World Cup in Brazil MOTD Kickabout

In just seven days, England will kick off their

state-of-the-art HQ, St George's Park, because this is where they

have been preparing for the biggest football tournament on the planet.

Good morning, everyone, welcome to the programme.

Over the next 30 minutes, we will be telling you everything you need to

It all kicks off in just five days time with

the first match between Brazil and Croatia and I for one cannot wait.

We have got an action packed show for you

On the programme this week, we have got England fully covered

with all of the latest news, in-depth preparation

We profile the host country, Brazil, in the guide to every single group

Plus commentator Conor McNamara begins his video diary.

First, let's see what the World Cup is all about.

The World Cup is an international football tournament

that invites countries from around the world to compete for

This year's event features 32 teams split into eight groups with

the top two teams from each group qualifying for the knockout stages.

From here, it is lose and you are out until the last two teams battle

It began in the 1930s and has taken place every four years since, except

Only eight countries have ever won the tournament with

And this year's hosts, Brazil, have won it five times.

England, well, they have won it once, almost 50 years ago.

If they want to win it again, they will have to overcome

It's Batty, he will join them, England again out of the World Cup

The dreaded penalty shoot out is how games are decided

if the teams are still level after 90 minutes and extra time.

Germany has won four shoot outs in the World Cup, one of which has

been against England, but some teams don't have much luck at all.

England had taken part in three shoot outs in the World

Here's England's top scorer in the World Cup, Gary Lineker.

If you hit the perfect penalty, you know you have not hit it perfectly,

because the perfect penalty is the one that is unfavourable, but

no player on this earth is brave enough to aim for the top corner.

and hit it slightly with the inside of my foot, the side of the foot.

And I would aim about that far outside off the post.

Naturally, it would bend that little bit anyway.

And that was the one that I felt the best one I ever had was

Because it absolutely came off exactly how I wanted it to.

Never a more vital penalty for England.

Coolness under pressure from Gary Lineker.

The all-time World Cup scorer is Renaldo.

No, not that one, this one, the Brazilian scored

Brazil 2014 would be the fifth time the World Cup has been held in

South America and on each of the previous four occasions, a team

The last World Cup was held in South Africa and won by Spain.

It was an amazing tournament with some incredible goals and just

in case you haven't seen them yet, here is our top five.

Tevez, closed down a little belatedly.

He just has one Czech over the shoulder.

Hello, I am John Watson, welcome to the BBC Sport Centre

Without further ado, let's kick things off with the group stages.

Group A are Brazil, Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon.

Brazil are the only nation to have played

at every World Cup and have won the tournament a whopping five times.

After winning last summer's Confederations Cup,

thanks largely to some banging goals from Barcelona's ?48.6 million star

Neymar, expect them to qualify for the knockout stages.

Croatia's threat is limited with their main man suspended

Mexico have used 47 players and four coaches just to qualify

Samuel Eto'o was out of international retirement,

but Cameroon are defensive and lack creativity.

In group B, we're got Spain, the Netherlands, Chile and Australia.

Current World Cup and European champions Spain qualified for

the finals unbeaten and are obvious contenders for the knockout stages.

The Netherlands were the 2010 World Cup final.

Look out for Ajren Robben or Robin Van Persie under

the watchful eyes of the soon-to-be Manchester United boss.

Barcelona's Alexi Sanchez fronts up the Chilean side full of South

American flair while Australia's focus is firmly on youth.

It is all to play for in group C with Colombia, Greece,

Colombia should be used to the heat, but their star man is out

All eyes will be on Monaco's ?37 million James Rodriguez to keep

Manchester City's Yaya Toure who will want to take

his winning form into this summer for the Ivory Coast.

Greece only conceded four goals in the qualification campaign.

Japan could be group C's surprise package

after breezing through qualification with 17 points and 16 goals.

Group D is all about England, so I will hand that one back to you,

Leah, but fear not, I'll be back later with the rest of the groups.

Just last week, the England squad were right here

at St George's Park preparing at this state-of-the-art gym.

