10 things to be seen first time at World Cup

New Delhi: With the first match kicked off on Thursday, the World Cup is finally here. But after 84 years, how much this mega event has changed? What can we expect that we have not seen in some form or other in football's greatest competition? Here, India TV highlights 10 things you might see at this World Cup for the first time…Brazilians just won't experimentThere is no dearth of mystique and meaning in a Brazilian footballer's name be it Pele, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Socrates, Zico, or Garrincha….. There's a chap named Victor on Brazilian bench as well. Truth be told, little Bernard is a real dazzler and is believed to be on the radars of Tottenham and Arsenal but he will most likely to be warming the bench as Brazilians seems to have stopped trying new faces. Shaving foam on the pitchThe issue of encroachment during a free-kick 25 yards from the goal might finally have been dealt with in this world Cup.Referees will use vanishing spray in the World Cup for the first time this summer, drawing a foamy circle around the ball and a line 10 yards away to keep that pesky wall at bay. The spray is non-toxic, water-based and designed to fade from the pitch after a minute. Big Head the turtleThere's a turtle sanctuary north of Salvador where Big Head the loggerhead is channelling the cosmos to make predictions for each game. It's a bit like that octopus in South Africa, but a turtle. The 25-year-old is predicting the results by choosing one of three fish, with a fish representing each of the teams in a given fixture and a third fish representing a draw. Big Head initially appeared to back Brazil-Croatia to end in a draw, but slowly turned away and crawled purposefully, menacingly to the Brazilian fish, which he devoured. Goal-line technology This World Cup ought to signal the end of goal-line controversies. German company Goal Control has focussed seven high-speed cameras on each goalmouth from the roofs of all 12 stadiums. If a ball crosses the line, the referee's watch will vibrate and the word ‘GOAL' will appear on his screen within a second. Within five seconds of this happening in an England match, TV pictures will cut away to Frank Lampard's reaction. England win a penalty shootoutIn a world where turtles predict football results, strange things have happened. However, the numbers actually indicate England are less likely to win a shootout in the World Cup than elsewhere, with all three of their previous attempts ending in defeat with a conversion rate of only 50 per cent (seven scored, seven missed). If you factor in the European Championships, where England beat Spain in 1996, England have won one of six shootouts, with a 68 per cent conversion rate (21 scored, 10 missed). This time, of course, they have Steve Peters strengthening the minds and training sessions where they have kicked penalties into open nets. Cue second-round pandemonium when England knock out Colombia on penalties and Joe Hart, dandruff free, holds Peters aloft, while players mimic their inner chimps in the background. An African team reaches the semi-final?It's never happened before, with the quarter-finals previously claiming Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana in 2010. The draw has not offered any glaring opportunities to do better this time, with only Ivory Coast in Group C and Nigeria in Group F holding realistic chances of progression from the first round. Nigeria might fancy their second-round chances against the winners or runners up of a modest Group E, while Ivory Coast would take on a side from England's group.The world loves BelgiumVincent Kompany, Thibaut Coutois, Jan Vertonghen, Daniel van Buyten, Eden Hazard etc. Belgium are no longer only the hipster's choice. They have an easy group but will likely face either Germany or Cristiano Ronaldo in the second round. A Goal from Wayne RooneyRooney is yet to do at a World Cup that thing strikers are meant to do. This time, with pressure and expectation at an all-time low, can he do it? Or is his move into a Lunar Quasar drawing closer? The voice of reasonAfter England's impressive run to the quarter-finals, the glow fades and radio debate analyses what went wrong. After some discussion on the merits of playing at least three passes in the control zone, it is quickly agreed that passion was the problem. Overpaid players don't want it enough.Rio in RioRio Ferdinand has made enough forays into television for his transition into pundit to be nothing too out of the ordinary. However, unlike Rio's World Cup Wind-Ups, it's unlikely that he'll be teaming up with the Policia Ferderal to ‘Merk Nev'. He tweeted on Thursday that he will be kicking off his World Cup by watching Brazil-Croatia at the home of Fabio and Rafael.

10 things to be seen first time at World Cup

New Delhi: With the first match kicked off on Thursday, the World Cup is finally here. But after 84 years, how much this mega event has changed? What can we expect that we have not

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