Sao Paulo, june 12
The 2014 Fifa World Cup got under way with a colourful opening ceremony before hosts Brazil kicked off against Croatia. A cast of 660 dancers paid tribute to the country's nature, people and football with a show around a “living” ball on the Arena de Sao Paulo pitch. The final act saw a performance of official World Cup song “We Are One” by Jennifer Lopez and rapper Pitbull.

Many fans took to the streets to sing and chant their support for Brazil as excitement built in the hours before the tournament began.

Performers dressed as trees, flowers and various musical instruments all performed in three acts before the central ball opened to reveal singers Claudia Leitte, Jennifer Lopez and rapper Pitbull as they sang the official World Cup song as the finale. The 65,000-seater Arena de Sao Paulo chanted the official anthem during the opening

There were also demonstrations from those unhappy with the expense of hosting the tournament. Police in Sao Paulo had to use tear gas to break up one protest, which involved about 50 people, while striking airport workers in Rio de Janeiro blocked a road outside the airport, demanding a wage increase and a World Cup bonus.

No host nation have ever lost their opening World Cup game, with the previous 20 producing 14 victories and six draws for the hosts. Hosts Brazil start as favourites, while holders Spain are aiming to win a fourth major tournament in a row after winning the European Championship two years ago. — Reuters

Performers during the World Cup opening ceremony at the Corinthians arena in Sao Paulo on Thursday. REUTERS

Belo Horizonte, June 12
Argentina got an early taste of what to expect from their Brazilian hosts at the World Cup when they were welcomed with jeers and whistles in their first open practice session on Wednesday.

Some 5,000 fans attended the session in Belo Horizonte's Independencia stadium with the locals giving their fierce rivals a noisy reception ahead of the tournament start on Thursday.

The decibel levels reached those of a competitive match when Argentina came out onto the pitch but the players kept their cool and briefly waved to their own fans in the crowd. “Listen to the boos. It can't get any sweeter than lifting the trophy in Brazil in a month's time,” the an Argentine fan with a grin. — Reuters

Terespolis, june 12
Brazil's exciting young forward Neymar called on fickle home fans to get behind the team at the World Cup, saying they could be the most important "player" in the drive for a record sixth championship. Brazil are widely fancied to win the World Cup for the first time on home soil but were jeered by fans during a lackluster performance in a warm-up friendly against Serbia last week and are often booed at home games if they are playing below par.

Quick and skilful, and in many ways the face of this World Cup, Neymar and his team mates face intense pressure with many Brazilians seeing anything but a title victory as a failure. He said he was anxious to get started and encouraged supporters to do their part too.

"We are expecting a lot from the 12th player, it may be our main player," the 22-year-old told a news conference on the eve of the opening game against Croatia on Thursday. "If the fans are 100 percent behind the national team the entire game, it is going to be difficult to beat Brazil," he said, sitting next to coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Neymar, who has scored 31 goals in 49 games for Brazil, said he had no interest in being the best player at the finals unless they won the Cup. "I don't want to be the best player. I don't want to be the top goalscorer ... Individually whatever has to happen will happen, but what I most want is to be a champion with my team," Neymar told reporters.

He joked around with Scolari but also showed signs of nerves, chewing his nails and looking down at the floor while his coach answered questions at the packed news conference.

When encouraged to ask Scolari a question, Neymar joked: "Am I going to play tomorrow? Just so that I can sleep well." Laughing, Scolari said he would have to think about it, before adding: "Sleep well, Neymar." — Reuters

Kolkata, June 12
All set to catch the World Cup action in Brazil - their ninth on a trot — Kolkata's famous football couple 81-year-old Pannalal Chatterjee and his wife Chaitali are as enthusiastic today as they were when they watched their first World Cup in 1982. 

