:00:15. > :01:01.# La la la la la la lala la. # La la la la la la lala la.
:01:02. > :01:07.Can you imagine Brazil without football? Football is part of the
:01:08. > :01:11.Brazilian soul. Kids playing football in the street. Whatever
:01:12. > :01:16.time of day, whenever there was an open space. Football is the true
:01:17. > :01:22.religion. It hasn't always been like this. Every story starts somewhere.
:01:23. > :01:48.Brazil's started in England, 120 years ago.
:01:49. > :01:59.Day One, my new home for the next month. I set sail for Brazil.
:02:00. > :02:05.Farewell, my friends, team-mates these past 10 years. Sadness at
:02:06. > :02:10.leaving England mingles with excitement of what lies ahead. Day
:02:11. > :02:16.Four, I treasure the moment mows of my 19years alive. They provide
:02:17. > :02:21.stimulation for my mind while I work my muscles on deck and while improve
:02:22. > :02:30.my mast are you of dribbling this cherished football.
:02:31. > :02:44.Day 12, my new home is moving. My stomach is moving. My face is as
:02:45. > :02:50.green as a... Football field. Day 16, only now may I return to my
:02:51. > :02:54.diary. Day after day I have been alternating between sickness and
:02:55. > :03:01.dreams. From my earliest years, then England, and always, always
:03:02. > :03:06.football. Day 25, I will soon reach Brazil, where I'm to follow in my
:03:07. > :03:13.late father's footsteps, a railway engineer. The although I feel more
:03:14. > :03:18.like a missionary, leaving England with few possessions. Fortified by
:03:19. > :03:29.belief that I may plant a seed of football and that it may grow. The
:03:30. > :03:39.who knows, one day flourish. Brazil has a lot to thank Charles Miller
:03:40. > :03:52.for. Brazil adopted this wonderfully simple game. It became beautiful.
:03:53. > :03:57.COMMENTATOR: What a goal! It's in. What a cracker! Brazil have won the
:03:58. > :04:03.World Cup. Now, can you imagine football without Brazil? I don't
:04:04. > :04:07.think so. Good evening, England may have invented the game, but Brazil
:04:08. > :04:11.maded it their own. Welcome to Rio, this will be our home for the next
:04:12. > :04:16.five weeks, overlooking Copacabana Beach. There you can see it. In the
:04:17. > :04:22.distance we have Sugarloaf, standing out now. It was covered in cloud
:04:23. > :04:27.five minutes ago. We got lucky. You can see it on our first go.let
:04:28. > :04:36.opening match is a day away. Plenty of ground to cover before then. Bell
:04:37. > :04:41.lay, the mosts famous Brazilian of them all gives his verdict on the
:04:42. > :04:46.host's nations prospects. Roy's boys are ready for their biggest test.
:04:47. > :04:51.The target is to try and win the tournament. That is what we have
:04:52. > :04:57.prepared yourselves to do. -- ourselves to do. We go back to where
:04:58. > :05:01.it all began for Messi. World Cup winner, Thierry Henry, joins the
:05:02. > :05:13.team. Will the Kompany men make their mark in Brazil? We believe and
:05:14. > :05:17.we believe we can achieve a lot. Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand are
:05:18. > :05:24.here in the studio. We start with the man who's list of achievements
:05:25. > :05:26.is even longer than his read name, the three-time Brazilian World Cup
:05:27. > :05:48.winner, Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Where do you think that culture of
:05:49. > :05:54.beautiful football comes from, Pele? I think it come from the barefoot,
:05:55. > :06:02.the kids who play on the beach and in the streets. I think that's the
:06:03. > :06:06.reason the football is more spectacular than in Europe and in
:06:07. > :06:12.rich countries. How do you think Brazil will do in this World Cup?
:06:13. > :06:20.Listen, for the first time, in the history, Brazil has the fan better
:06:21. > :06:38.than the attack. Brazil always was perfect in the attack, great
:06:39. > :06:44.players. This year - Neymar? Neymar. First World Cup. I think it's very
:06:45. > :06:48.heavy for him, for Neymar to get all the It's an responsibility. Unusual
:06:49. > :06:51.problem for you to have. So many players from Brazil now play in
:06:52. > :06:54.Europe. Do you think that means now that when the World Cup is here in
:06:55. > :07:04.South America that advantage is not so big? Exactly. Because no doubt
:07:05. > :07:10.you are right because the coach, the players, they know each other. No
:07:11. > :07:15.surprise for them. They become very even. Who do you think are the real
:07:16. > :07:20.favourites to win this World Cup? It's difficult to say, but I like
:07:21. > :07:27.the way Germany play. Germans have very good team. I think in Europe
:07:28. > :07:34.today Spanish and German, they are very, very good. South America, I
:07:35. > :07:41.think we have to respect Argentina, no doubt. We have Chile. They could
:07:42. > :07:46.be a surprise. You have forgotten one I didn't forget anyone. England.
