:00:07. > :00:09.It's Thursday morning, Ayshah here with your Newsround headlines.
:00:10. > :00:16.Brazil get ready to kick off the biggest football tournament
:00:17. > :00:21.And the astronauts who are cheering on their teams from 230 miles
:00:22. > :00:27.First, the day many of you have been waiting for has finally arrived.
:00:28. > :00:32.The tournament starts tonight with a spectacular opening ceremony
:00:33. > :00:36.in Sao Paulo before the hosts take on Croatia in the first game.
:00:37. > :00:39.But the build up to the World Cup hasn't been easy with many
:00:40. > :00:44.Brazilians upset over the amount spent on hosting the competition.
:00:45. > :00:47.There's also been concerns over whether stadiums would be ready
:00:48. > :00:53.So with the World Cup just hours away,
:00:54. > :01:02.Leah's there for us and has sent this report.
:01:03. > :01:08.With just hours before the World Cup kicks off, kids in Rio can't get
:01:09. > :01:12.enough of the World Cup. With some of the biggest footballing stars
:01:13. > :01:14.from around the to get their hands on the trophy, it is worth knowing
:01:15. > :01:18.group a from group D. It's the biggest football tournament
:01:19. > :01:21.in the world and millions But just
:01:22. > :01:29.in case you're not completely up to speed with the World Cup, here's our
:01:30. > :01:38.rundown of what you need to know. The FIFA World Cup invites countries
:01:39. > :01:44.from around the world to compete for the biggest prize in world sport. 32
:01:45. > :01:48.teams are split into eight groups. The top two teams qualify for the
:01:49. > :01:54.knockout stages. From here it is lose and you are out. Until the last
:01:55. > :01:58.two teams battle it out in the World Cup final. It began in the 1930s and
:01:59. > :02:03.has taken place every four years since, except for a break during
:02:04. > :02:07.World War II. Only eight countries have won the tournament. Three teams
:02:08. > :02:15.dominating. Germany have won it three times, Italy four times, and
:02:16. > :02:20.Brazil have won it five times. England have won it once, almost 50
:02:21. > :02:26.years ago. The all-time World Cup top scorer is Reynaldo. No, not that
:02:27. > :02:39.one, this one. The Brazilian scored an incredible 15 goals. -- Ronaldo.
:02:40. > :02:42.On each of the previous four occasions in South America, a team
:02:43. > :03:08.from South America has one. Can Brazil do it again? -- has won.
:03:09. > :03:11.You can keep up to date with everything happening in Brazil
:03:12. > :03:15.on the World Cup portal on the Newsround website.
:03:16. > :03:20.Along with the usual mixture of fancy footwork,
:03:21. > :03:22.This is the first World Cup where goal-line
:03:23. > :03:24.technology will be used but there are a few more changes, too,
:03:25. > :03:31.There are a few places in this country where it gets incredibly hot
:03:32. > :03:35.and humid like Manaus and further north. This is the first World Cup
:03:36. > :03:40.or players are allowed to have a drinks break. If the temperature
:03:41. > :03:44.reaches higher than 32 degrees, for about three minutes every half, they
:03:45. > :03:51.can have a good swig. Let me tell you about this, it is not shaving
:03:52. > :03:55.foam, it is free kick foam. If we have a free kick here, the referee
:03:56. > :04:00.will pace out ten yards, and with his magic to, he will mark a line on
:04:01. > :04:04.the pitch to tell the opposition that they cannot pass that line. The
:04:05. > :04:08.crazy thing is, it is vanishing so in a couple of minutes, it will
:04:09. > :04:12.disappear without a trace. This is the ball. In the last World Cup in
:04:13. > :04:16.South Africa there were few complaints about the ball that
:04:17. > :04:22.hobbled about in the air. Players complained, goalkeepers were not
:04:23. > :04:25.happy. This has been tested for two and a half years by 600 top
:04:26. > :04:30.professionals all over the world and they love this one, no complaints
:04:31. > :04:32.about this. The name was voted for by the people of Brazil and it
:04:33. > :04:35.simply means, Brazilian. As fans around the planet tune
:04:36. > :04:38.in to the World Cup, fans out of The astronauts will be cheering
:04:39. > :04:42.on their teams from 230 miles above the earth
:04:43. > :04:47.at the International Space Station. Don't forget to join Newsround
:04:48. > :04:50.live from Brazil at 4:20pm Leah will have a bumper packed
:04:51. > :04:55.bulletin from Rio de Janerio ahead That's all from me,
:04:56. > :05:01.Newsround's back right here in 30