Manager Roy Hodgson is due to announce his England World Cup squad later and thousands of British fans are expected to make the journey to Brazil for the tournament.

The Department of State will be the first U.S. stop for FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola preceding the FIFA World Cup™ tournament in Brazil, which begins June 12. The United States will be among the countries fielding a team in the tournament.

If you are a soccer fan, you will not want to miss the FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola event at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on Monday, April 14, 2014.  During its 267-day duration, the World Cup™ Trophy Tour will visit nearly 90 countries, including the United States, and will give the public an opportunity to see what is arguably the world's most coveted symbol of soccer.

The Blue Samurai, Japan’s national soccer team, will be fighting their way through this year’s FIFA World Cup tournament with the help of one of the world’s most recognizable characters. Adidas announced on Saturday that Pikachu, everyone’s favorite electrifying mouse-like creature, will be joined by 10 other Pokemon to cheer on the boys in blue.

Palestinian schoolchildren in the village of Kafr Sur in Tulkarem this week received footballs from Spanish giant FC Barcelona. The balls are apparently replacements for those lost over the separation fence between the West Bank and Israel over the years, the Guardian reported. A Spanish journalist, Anna Alba, who spoke about the “gift” said she hoped that it would encourage other teams to come to the area and support local athletes.

If there are two Brazils, then one of them is here, in a café by the Praça São Salvador, a few blocks from the beach in Rio de Janeiro. Wearing a gray T-shirt, sunglasses and a ring in the shape of a human skull, Alan Fragoso, 27, takes a sip of his caipirinha. Fragoso used to be a sort of Brazilian Don Draper, an advertising man selling products to the nation's emerging consumer class. Then one day he quit. "What I really want is to work with projects I believe in," he says, "not to invest in consumption."

Known as football (or fútbol) around the world, soccer has been considered a legendary sport for years and years, lauded for its style, grace, speed, and extremely dedicated fans. "Fútbol: The Beautiful Game," presented by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, explores the significance and impact of soccer around the world, presenting a visual history of the game through paintings, photography, sculpture, and video works from 30 international artists.