:07:47. > :07:52.No I didn't forget England. I didn't finish yet. You cannot forget
:07:53. > :07:56.England or Italy, because those, you know, France, those teams, those
:07:57. > :08:00.national teams are already experienced in the World Cup. Who do
:08:01. > :08:07.you think are going to be the big stars? Messi was a player who will
:08:08. > :08:15.know, Cristiano Ronaldo. Sometime you have one goalkeeper, like Banks.
:08:16. > :08:21.But, who knows? We don't know that. We don't want great goalkeepers, we
:08:22. > :08:28.want great goalscorers. It's difficult to say. I wish Neymar will
:08:29. > :08:32.be the style for this World Cup. Thank you. The legend that is Pele.
:08:33. > :08:42.This is the challenge that awaits the host nation in the Group stage.
:08:43. > :08:50.Pele mentioned Neymar, the obvious Brazilian poster boy, the star. A
:08:51. > :08:56.lot of pressure on those very young shoulders? I think he can take, the
:08:57. > :08:59.country, and his team can take hope for how they handled the pressure
:09:00. > :09:03.last year in the Confederations Cup. They were brilliant the way they
:09:04. > :09:09.beat Spain in the final. I thought this fella had a fantastic
:09:10. > :09:13.tournament, four goals he scored. So he has proved he can handle the
:09:14. > :09:17.pressure. I mean, if you think we are under pressure in England to
:09:18. > :09:22.perform, you should see the pressure these guys In 96, European
:09:23. > :09:26.Championship, you were England's big star, you delivered. What does it
:09:27. > :09:29.take? I thoroughly enjoyed the pressure. Looking at this, I think
:09:30. > :09:34.this guy does as well. I think the players do as well. They proved
:09:35. > :09:38.that. They have to. I mean, they have to play in a certain way here.
:09:39. > :09:41.Winning is not good enough. They have to win in a certain way, and
:09:42. > :09:44.play in a certain way. That is how much they are under pressure. I
:09:45. > :09:50.think they can handle it. I think they will handle it. Defensively
:09:51. > :09:53.they are strong. Aspel lay said, almost more impressive than in
:09:54. > :09:58.forward positions. One man in particular that really impresses
:09:59. > :10:02.you? Yeah, for me, Thiago Silva, him and Neymar are the most important
:10:03. > :10:06.players. Thiago Silva is the best centre-half in the world. I love the
:10:07. > :10:11.way he plays. I played against him in Milan. He is a commanding
:10:12. > :10:16.centre-half. Drags people around the pitch. With David Luiz, who is a
:10:17. > :10:23.maverick, he keeps him and controls him. He has a good defensive
:10:24. > :10:28.midfielder in front of him. That will let some people go lose every
:10:29. > :10:33.now and again. He is the person that gels everybody together. Not a bad
:10:34. > :10:37.Group for Brazil, is it? You would expect them to go through from that
:10:38. > :10:42.Group. Can they go all the way? They are my tip. I think Brazil, I think,
:10:43. > :10:48.they are the team that have got the fans, the country behind them.
:10:49. > :10:52.Playing at home, the conditions. I think, as I said, their defence is
:10:53. > :10:56.fantastic. They have the likes of Neymar who can pull something out of
:10:57. > :11:00.the hat. They need to get off to a good start to ease that pressure a
:11:01. > :11:04.little bit. The build-up to the World Cup has been toifl to say the
:11:05. > :11:10.least with protests over the cost of staging the urn toment and big
:11:11. > :11:15.delays in the building of stadiums. South American football expert, Tim
:11:16. > :11:22.Vickery, has been observing events closely. Is Brazil ready? We are
:11:23. > :11:26.cutting things fan. The stadium in Sao Paulo hasn't been tested to its
:11:27. > :11:30.full capacity. Not ideal. Question marks about the airports, will they
:11:31. > :11:33.be able to cope carrying so many people around this country? We might
:11:34. > :11:38.have one or two problems. We might have one or two protests. We don't
:11:39. > :11:41.know how big they will be, they will be around. There is plenty to
:11:42. > :11:46.protest about. The ticket sales for this tournament have been very
:11:47. > :11:51.strong. Brazilians buying more than 60%, now the fans are coming from
:11:52. > :11:56.all over the world you are beginning to feel the magic of the event. We
:11:57. > :11:59.have three things hitting together, the problems, the protests, the
:12:00. > :12:09.party. Over the course of a fascinating few weeks let us see how
:12:10. > :12:13.those three factors interrelate. How influential the will the opening
:12:14. > :12:17.game be and how Brazil perform? For Brazil in the World Cup, especially
:12:18. > :12:21.at home, there is no half measures, it is heroes Orvilleans. The people
:12:22. > :12:25.who will be more nervous, if Brazil get off to a bad start, are the
:12:26. > :12:29.authorities. The nightmare scenario for them would be Brazil being
:12:30. > :12:33.eliminated from this competition early. Thank you very much, Tim. I
:12:34. > :12:39.think we will be all right on that one! We will have highlights of
:12:40. > :12:46.Brazil's opening game against Croatia, BBC Two 11.20pm tomorrow.