With five first-timers accompanying the evergreen fans of the beautiful game this time, Pannalal wants them to experience the wonder and see for themselves why the couple "live for the game". Residing in south Kolkata's Kidderpore area, the couple has to scrimp and save for four years between every World Cup to afford the tour, and age has also has caught up to them. But as far as the zeal goes, that remains unchanged, even though India, ranked at an average 131, didn't make it to the league. "We want the first-timers to see and experience the game. They should watch why we (India) are at that rank, and see why we (the couple) are still alive," said Pannalal, a former employee of Kolkata Port Trust who earns a monthly pension of Rs.7,500. The first glimpse of the beautiful game in the 1982 Spain World Cup left the two spell-bound and wanting more. Since then they decided, come whatever may, they would bank a certain amount of money every month to make it to the next World Cup. Apart from the pension, 72-year-old Chaitali has a small saree selling business and scrounges a bit every month by doing the housework all by herself, not spending on the luxury of servants. Sometimes, if expenses go over the threshold limit, they refrain from eating fish for a month, said Chaitali who takes care to represent India in the best light during the trips abroad. "People see me wearing saree abroad and want to learn to drape it. I always oblige," said the eager Chaitali. — IANS

Oslo , June 12
The armadillo, mascot of the FIFA World Cup, is threatened with extinction in the wild because of hunting, loss of habitat and even from the soccer tournament itself, scientists said on Thursday.

Brazilian Three-Banded Armadillos defend themselves by rolling into a ball —making them attractive as a symbol of the World Cup. But the tactic is pointless against a human hunter, who can pick them up without a chase. And there are fears all the World Cup publicity may lead people to adopt the cute animals as pets, putting their dwindling numbers under further pressure.

"The species is believed to have declined by more than a third over the last 10 to 15 years due to a 50 percent loss of its dry shrubland 'Caatinga' habitat," according to the Red List of endangered species. A 2014 version of the list, run by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), formally says the armadillo native to eastern Brazil is "vulnerable" to extinction, the same as in a previous assessment in 2009. But a top expert said new evidence from Brazil showed that threats to the animals, which grow up to about 50 cm (20 inches) long, were mounting and that it would would be put into a higher threat category as "endangered" in coming months.

"The situation is even worse than we thought," Mariella Superina, chair of the IUCN's anteater, sloth and armadillo specialist group, told Reuters by telephone. "Three-banded armadillos are very easy to catch." "Fuleco", the name of the FIFA mascot, is a combination of Futebol (football) and Ecologia (Ecology). Superina urged FIFA to fund measures to help protect the creatures, including from what might be damaging World Cup publicity. "People see it as a cute animal because it rolls itself up into a ball. We are worried that people will want them as pets. They are definitely not pets," she said.

The armadillo has come back from the brink before - it was widely believed to be extinct until rediscovered in the early 1990s. Caroline Pollock, Programme Officer of the Red List, said a spread of sugar cane and soybean farming had shrunk the armadillos' habitat in recent years.

The Red List update also said that almost 80 percent of temperate slipper orchids, named after their colourful shoe-shaped flowers, and more than 90 percent of lemurs were threatened with extinction. The list, marking its 50th anniversary in 2014, said it now has reports about the status of 73,686 species of animals and plants, of which 22,103 are threatened with extinction. — Reuters

Rio De Janerio, June 12
Striker Wayne Rooney says the current England team is the best he has played in during his 11 years with the national team and that Italy should be worried about Saturday's game in Manaus.

"It's probably the best squad I've been involved in so it's great to be a part of. I am looking forward to this tournament and the future with England because it certainly looks bright," Rooney told reporters on Wednesday.

"It is exciting. I think the younger players in the team bring a lot of energy and excitement and it is great to be a part of," he added.

England lost to Italy on penalties in the quarter-finals of the European Championship two years ago and the Italians are strongly favored to emerge from a tough Group D that also includes Uruguay and Costa Rica.

But Rooney believes that with the emergence of young players like Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Lallana, the Italians will face a very different and improved England team.

"I think they should really be more worried about our team," he said. "In terms of Italy, it is more or less the same squad so it will be an interesting game for us to see how we've moved on and how we've progressed in those two years." — Reuters

Salvador, June 12
Holders Spain open their World Cup campaign against the Netherlands in a repeat of the 2010 final with the Dutch out for revenge.

