The World Cup starts on Thursday - these photos from around the world show why soccer is the world's most beloved game
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. You'll find people playing it everywhere you go, from massive stadiums in Brazil to a quiet street inside the Casbah fortress of Algiers, Algeria.
This year's World Cup, which kicks off on Thursday, is being held in Russia. These children in the village of Yelizarovo have already caught World Cup fever.
Source: Reuters
Soccer can be played on any surface, from the streets of Kolkata, India, where children play barefoot …
Source: Reuters
Even snow is suitable for a quick game — just ask these ski instructors in Sestriere, Italy.
Source: Reuters
Soccer players can turn anything into a field, like this roof of a parking garage in Jakarta, Indonesia …
Source: Reuters
No playing space is too narrow for a game, as these children on the streets of downtown Havana, Cuba, demonstrate.
Source: Reuters
Part of the reason for soccer's popularity is that you barely need equipment to play. These elementary-school students in Dambai, Ghana, use two trees to mark the goalposts.
Source: Reuters
Soccer is played on all six inhabited continents. The "beautiful game" has reached far-flung locations including Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia …
Source: Reuters
… and Vranduk, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where children play inside a 14th-century fortress.
Source: Reuters
On the opposite side of the globe, soccer is also the most popular sport in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Source: Reuters
The majority of countries have never seen their national team play in a World Cup. But the sport remains the passion of fans everywhere, as these children in Bamako, Mali, can attest.
Source: Reuters
You don't even need a full team to play. Here, two boys from south London do some target practice after school.
Source: Reuters
Meanwhile, these two brothers from Vienna, Austria, are content to play in their backyard.
Source: Reuters
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