:12:47. > :12:50.For once, England's build-up has been relatively trouble-free. Not a
:12:51. > :12:55.dentist chair or a metatarsal in sight and a young squad is set to be
:12:56. > :13:01.unleashed on the world stage. Roy's boys have arrived in Rio and have
:13:02. > :13:07.been learning about the life in the city. England's World Cup campaign
:13:08. > :13:12.started 21 months ago with a 5-0 win in hole dove have. They were
:13:13. > :13:19.unbeaten and conceded only four goals. That means nothing. The real
:13:20. > :13:23.work starts here in Rio. The city is full of startling contrasts. Within
:13:24. > :13:29.its sprawling mass, stung scenery sits side by side with opulence and
:13:30. > :13:34.poverty. Gone are the days of squads hidden away in mountain retreats.
:13:35. > :13:38.England's World Cup base is right in Brazil's beating heart. There has
:13:39. > :13:42.been an open training session and a feel good trip to the city's largest
:13:43. > :13:59.favella. excitement, a lot of belief in this
:14:00. > :14:05.potential. I must advise some caution. The players have not had a
:14:06. > :14:10.chance to show the potential can be realised. We believe they can do
:14:11. > :14:14.it. Let's calm ourselves down a little bit before we say that we
:14:15. > :14:19.have world beaters in our squad. To do that, you have to put your
:14:20. > :14:24.international shirt on and play very well. The first step is the
:14:25. > :14:34.Amazonian city of Manaus and a reunion with an old adverse three. I
:14:35. > :14:40.know Andrea very well. Here's a top class player. In the game that we
:14:41. > :14:45.have played in Kiev, it was a superb game, and he was the Man of the
:14:46. > :14:50.Match. It is normal that people on him. There are a lot of players in
:14:51. > :14:57.the Italian team we need to give attention to. The squad is a useful
:14:58. > :15:03.squad. A lot of excitement and energy. In terms of Italy, it is
:15:04. > :15:09.less the same squad. It will be interesting to see how we have moved
:15:10. > :15:14.on and progressed in the two years. As we get closer to the moment, even
:15:15. > :15:19.for myself, the excitement will build even more because they have
:15:20. > :15:23.three and tactically big games to play. They are the ones we have got
:15:24. > :15:28.guaranteed. We would like to have more. They are guaranteed and they
:15:29. > :15:32.are very big matches. We want to go into them knowing we have done
:15:33. > :15:40.everything we possibly could. Words do not mean much. It is actions that
:15:41. > :15:44.count. It is probably the best squad I have been involved in since I have
:15:45. > :15:49.been with England. It is great to be part of it. I am looking forward to
:15:50. > :15:54.this tournament and the future with England. It looks bright.
:15:55. > :15:57.The BBC will have live coverage of England's first game against
:15:58. > :16:03.Uruguay and Costa Rica are the other two teams in the group.
:16:04. > :16:10.Gabby Logan will be with the team throughout and joins me now.
:16:11. > :16:18.It seems to me there is a more relaxed feel about the camp,
:16:19. > :16:22.certainly than four years ago. It is night and day from South Africa four
:16:23. > :16:27.years ago. Then, the players were locked away in a hotel whether
:16:28. > :16:32.training pitch was right outside. They did not have to go anywhere to
:16:33. > :16:37.train. There was nowhere to wander off. Here they are right in the
:16:38. > :16:41.beating heart of Rio. You can see the fantastic backdrop. There is a
:16:42. > :16:48.shopping mall just around the corner. All those things that just
:16:49. > :16:51.normalise life for them. They wander around the hotel with an
:16:52. > :16:58.enthusiastic smile on their faces. Bands are allowed to come and go.
:16:59. > :17:03.The locals are checking in and wondering who the people are. They
:17:04. > :17:06.are not getting mobbed. They are doing a very serious business of
:17:07. > :17:11.preparing for a World Cup. The atmosphere yesterday, with Daniel
:17:12. > :17:16.Sturridge dancing with local kids. Three of those players did not have
:17:17. > :17:21.to go. They wanted to be there. It is a very different atmosphere to
:17:22. > :17:31.Fabio and and the dictatorial regime. Any injury worries? You may
:17:32. > :17:38.have heard Danny Welbeck did not train today. It was a closed session
:17:39. > :17:43.yesterday and he did not train today. No official word but Wayne
:17:44. > :17:49.Rooney says he is not worried about it. It will lead to speculation it
:17:50. > :17:54.brings Raheem Sterling into play. Roy Hodgson is a big fan of James
:17:55. > :17:57.Milner. Perhaps he will go that way and Raheem Sterling will come off
:17:58. > :18:08.the bench when it is well into the second half. No official word on
:18:09. > :18:18.Danny Welbeck. Thank you very much. I think you have spoken to one or
:18:19. > :18:27.two of the players over the last two days. Do not think expectations are
:18:28. > :18:31.as high as before. You can see the usefulness coming out. They all love
:18:32. > :18:38.a bit of banter. You could see Daniel Sturridge dancing. I want to
:18:39. > :18:45.see the goal celebration a few times. Is it good thing the players
:18:46. > :18:49.are relaxed? The managers are having problems with the press and saying,
:18:50. > :18:55.this is being said, that is being said. It is not getting into this
:18:56. > :19:00.squad. You can pull your shoulders back and relax. Hopefully we will
:19:01. > :19:06.get some good, fluid football out of the team. People want to see
:19:07. > :19:12.improvement. They do not want to see them sit back. Go and attack teams.