Andres Iniesta’s strike four minutes from the end of extra-time in the Johannesburg final crowned Spain as world champions for the first time and now, four years later, the European giants clash again at Salvador’s Arena Fonte Nova in the mouth-watering opening match of Group B. With South American dark horses Chile and Australia still to come, a win for either side would set the group’s agenda.

Captain Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Nigel De Jong and Dirk Kuyt are the five survivors from the 2010 final in the current squad and the Dutch have made no secret of their desire for revenge. “It was a big chance for us to win the World Cup and we were really close,” said defender Ron Vlaar. “It should always burn inside to make something right. To play against them now in the first game is a great challenge.”

Veteran midfielder Wesley Sneijder, who will win his 100th cap in the match, said the wounds of that defeat were still raw. “It’s like a scar that hasn’t yet healed. It always gets me down when I think about it,” Sneijder said.

As the double European and reigning world champions, Vicente del Bosque’s Spain are bidding to join Brazil and Italy as the only teams to have enjoyed back-to-back World Cup wins.

The ever-loyal Del Bosque is expected to make just one change from the side, which started and won the Euro 2012 final with Cesar Azpilicueta coming in for Alvaro Arbeloa at right-back.

No fear, just respect

Cesc Fabregas should start up front for Spain with Brazil-born Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa expected to make a second-half appearance from the bench.

“We don’t have any fear. But we do have respect,” said del Bosque. “Holland is a well-organised team, well-coached, and I am sure they will make things difficult for us.”

Spain can expect a hostile reception in Salvador, judging by last year’s Confederations Cup when they were widely booed on their run to the final where they lost 3-0 to hosts Brazil.

Van Persie is expected to be fit, despite arriving in Brazil as an injury concern after sustaining a groin problem in last week’s 2-0 friendly win over Wales in Amsterdam.

Coach Louis van Gaal has experimented with a 5-3-2 formation designed to close down Spain’s potent attack and counter-attack hard.

But the future Manchester United manager used a 4-4-2 formation against the Welsh to keep the Spanish guessing which system he will use in Salvador. Much relies for the Dutch on their attacking triumvirate of Van Persie, Arjen Robben and Sneijder, while their defence has been criticised as the team’s weak link.

Spain are wary of their opponents’ ability to hit them on the break, warned midfielder Sergio Busquets.

The 25-year-old Barcelona star, who played in the 2010 final, said while most of the team that won the World Cup remained, Holland now have a lot of new young talent.

“We have practically the same players whereas they have had an infusion of new players and a new coach,” said Busquets. “They have deployed a different system, with five defenders and relying on hitting their opponents on the counter-attack.” — PTI

Andres Iniesta (Spain): Hugely gifted and entertaining ball player, epitomises Spain's swift, counter-attacking style. Has been hampered by niggling injuries and criticised for not scoring more often but has developed a habit of producing on the big occasions.

Arjen Robben (Netherlands): Denied by the outstretched leg of Iker Casillas the chance of winning the World Cup for the Dutch four years ago. Has extreme pace and a rocket-like shot. Has scored 22 goals.

Natal: Mercurial Mexico take on a troubled Cameroon side in their Group A opener, looking to take the first step towards an eventual first appearance in the quarter-finals in nearly 30 years. Now coached by colourful Miguel Herrera, Mexico have failed to get to the ‘fifth game’ and make the quarter-finals in the past five tournaments.

Key players

Hernandez (Mexico): Comes from family with rich footballing heritage — grandfather and father played for Mexico. He is going to his second finals as Mexico's third highest scorer of all time with 35 goals.

Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon): Arguably Africa's most successful footballer, with a record four African Footballer of the Year awards. He played at the 1998, 2002 and 2010 World Cups, scoring three times in seven matches and in all has scored 55 goals.

Culaba: Outsiders they may be but Australia plan to punch above their weight and give a Chile side full of talent a bloody nose. The two Group B protagonists are worlds apart in FIFA's rankings, so the South Americans are heavy favourites to sweep aside the Socceroos and get their campaign off to the perfect start. Chile reached the semis when hosting the 1962 World Cup.

