During an Italian national team training camp in Coverciano last month, Mario Balotelli was forced to endure the sickening experience of having racist bile spat at him.

We might not be any good at the game, and those who follow it from here might like its culture in England, but they should not pretend we are part of it, writes John Roughan.

Waving flags, jumping to their feet and cheering, Brazilian fans brought a taste of their home country to New Zealand as they celebrated winning the opening game of the World Cup this morning.

World Cup fever has officially kicked off as the first game of the competition got under way this morning.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup opened in Sao Paulo today with hosts Brazil taking on Croatia. We picked out the best tweets to recap the action.

Australia and New Zealand have both recently embraced "football" as a term in a bid for increased integration with the global game, writes Keith Parry.

Editorial: On the eve of the kickoff to the World Cup in Brazil, it's time to acknowledge 'soccer' should go from the Herald's lexicon.

Brazil native Ana Paula De Jesus says her dream football World Cup final would be to see her countrymen play their arch-rival, Argentina.

The Sun's 22 million free World Cup editions won't be delivered by postal workers near Liverpool - who still loathe the paper over its Hillsborough coverage.

The first game of the World Cup could set the tone, not just for Brazil but for the tournament. Can the Selecao deal with expectation?

On a flaking, whitewashed wall in central Rio, street artist Williams Aurelino is adding the final touches to a mural of the Brazilian soccer team.