They arrive in Brazil tomorrow, but before they flew halfway

around the world, we brought them face-to-face with themselves.

Now, Roy's boys have a lot on their minds at the moment,

but we thought they could do with something to help them relax.

Here they are with a special surprise from artist, Steve Welsh.

Being asked to illustrate individual portraits for every member

of the 23 England squad, which has proved quite a challenge, really.

They even got a gap in my front two teeth!

A great football illustration says not only something about the player,

but maybe also the country he comes from, his style of play.

That should be something in that picture that is emotive,

something that people can connect with, because that is what they do

The nose looks a bit big, though, it is big!

We have covered England, but what about their group D opponents,

you've got Uruguay, Italy and Costa Rica, so it has to be said, group D!

Every four years, we hope, we expect.

I hope everyone at home is ready for this.

Let's be honest, we always think we will win the World Cup.

Yes, of course I believe that we can win the World Cup. It will not be

easy this year. We are in group D. First up, Italy, strong, organised.

They knocked us out of the European Championships. Let's get off to a

good start. Let's not throw it away. A nightmare moment for Rob Green!

Next up, Uruguay. The last time the World Cup was held in Brazil, we won

it. They have got the best players in the world, Luis Suarez, we know

about him. What a goal! Next up, Costa Rica. They qualified with two

games to go, they had one of the best defensive record in qualifying.

We will have to be at our best. There we have it. The dangerous

group D. Approach with caution. We can do it, we are England, we never

stop believing. It doesn't hurt to dream. The England boys will have to

face some serious travelling, so it is time to find out more about

Brazil, the host country, with our expert, Tim Vickery. You can fit the

UK into Brazil 35 times! Now, I believe the rest to Tim. Brazil is

not just a country, it is a continent, it is absolutely huge. It

is one of the biggest countries in the world. That has an effect on the

World Cup, because this is winter in Brazil. Winter in Brazil in the

south of the country, that can get quite chilly now and then.

England have a lot of travelling to do.

But the first game is right up in the other end of country, Manaus.

the country it is a city on the edge of the Amazon.

England's other two games are much closer to Rio.

One is in Belo Horizonte and one is in Sao Paolo.

One piece of bad news about Belo Horizonte - in 1950,

about that is the first time England entered the world cup.

It is still considered the biggest surprise

One of the things the England team have been focusing

I have Ian with me, who is a strengthening

What are they having to deal with out there?

Luckily, we have got the humidity chamber in there.

We will get you in there and get you on the bike and expose

you to the same sort of the environment the guys will be exposed

Basically, when we get out in the chamber,

we will be working in a normal environment, so 21% which is exactly

But the most important thing we are looking at is the humidity.

At the moment in the chamber, it is 70%.

And we are at a temperature of 30 degrees.

Yes, really, really humid, really sticky.

How well the players hope with playing in Manaus in heat like this?

Your body gets used to temperatures like this by sweating but when you

have got to humid environment, your body cannot cool down effectively.

When you sweat more, you start to lose more water so you

The most important thing is hydration.

You have to know how to hydrate effectively.

At the moment, I just feel like the temperature in here has gone up.

I feel like my mouth is completely dried out.

How do you cope with that when you are on the pitch?

You will probably find when the World Cup starts,

there will be a lot of water bottle is located around the pitch.

I think I have done enough in this heat chamber.

Let's head out and see what else we have got.

I have only been in there for five minutes.

The England players will be on the pitch for 90 minutes.

Group B includes Switzerland, Ecuador, France and Honduras.

Mine clean sheets in 15 games gives Switzerland every chance of success

while Man Utd's Antonio Valencia and Jefferson Montero provides

Winners in 1998, runners up in 2006 and semifinalists

Only once have France got to the knockout stage.

Outside of Europe, Benzema, Ribery, Giroud -

Outsiders on jurors would shock the world if they managed to

qualify them but don't underestimate the hot and humid factor.

Group F is all about Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina,

Higuain and Sergio Aguero with Lionel Messi behind,

You could put your lunch money on Argentina winning this group

mention Bosnia make their World Cup debut with Man City player

Iran striker have only conceded twice in the qualifying campaign.