Game changers

Arturo Vidal (Chile): "El Rey Arturo" (King Arthur) is one of the world's best midfielders. Has defensive skills, is a good header, lays on goals and has scored eight for Chile. 

Tim Cahill (Australia): Never had much pace to lose so his effectiveness looks undiminished by age. Always an aerial threat despite his modest height, he still manages to escape his markers and get above much taller defenders. He is Australia's all-time top scorer with 31 goals.

New delhi, june 12
The team drew flak from all quarters over their disappointing performance in the Hockey World Cup, but senior midfielder Gurbaj Singh on Thursday defended his team mates, saying India were a young side and several players were playing for the first time in a World Cup.

India finished five pool matches with just four points, defeating Malaysia and playing a draw against Spain. India ended fifth in Group A and face Korea in the playoff for the 9-10 positions on Saturday.

In the last edition in New Delhi, India had finished eighth. “We are a young side. For majority of the players, it's their first World Cup. There are 4-5 players in the present squad who have the experience of the World Cup rest of the squad is relatively young. If you look at the teams from Australia, the Netherlands and Germany, they have a vastly experienced squad. Most of their players have the experience of playing in at least two Olympics and three World Cups," Gurbaj told The Tribune from The Hague. “The Indian team has some way to go. We should train hard for the upcoming Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and the Champions Trophy this year. Tinkering with the squad won't help the cause much. It takes time to build a strong unit and you need to give a longer rope to the young players. We know about the areas where we need to improve as a team and we will certainly work in that direction, but the people back home need to show faith in us," added Gurbaj.

Hockey India has already formed an 11-member committee to probe the debacle after the national team's below-par show despite the government spending crores and providing the coaching staff with the latest training equipments from the GPS monitors to speed guns and software to analyze players' performance. Chief coach Terry Walsh and High Performance Director Roelant Oltmans had set top-eight as their target. However, India will finish lower than where they did in the previous edition.

According to Gurbaj, India played well in the early part of the tournament but conceded late goals against England and Belgium. "It was disappointing to lose those matches. We were playing some good hockey but became careless towards the end. We paid the penalty for being careless, but against Spain, we bounced back and held them to 1-1 draw. We were outclassed by defending champions Australia but we played competitive hockey in the second half,” said Gurbaj.

“You need to pick the positives from the tournament and prepare for the future. A major overhaul would lead us back to the drawing board,” he added. 

Today: SEMIFINALS

HOLLAND VS ENGLAND 6.45 PM

OZ VS ARGENTINA 9.30 PM

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New delhi, june 12
In a major development, the Sports Ministry today decided to increase the daily food supplement budget for 'power games' such as wrestling and boxing from Rs 280 to Rs 750 per day.

The decision was taken by the new Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal during a meeting with the senior office-bearers of the 17 National Sports Federations (NSFs) to review the preparations for next month’s Commonwealth Games in Scotland.

“The government has decided to increase the daily food supplement budget from Rs 280 to Rs 750 for the power games which include boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, judo and boxing. The decision was taken after the issue was raised by the federations keeping in mind the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games this year and Rio Olympics in 2016," one of the secretary generals, who attended the two-hour-long meeting at the Shastri Bhawan, told The Tribune.

Another key issue raised during the meeting was to roll back the United Progressive Alliance's (UPA) decision to cut down on financial grants to hold the National Championships. Every NSF used to get Rs 6 lakh for conducting sub-junior nationals, Rs 4 lakh for junior nationals and Rs 2 lakh for senior nationals. But, the Jitendra Singh-led Sports Ministry had decided to make the amount uniform at Rs 2 lakh each for all three championships from April.

Kingston, june 12
Offspinner Mark Craig captured the best figures by a New Zealand bowler on debut as the visitors beat West Indies by 186 runs late on the fourth day of the first Test at Sabina Park.

The hosts were bowled out for 216 after New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum had asked for an additional 30 minutes of play when they reduced West Indies to 115 for seven with four overs remaining in the regulation day's play.