:19:13. > :19:17.Italy are a decent side. I do not think they are a great side. They
:19:18. > :19:23.have some very good players. We want to see England have a go. There has
:19:24. > :19:28.been a lot of pre-World Cup debate about Wayne Rooney and where he
:19:29. > :19:33.should play, rather than if he should play. I would have him in my
:19:34. > :19:39.side. There has been a debate about whether he should start. The rest is
:19:40. > :19:44.up to him. If he does not perform, the question is will become bigger
:19:45. > :19:49.and louder. I think his best position is just off the front man.
:19:50. > :19:55.Rio might disagree. For the first time in a long time, he has got
:19:56. > :20:01.people challenging him for the top spot. He has not scored in a World
:20:02. > :20:07.Cup tournament yet. He has 39 goals up to now. He probably should go on
:20:08. > :20:13.and break Bobby Charlton 's record. If he does not break it and does not
:20:14. > :20:18.score in three World Cups, that would be absolutely staggering. You
:20:19. > :20:26.think he should play right at the top, don't you? I think he is out
:20:27. > :20:33.and out number nine. Where he got all the goals and all the added
:20:34. > :20:39.nation -- adulation was playing at number nine. Play Daniel Sturridge
:20:40. > :20:44.just to the right little bit. He does that with Luis Suarez. I think
:20:45. > :20:51.Wayne Rooney, number nine, people can use him as a point of reference.
:20:52. > :20:55.It is a speculation. This is the team we think may well start against
:20:56. > :21:06.Italy. Would you concur with that system? I think the back four picks
:21:07. > :21:11.itself, Gerard and Henderson as well. Then the debate. Daniel
:21:12. > :21:16.Sturridge will be there and Wayne Rooney. The other two, I would have
:21:17. > :21:21.Raheem Sterling in from the beginning. I think he has been
:21:22. > :21:26.absolutely brilliant for the last five or six months. He has been
:21:27. > :21:31.sensational in training. With all due respect, the Italians might not
:21:32. > :21:38.know a lot about him. He would take them by surprise with his pace. I
:21:39. > :21:42.would go the other way. I would make Raheem Sterling be the impact player
:21:43. > :21:49.and explode on 65, 70 minutes. As long as we are in the game at that
:21:50. > :22:00.point... Ross Barkley can do a similar thing. They can take games
:22:01. > :22:05.by the scruff of the neck. Lewis Suarez has been fighting his
:22:06. > :22:15.fitness. We have pictures of him doing some form of training. He is
:22:16. > :22:22.looking moderately sharp. He will be desperate to play. What a bonus for
:22:23. > :22:28.England it would be if he were to be ruled out injured. It seems to have
:22:29. > :22:32.been in nick of the cartilage which normally heals in about a month 's
:22:33. > :22:45.time. Might have everyone wants to see the players perform. -- everyone
:22:46. > :22:48.wants to see. We have just heard that Pirlo is going to retire after
:22:49. > :22:50.the tournament. So, a reminder that England v Italy
:22:51. > :22:54.will be live on BBC1 on Saturday And there's plenty
:22:55. > :22:57.of other ways to keep up with the So many options for how you take
:22:58. > :23:02.in this World Cup. Watching BBC1,
:23:03. > :23:05.listening to Radio 5 Live. Following the lot on the BBC Sport
:23:06. > :23:08.website/app or the extra stuff We'll put the best
:23:09. > :23:17.of the website and you can also join And we'll be keeping you abreast
:23:18. > :23:23.of how the digital world is dealing Including stuff
:23:24. > :23:38.from the players themselves. Showing you how Brazil is nuts
:23:39. > :23:41.about football. Or you can use Brazil nuts
:23:42. > :23:44.and carve some faces on them. That's Gary and that is
:23:45. > :23:46.Alan Shearer. Last thing you can do is share
:23:47. > :23:49.your photos and videos of where you're watching the tournament with
:23:50. > :23:54.the hashtag #myworldcupseat. I took this one
:23:55. > :24:00.in the BBC studio earlier. Now there's no doubt Neymar is
:24:01. > :24:02.the Brazilian poster-boy for this tournament but it's
:24:03. > :24:05.his Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi The only thing missing from his CV -
:24:06. > :24:11.a World Cup. Listen to the roar that greets this
:24:12. > :29:04.young man. Argentina are second favourites for
:29:05. > :29:12.the tournament, behind Brazil. The draw has been relatively kind:
:29:13. > :29:18.Talking of Messi there, Rio, there is enormous amounts of pressure on
:29:19. > :29:21.him, but of course if you are going to be considered one of the great
:29:22. > :29:28.players of all-time, you have to handle pressure? You have to. He
:29:29. > :29:31.does it as good as everyone. He is under immense pressure at Barcelona
:29:32. > :29:35.and winning Champions League and breaking all types of records. In
:29:36. > :29:39.Argentina he didn't grow up there, in terms of playing football for a
:29:40. > :29:48.team there, he went to Barcelona from an early age and hasn't recipe
:29:49. > :29:52.loo indicated the same form at Barcelona in an Argentina shirt
:29:53. > :29:57.until he got the captain's armband. You have played against him, how
:29:58. > :30:02.difficult is it to play him? I mean, at Wembley he was unplayable. It can
:30:03. > :30:07.can go either way. With top players you can say, I will show you on your
:30:08. > :30:13.left-foot. He is good enough and quick enough to go the on his right
:30:14. > :30:17.foot and get back round. He has everything. He and Ronaldo are the
:30:18. > :30:22.best players in the world today. He has to win the World Cup to have the
:30:23. > :30:26.iconic status that Maradona and Pele have. It's a shame. He is the best
:30:27. > :30:34.I've seen. You mentioned your goal earlier on, you scored the same
:30:35. > :30:35.amount of goals in World Cups that Messi has.
:30:36. > :30:40.amount of goals in World Cups that Messi has. When will your name
:30:41. > :30:47.pop-up there? I had no idea that was coming? If Roy needs a striker, a
:30:48. > :30:56.number nine, I'm here! We will move on. Time to hear from the World
:30:57. > :31:05.Champions victory in South Africa four years ago was sands witched by
:31:06. > :31:10.successive wins at the euros, can Spain rreign again. Sandwiched. --
:31:11. > :31:31.reign. TRANSLATION: We are up against 31
:31:32. > :31:34.other teams, with football being finely balanced it would be
:31:35. > :31:37.extraordinary if we could win the tournament. It's probably the
:31:38. > :31:41.toughest group out of all. We will have to be at our best, otherwise we
:31:42. > :31:45.have no chance. TRANSLATION: With Holland, you don't
:31:46. > :31:50.need me to tell you, but their name alone, you know that they are a top
:31:51. > :31:54.side who have always shown at World Cups. They have their own style,
:31:55. > :32:00.some great players and a manager I admire greatly. Who has always been
:32:01. > :32:05.superb, and still is. They have changed a lot in personnel from four
:32:06. > :32:08.years ago. You have Chile, who perhaps aren't regarded as one of
:32:09. > :32:14.the big national teams, but could be one of the dark horses of the
:32:15. > :32:19.tournament. Australia are a bit of an unknown quantity for us. On no
:32:20. > :32:23.accounts should they be under estimated. We are an experienced
:32:24. > :32:28.squad. We have young players as well. We have to do what we can do
:32:29. > :32:32.to do something big. TRANSLATION: I want us to represent
:32:33. > :32:35.our country, to show how good our football is. And, if possible, if we
:32:36. > :32:48.deserve it, to win the World Cup. Tough Group for Spain. They start
:32:49. > :32:52.with a repeat of the final four years ago, against Holland, and then
:32:53. > :32:57.face a Chile side many expect to perform well here, before taking on
:32:58. > :32:59.Australia. Alan, if Spain win this tournament, they should be
:33:00. > :33:03.considered as the greatest international team ever Absolutely,
:33:04. > :33:09.yeah. I don't - they won't be far away. They are still an excellent
:33:10. > :33:12.team. I think they keep on - the desire and hunger of these players.
:33:13. > :33:17.When you have won the greatest, you have won the Euros and the World Cup
:33:18. > :33:24.and guys who have won absolutely everything, to keep on going, tells
:33:25. > :33:27.you everything about, one, their mentality, two, their desire. They
:33:28. > :33:30.want more. They will be there or there abouts in this tournament
:33:31. > :33:34.again. There has been talk about their attacking style and false
:33:35. > :33:39.centre forwards. What is impressive is their defensive record? They have
:33:40. > :33:45.not conceded in 10 knockout games at major tournaments. That is a
:33:46. > :33:49.phenomenonal record to have. You have Ramos, commanding at the back.
