. Mexico, 3 p.m. (ESPN)
Group H: Russia vs. South Korea, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

Wednesday, June 18 
Group B: Australia vs. The Netherlands, Noon (ESPN)
Group B: Spain vs. Chile, 3 p.m. (ESPN)
Group A: Cameroon vs. Croatia, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

Thursday, June 19 
Group C: Colombia vs. Ivory Coast, Noon (ESPN)
Group D: Uruguay vs. England, 3 p.m. (ESPN)
Group C: Japan vs. Greece, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

Friday, June 20
Group D: Italy vs. Costa Rica, Noon (ESPN)
Group E: Switzerland vs. France, 3 p.m. (ESPN)
Group E: Honduras vs. Ecuador, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

Saturday, June 21 
Group F: Argentina vs. Iran, Noon (ESPN)
Group G: Germany vs. Ghana, 3 p.m. (ESPN)
Group F: Nigeria vs. Bosnia, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

Sunday, June 22 
Group H: Belgium vs. Russia, Noon (ABC)
Group H: South Korea vs. Algeria, 3 p.m. (ABC)
Group G: United States vs. Portugal, 6 p.m. (ESPN)

Monday, June 23 
Group B: The Netherlands vs. Chile, Noon (ESPN)
Group B: Australia vs. Spain, Noon (ESPN2)
Group A: Cameroon vs. Brazil, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
Group A: Croatia vs. Mexico, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)

Tuesday, June 24 
Group D: Italy vs. Uruguay, Noon (ESPN)
Group D: Costa Rica vs. England, Noon (ESPN2)
Group C: Japan vs. Colombia, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
Group C: Greece vs. Ivory Coast, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)

Wednesday, June 25 
Group F: Nigeria vs. Argentina, Noon (ESPN)
Group F: Bosnia vs. Iran, Noon (ESPN2)
Group E: Honduras vs. Switzerland, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
Group E: Ecuador vs. France, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)

Thursday, June 26 
Group G: Portugal vs. Ghana, Noon (ESPN2)
Group G: United States vs. Germany, Noon (ESPN)
Group H: South Korea vs. Belgium, 4 p.m. (ESPN)
Group H: Algeria vs. Russia, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)

Knockout Stage 

Saturday, June 28 
Match 49: Group A winner vs. Group B runner-up, Noon (ABC)
Match 50: Group C winner vs. Group D runner-up, 4 p.m. (ABC)

Sunday, June 29 
Match 51: Group B winner vs. Group A runner-up, Noon (ESPN)
Match 52: Group D winner vs. Group C runner-up, 4 p.m. (ESPN)

Monday, June 30 
Match 53: Group E winner vs. Group F runner-up, Noon (ESPN)
Match 54: Group G winner vs. Group H runner-up, 4 p.m. (ESPN)

Tuesday, July 1 
Match 55: Group F winner vs. Group E runner-up, Noon (ESPN)
Match 56: Group H winner vs. Group G runner-up, 4 p.m. (ESPN)

Quarterfinals 

Friday, July 4 
Match 58: Match 53 winner vs. Match 54 winner, Noon (ESPN2)
Match 57: Match 49 winner vs. Match 50 winner, 4 p.m. (ESPN)

Saturday, July 5 
Match 60: Match 55 winner vs. Match 56 winner, Noon (ABC)
Match 59: Match 51 winner vs. Match 52 winner, 4 p.m. (ESPN)

Semifinals 

Tuesday, July 8 
Match 61: Match 57 winner vs. Match 58 winner, 4 p.m. (ESPN)

Wednesday, July 9 
Match 62: Match 59 winner vs. Match 60 winner, 4 p.m. (ESPN)

Saturday, July 12 
Third-Place Game, 4 p.m. (ESPN)

Sunday, July 13 

Final, 

 Host country     Brazil
Dates                12 June – 13 July
Teams               32 (from 5 confederations)
Venue(s)           12 (in 12 host cities)


The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be the 20th FIFA World Cup, an international men's football tournament that is scheduled to take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014. It will be the second time that Brazil has hosted the competition, the previous being in 1950. Brazil was elected unchallenged as host nation in 2007 after the international football federation, FIFA, decreed that the tournament would be staged in South America for the first time since 1978 in Argentina, and the fifth time overall.

The national teams of 31 countries advanced through qualification competitions that began in June 2011 to participate with the host nation Brazil in the final tournament. A total of 64 matches are to be played in twelve cities across Brazil in either new or redeveloped stadiums, with the tournament beginning with a group stage. For the first time at a World Cup Finals, the matches will use goal-line technology. After testing several systems over two years, FIFA awarded German company GoalControl GmbH the contract to provide GLT technology for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil

With the host country, all world champion teams since the first World Cup in 1930 (Argentina, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Uruguay) have qualified for this competition. Spain is the defending champion, having defeated the Netherlands 1–0 in the 2010 World Cup final to win its first World title. The previous four World Cups staged in South America were all won by South American teams.