Craig finished with 4-97 and match figures of 8-188, the best from a New Zealand bowler on debut, as the hosts were dismissed in the final over of the day, chasing an improbable 403 runs for victory in Kingston. “Nigh on the perfect Test for us,” McCullum said. "Obviously a crucial toss to win and to put 500 on the board (in the first innings) allowed us to dictate the game. “It didn't feel easy throughout the Test. They certainly presented us with some tough challenges (and) ... we absorbed pressure at times. "I can't fault how we played the game." Tim Southee had torn the top off the hosts' second innings on Wednesday with two wickets while Craig and legspinner Ish Sodhi shared the wickets in the final session with Sodhi taking 3-42 as New Zealand won just their second Test in the Caribbean.

Brief Scores: New Zealand: 508/7 dec (Williamson 113, Neesham 107, Watling 89) and 156/8 dec (Latham 73) bt WI: 262 (Chanderpaul 84*, Gayle 64, Southee 4-19, Craig 4-91) and 216 (Shillingford 53*, Craig 4-97) by 186 runs

London, june 12
Joe Root hit an unbeaten 102 and Moeen Ali impressed on his debut as England recovered from the loss of three early wickets to reach 344 for five on the first day of the opening test against Sri Lanka at Lord's on Thursday.

Root, 23, yet to nail down any one position in the batting line-up in his fledgling international career and dropped for the final Ashes Test in Australia, compiled his third Test century from 190 balls and struck eight fours. He was given strong support by the recalled Matt Prior who was unbeaten on 76 at the close of play.

Brief Scores: England 344-5 (J.Root 102*, Prior 76*, Bell 56) v Sri Lanka. — Reuters

New Delhi, June 12
The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a plea for restraining N. Srinivasan from contesting the June 27 election for the top post of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the light of the ongoing investigations into his alleged connivance in betting and fixing in Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.

A summer vacation Bench comprising Justices JS Khahar and C Nagappan said it was not inclined to hear the plea by the Cricket Association of Bihar (CAB), which was instrumental for the SC order for a probe into the role of Srinivasan and 12 leading cricketers in the alleged malpractices.

The Bench said there was no confusion in the March 28, 2014 SC order replacing Srinivasan with Sunil Gavaskar and Shivlal Yadav as Joint Chairmen of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) till the completion of the investigation.

The CAB contended that a person asked to step aside as BCCI chief and stay away from its functioning could not contest the election for the ICC President. But the Bench was not convinced.

Earlier, the SC had rejected Srinivasan’s plea for his re-instatement as BCCI chief, contending that he had never attempted to “cover-up” the alleged involvement of his son-in-law, Gurunath Meiyappan, in betting and match fixing.

BRIEFLY

Dhoni in Forbes list of world's highest paid athletes
New York: Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the lone Indian sportsman to figure on Forbes' list of world's 100 highest paid athletes.The list is topped by American boxer Floyd Mayweather and includes golfer Tiger Woods and tennis stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.Dhoni is ranked 22nd on the list with total earnings of $30 million and endorsements worth $26 million. His salary and winnings total $four million as of June 2014, Forbes said.

Jwala-Ashwini exit from Japan Open
Tokyo: The Indian challenge at the $250,000 Japan Open Super Series came to an early end as the shuttlers lost their respective second round matches.South Korean sixth seeds Kyung Eun Jung and Ha Na Kim took care of the World No.32 pairing of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in a close 57-minute contest, winning 21-12, 21-23, 21-19. With the victory, the World No.9 pair took a 2-1 lead in career meets over the Indians.

Navjeet wins bronze at Asian Junior Athletics
Taipei City: Forced to compete within hours of landing here, shot-putter Navjeet Kaur Dhillon showed tremendous grit to clinch the bronze medal and open India's account on the very first day of the 16th Asian Junior Athletics Championships. Competing on an empty stomach after a prolonged flight, the Punjab girl tossed the iron ball to 14.99m. Having set a national mark of 15.89m during the Junior Federation Cup at Chennai last month, Navjeet was earlier predicted to win the top spot in the biennial meet for junior athletes of the continent. Dutee Chand missed this morning's 100m heats while Saini and Singh were non-starters in the decathlon. — Agencies