:33:50. > :33:53.To be fair, it's the retainer of the ball. They strangle teams. Keep the
:33:54. > :33:57.ball off you. They don't let you get into any rhythm. They play-the-ball
:33:58. > :34:00.around and wait for that moment to come and capitalise when that chance
:34:01. > :34:04.comes. They are better than anyone at that. They will be a threat. They
:34:05. > :34:09.will be there or there abouts at the end. Brazil beat them last year in
:34:10. > :34:14.the Confederations Cup and comfortably. Is Costa at the front,
:34:15. > :34:18.he decided to play for Spain. He has been in injured of course. He limped
:34:19. > :34:21.off in both the decider for the League title and the Champions
:34:22. > :34:25.League? Fascinated to see if they play him. They can play without a
:34:26. > :34:29.main centre forward. They have proved that. Where Fabregas floats
:34:30. > :34:34.in and out there. I'm a huge fan of this guy. I think he has a nasty
:34:35. > :34:38.streak. If they need to, at times, they can change the way they play.
:34:39. > :34:41.They can knock the ball up to him. He will bring players into the game
:34:42. > :34:47.by holding it up into the runners. He will be a top player. Great plan
:34:48. > :34:50.B. First game tomorrow night against Holland. The van Persie, a man you
:34:51. > :34:53.know really well. He has been in and out with injury this season. He can
:34:54. > :34:57.still be a threat though? Pure artist with the ball. You get the
:34:58. > :35:00.ball into him he can create something out of nothing. The lads
:35:01. > :35:09.at the back for Spain will be worried about him when he gets the
:35:10. > :35:15.ball. And Robben. Louis van Gaal has he he had a word with you about next
:35:16. > :35:20.season or are you out? No, I'm out! Fantastic manager. Great record.
:35:21. > :35:25.From what robin and the other guys say fantastic person to work for.
:35:26. > :35:31.They are behind them. They seem like a close knit squad, for once, the
:35:32. > :35:36.Holland team. Holland against Spain will be our first live game on
:35:37. > :35:40.Friday on BBC One. Alan and Rio will be joined in the studio by Thierry
:35:41. > :35:44.Henry. Four years ago Ghana came within a missed penalty of reaching
:35:45. > :35:56.a World Cup semi-final. It was the latest in a growing list of near
:35:57. > :36:00.misses for African football, as Reggie Yates explains. My
:36:01. > :36:04.grandfather would say - if you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want
:36:05. > :36:07.to go far, go together. For a place as massive as Africa, over 50
:36:08. > :36:12.countries, a billion people being united on anything is not easy. If
:36:13. > :36:16.there is one thing that brings of Africa together, it's football. Why?
:36:17. > :36:21.Well, simple, it's the people's game. Whether it is a kick about on
:36:22. > :36:24.a dusty street or a huge Cup final, it means the same thing - escapism,
:36:25. > :36:36.joy and freedom. Now, loving the game doesn't mean
:36:37. > :36:41.you will be good at it. African football used to be a laughing
:36:42. > :36:46.stock. COMMENTATOR: What on earth did they
:36:47. > :36:52.do that for? That one moment reinforced sterotypes of all African
:36:53. > :36:54.football that had been hard to shake, undisciplined, tactically
:36:55. > :36:58.naive. You don't know what you are doing. It wasn't long before African
:36:59. > :37:03.football was being taken seriously. A history lesson for you. In 1978
:37:04. > :37:07.Tunisia was the first African team to within win a World Cup match. In
:37:08. > :37:10.86, Morocco made it out of the Groups.
:37:11. > :37:17.COMMENTATOR: Would you believe it! Progress. In Italy, 1999, Africa
:37:18. > :37:22.literally make its mark on world football, literally.
:37:23. > :37:27.COMMENTATOR: Not a good one. Terrible challenge. You can see his
:37:28. > :37:32.boot fly off. Look at the state of that? ! With Africa behind them,
:37:33. > :37:37.Cameroon went all the way to the quarter-final. An Englishman and a
:37:38. > :37:49.couple of penalties in the semis. Irony, right? They left as heroes. A
:37:50. > :37:56.magnificent pride of the Lions in 94 the Super Eagles of Nigeria were
:37:57. > :38:02.shot down by Italy. Another case of so near, yet so far. Maybe not far
:38:03. > :38:09.enough. You see, expectations were growing. What was once progress was
:38:10. > :38:14.becoming, well, just normal. Could an African team actually win it?
:38:15. > :38:18.Pele said it would happen. When the greatest player of all-time says
:38:19. > :38:23.something like that, the world takes notice. It kind of puts the pressure
:38:24. > :38:27.on just a little bit. But the years go by, still the best any African
:38:28. > :38:31.team has done is the quarter-finals. COMMENTATOR: The adventure for
:38:32. > :38:35.Senegal is over. They have done the tournament proud. They have done
:38:36. > :38:40.Africa proud as well. The last one should have been different. It was
:38:41. > :38:46.the first World Cup on African soil with an African soul. South Africa
:38:47. > :38:53.fell short. Ghana had skill, guile and guts. When they played Uruguay
:38:54. > :38:55.they had an entire continent behind them and, believe me, quite a few
:38:56. > :39:01.here in Britain. COMMENTATOR: The keeper has lost it.