But they lack the big names and experience to see them through

It leaves many expecting Nigeria t put in a big performance with these

three players expected to put in a powerhouse performance.

One, two, three, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

I'm off to Brazil to commentate on the World Cup for BBC sport.

Just making sure I have everything I need for the journey.

I will be travelling the equivalent distance

I don't want to leave something really important at home.

I'll make sure the crowd doesn't drown out the sound.

Different headphones, different cables.

If you meet someone famous and you don't have all your kit

ready, you might have to end up interviewing someone on the phone

This little camera I will bring with me.

I will record little video diaries to send back to you.

My first game is a replay of the final last time, Spain against

the Netherlands and hopefully, with this small camera, I will be able to

Right now, England are preparing for their final warm up match

So, for the players who made the squad of 23,

they will be thinking about whether they will make the starting 11.

Here is only one topic of conversation

Who Roy Hodgson will pick for England's enormous opener

against Italy in the World Cup next Saturday.

We have brought the debate into the classroom to settle it.

They's lesson is how to pick an England team who can win

He is the best left back in the country.

He might get moved out by quality opposition.

James is a versatile player and never let's you down.

This one should be more straightforward.

He has the pace to deal with top strikers.

Some people are saying this is our most exciting midfield we have

A lot of names flying around but who will inject the pace we need?

This player can be just as dangerous.

I would hate to have him running at me.

I'm not sure what formation all these midfielders are

He is one of the first names on the team sheet.

Yes, but Sturridge scored well last season.

I guess I better turn this lot into a team.

We have been through all the various possibilities

The future is looking bright for England at the moment.

They have young stars in their squad for Brazil

And England's under 17s recently won the European championship.

One man who helped with that was Kenny Swain.

it must have been a proud moment when

We have been to three European Championships in the last eight

It is a thriving part of the system, the early years,

but developing all the way through is the most difficult bit.

Once they get to 18, 19, 20, they are the difficult years, we find.

How excited are you about the next generation of England players?

We are thrilled to bits with the way things are going.

There is something like six or seven boys on the flight to Miami and I

kind say confidently that the next four or five years, we have some

talented players coming through. Groups G is for Germany, Portugal,

Ghana and the US. The Germans scored 36 times in ten matches. This player

is closing in on the now though. And talking of him, Cristiano's runout

bash Portugal will be hoping to go one better than the last 16. Expect

goals from Ghana whose godmother and any other African nation and look

out for the return of Michael hessian. Clint Dempsey leads the

line that the US. And group H, Belgium, Algeria, Russia and South

Korea. Yes, Belgium have emerged as definite ones to watch this summer.

These players have it. Algeria have every chance of qualifying from a

very open group. This player has been described by Arsene Wenger as a

physical beast. The Russian team have nine players who boast more

than 40 caps each. South Korea are no longer the whipping boys of Asia

and are expected to qualify, having done so in the last two tournaments.

It is hot, humid, and all kicking off on Thursday. Get excited. So, I

think I have covered most bases but as it is the biggest or the mint in

the world, there is always so much more so here is Martin with the very

latest World Cup news, including more on the mascot. Thanks. There

are only five days left until the World Cup starts. So excited. But if

you think I am happy, meet the mascot. As you can see, he is full

of fun and is well and truly getting the party started. Here is the

official ball the players will be using in the tournament. It feels a

lot lighter than normal football. If you come up close, but ball is

covered in these little dimples, just like a volleyball. Very cool.

We have been keeping a close eye on the tournament. The Brazil players

seem to be taking things every easily. Here they are on the beach

playing a game of headers. Talk about confident. Check out this

penalty during a team train session. It is all right doing it in

training, but can you do it in a real game? That is it for the news.

Goodbye. So, that is it, we have run out of time. The World Cup starts in

Brazil in five days. I can't believe I am going but I will be sharing

everything I see with you guys. We'll be here every Saturday at ATM

on CBBC. These guys are ready, I am ready, I will see you next week. --

every Saturday at eight o'clock on CBBC.