Soccer players Neymar da Silva Santos Jr., of Brazil, left, and Lionel Messi of Argentina are depicted in sand at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. (Hassan Ammar / Associated Press)
As early as mid-May, intricate sand sculptures about the World Cup turned up at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeirol. The event mascot (shown here) is a three-banded armadillo. (Mario Tama / Getty Images)
Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik creates a sculpture for the World Cup that features flags of Brazil, left, and Croatia. It was built at Puri Beach in Odisha, India. (Asit Kumar / AFP/Getty Images)
Let the face painting begin! A Brazilian worker checks his cellphone in downtown Brasilia amid the backdrop of a World Cup ad featuring face-painted fans. (Robert Ghement / EPA)
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Indian soccer players pose for a picture during a training session in Bhopal, India. (Sanjeev Gupta / EPA)
A Brazilian vendor is ready for the matches to begin. He displays his World Cup merchandise available for fans and tourists in Brasilia. (Robert Ghement / EPA)
Brazilian fans wear colorful costumes -- including the armadillo named Fuleco (center) -- as they gather outside the sports arena in Sao Paulo prior to the beginning of the World Cup. (Diego Azubel / EPA)
A Brazilian fan purchases souvenirs in a store in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, as a run-up to the soccer summit. (Martin Bernetti / AFP/Getty Images)