:39:02. > :39:11.Blocked on the line. Blocked on the line again! Ghana have a penalty.
:39:12. > :39:18.Ghana - oh, he's missed! Man, it feels like yesterday. Yes, it still
:39:19. > :39:22.hurts. There is a saying, "you learn a lot more when you lose than when
:39:23. > :39:26.you win" Africa is still learning. It's about time the African
:39:27. > :39:31.countries make their mark in the world. . The I believe one day an
:39:32. > :39:38.African team will win the World Cup. I'm proud to be African. Want to
:39:39. > :39:46.defend the African people. I want to show the world the African players
:39:47. > :39:51.can as good as European players are. African football has come a long
:39:52. > :39:56.way, it can go further. No, it will. When that day comes, this massive
:39:57. > :40:10.continent, over 50 countries, over a billion people, they will be
:40:11. > :40:16.together. , like never before. Did you shin that, Reggie:
:40:17. > :40:22.Yaya Toure's Ivory Coast team have potentially the easest draw of any
:40:23. > :40:26.of the African teams. So many great players playing around Europe.
:40:27. > :40:30.Africa can't quite seem to get it together. Can you see any better
:40:31. > :40:36.this time round, Rio? I'm struggling to see any of them going deep into
:40:37. > :40:39.the tournament. Ivory Coast I think have the best chance for me, just
:40:40. > :40:44.looking at their Group, easier route. They have a player who is
:40:45. > :40:49.half a meter, Yaya Toure, a match winner. A complete powerhouse.
:40:50. > :40:53.Delight to watch in full flight. He is unstoppable. He has not played
:40:54. > :40:59.for a while am he has been injured. He is a slight doubt. He is having
:41:00. > :41:05.having a rest. For them to progress, he will have to be at the top of his
:41:06. > :41:10.game. So near, but so far, for Ghana, four years ago, with that
:41:11. > :41:16.famous handball of Suarez, it would have got them into the semi-final. I
:41:17. > :41:21.don't really see them progressing much further than quarter-finals.
:41:22. > :41:25.Nigeria in Argentina's group might have a chance. They play Argentina
:41:26. > :41:30.last. If Argentina get two good results before hand they might rest
:41:31. > :41:35.one or two players. The African team with probably the toughest challenge
:41:36. > :41:40.of all is Ghana. Portugal, Germany and the USA await. Every World Cup
:41:41. > :41:53.has one. It's time for the Group of, oh, you know...
:41:54. > :42:08.Brazil 2014. The draw they all feared. But, now, they must meet.
:42:09. > :42:12.COMMENTATOR: It's in the back of the net! Four teams, but only two will
:42:13. > :42:19.survive. COMMENTATOR: Cristiano Ronaldo puts
:42:20. > :42:30.the icing on Portugal's game. He's scored! 1-0, Germany. Glory, awaits.
:42:31. > :42:39.Who will progress from the Group of Death? It is a tough Group, no
:42:40. > :42:43.question about that. Your friend and former colleague, of course,
:42:44. > :42:48.Ronaldo, Portugal to go far he needs to be special? Yeah, he has to be
:42:49. > :42:53.playing like he has done for the last four or five years, six years
:42:54. > :42:57.maybe. If he is in top form you can't count against Portugal. You
:42:58. > :43:03.saw what he did in the qualification against Sweden. He dragged Portugal
:43:04. > :43:09.through. He has that. He has an ego. He loveses the attention. He worked
:43:10. > :43:13.hard to get where the he has. Is the most professional person I have
:43:14. > :43:17.worked with. He deserves the attention and adulation he receives
:43:18. > :43:22.he puts so much effort into being the best player in the world. He
:43:23. > :43:25.seems to be getting fit. He played an hour against Ireland yesterday
:43:26. > :43:30.evening. The tournament needs these players? People need to see the best
:43:31. > :43:35.players. We can't wait to see the Messi's, the Neymar's the Ronaldo's,
:43:36. > :43:39.the main guys, we hope to get a young star to come out of it. For
:43:40. > :43:41.Ronaldo to have fantastic tournament means a lot of young kids around the
:43:42. > :44:06.world will be happy. They have Miroslav Klose. At his age
:44:07. > :44:11.he will not be able to play that many games. Thomas Miller, not an
:44:12. > :44:18.out and centre forward but he got the golden Boot four years ago. They
:44:19. > :44:24.have not had great results in friendlies. I am not a great fan of
:44:25. > :44:25.friendlies. You judge them when the competition gets under way.
:44:26. > :44:28.Let's get the views of one of our other pundits now.
:44:29. > :44:31.A man who was part of France's World Cup winning squad back in 1998.
:44:32. > :44:42.I suppose we have to start with what happened four years ago and whether
:44:43. > :44:54.it is still something that hangs over France and the French squad.
:44:55. > :44:58.What happened? I do not remember. The manager arrived and change the
:44:59. > :45:02.mentality. The fans are behind the team. We went through the
:45:03. > :45:07.qualifications, playing against Ukraine and actually losing 2-0 but
:45:08. > :45:14.being able to change everything at home. It did change. You have to
:45:15. > :45:23.give the coach credit. Even more so, they can perform in this World Cup.
:45:24. > :45:34.He made a big call pretournament not selecting Samir Nasri and there is
:45:35. > :45:44.no Franck Ribery. It is tough. Not having Samir Nasri around, it is not
:45:45. > :45:48.easy for the team. We have some good young players around but Franck
:45:49. > :45:54.Ribery is the guy who can have the X Factor. That can make the
:45:55. > :46:04.difference. We are definitely going to miss him. How far can France go?
:46:05. > :46:09.I would say the quarterfinals. I would love for them to win it. It
:46:10. > :46:13.would be amazing for this young generation and also for French
:46:14. > :46:18.football. You have some tough competition around. I will take the
:46:19. > :46:23.quarterfinals. If they can go further and win it, it would be
:46:24. > :46:28.amazing. It will be extremely difficult. Like I have said so many
:46:29. > :46:33.times, it will be great for that generation to go and play and have
:46:34. > :46:37.the Euro 2016 at home. France have much to prove after
:46:38. > :46:39.a disastrous campaign four years Ecuador
:46:40. > :46:48.and Honduras making up Group E. The one group we haven't looked
:46:49. > :46:51.at yet features the man who lifted the Premier
:46:52. > :46:54.League trophy just four weeks ago. Manchester City's Vincent Kompany
:46:55. > :46:57.leads a Belgium side in Group H that many believe could make
:46:58. > :47:04.a real impression here in Brazil. We are really favourites in our
:47:05. > :47:10.group. It is a different kind of pressure to deal with. We have
:47:11. > :47:15.always been the golden underdogs. We have a lot of responsibility. We
:47:16. > :47:19.have to get out of the group. I do believe it will be tricky. The
:47:20. > :47:25.Russians always turn up at these competitions, especially in the
:47:26. > :47:30.group stages. The Koreans, I would be surprised by the number of
:47:31. > :47:35.players who do well in the European leagues. Nigeria will always be the
:47:36. > :47:42.unknown. We are careful but, at the same time, we believe and with
:47:43. > :47:47.police we can do well. Four or five countries are the favourites, the
:47:48. > :47:54.usual suspects. Just the five you can think of off the top of your
:47:55. > :48:02.head. Then, are we more favourite than Colombia? Are we more favourite
:48:03. > :48:09.than you require? So many other teams coming to the same category.
:48:10. > :48:17.If we have a normal performance or a bit less we will be out of it fairly
:48:18. > :48:21.quickly. My mindset in any game is I want to win. Until it is proven
:48:22. > :48:32.otherwise I do not believe any team is stronger than my team. On paper
:48:33. > :48:38.it is but I try not to be realistic -- unrealistic. I saw you wincing at
:48:39. > :48:44.the light blue shirt. Belgium have a lot of good players. You cannot
:48:45. > :48:48.really consider them as dark horses. They have fantastic players all
:48:49. > :48:55.across the pitch, throughout the squad really. They are going to need
:48:56. > :48:58.their so-called big players like Vincent Kompany and Eden Hazard to
:48:59. > :49:05.drive players through the tournament. They are going to have
:49:06. > :49:09.to make sure the experienced guys like Vincent Kompany can keep hold
:49:10. > :49:14.of the young guys really guide them. Vincent Kompany has had a
:49:15. > :49:23.fantastic couple of years at Manchester City - unfortunately.
:49:24. > :49:28.They are good team. A guy we do not know he played every single minute
:49:29. > :49:37.in qualifying, he will shield the back four and let Eden Hazard do his
:49:38. > :49:43.stuff. What are you hoping for? What are you expecting from this World
:49:44. > :49:46.Cup? I am hoping for the big players to have fantastic tournaments. They
:49:47. > :49:54.will be vying for the Golden Boot. And to have some young players
:49:55. > :50:00.having great tournaments and become stars like Michael Owen in 2008. You
:50:01. > :50:11.said you thought Brazil would win. Who do you think will go all the way
:50:12. > :50:15.and lift the World Cup? Brazil. I was hugely impressed with how the
:50:16. > :50:19.one Confederations Cup last year. If you want to see England win
:50:20. > :50:24.the World Cup, press your red But for now it's good night from Rio
:50:25. > :50:29.and good night from Rio! Welcome to Brazil. The one we have
:50:30. > :50:57.all been waiting for. MUSIC: "The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song"
:50:58. > :51:13.by the Flaming Lips # Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah
:51:14. > :51:19.Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah