49. World Cup Live Match Report, pt.VI: Holland vs Costa Rica…

A sad day for me: my final live match here in my home for the past five weeks, Salvador de Bahía.

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It wasn’t the blockbuster match-up I had hoped for, (Brazil could have been here had they finished second in their group), and I was hoping to see one of the most fun teams in the tournament, Mexico, but had to settle for Holland vs the surprise of the cup, Costa Rica, who not only survived one of the Groups of Death, they were the killers, knocking out both England and Italy.

I forgave the plucky Ticos for knocking out England…and rocked my new Peru jersey!

I joined up with my Spanish buddies, Andreas and José, and we caused trouble all the way to the stadium: meeting fans from around the world, (from Spurs fans loving my Lilywhites jersey, to hundreds of ‘Ticos‘ which I think we all learned is the slang for a Costa Rican), enjoying a few drinks (and the match-day cups that we would be collecting for possibly the last time), and generally enjoying the bubbling atmosphere.

45. World Cup Live Match Report V: USA vs Belgium…

A gorgeous, sunny day; an old friend visiting from NYC who happened to show up for a USA match; another old friend racing back to see her country play; and yet another old friend back from his travels, all to be reunited in the gorgeous, gleaming Salvador stadium.

Back where I belong…

Another friend didn’t have a ticket, but details like this didn’t seem to matter on this magical day: walking to the stadium three hours early to soak up the atmosphere, (and the

32. World Cup Day 7: hasta la vista, campeones…

Well, that all happened rather suddenly.

Spain, World and European champions and many people’s bet to win the whole shebang, will be on the next flight back to Madrid, and they still have to go through the motions of a match against Australia, (also out of the cup), in a match as meaningless as most people thought but for reasons not many people can have expected.

Won’t be needing this shirt again this World Cup…

Spain almost went 1-0 down to Chile in the first minute in a must-win game, and

24. World Cup News: Kick-Off Day!!…

It’s finally here.

I’m finally here, in an apartment on the beachfront.

The sun is still here, although it’s having a little disagreement with its main sponsor, showers, this week.

Some Dutch and Spanish tourists are here in Salvador, although not as many as you would have thought.

Fatboy Slim is probably here somewhere, getting ready for his World Cup-opening show here in Salvador later this afternoon/evening, giving me a dilemma about where to watch the opening match, since the FanFest is literally next to the place I’m staying, and where most of the friends I have made this past two weeks has been.

So, here’s the last news update before we can officially say: The 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil has started!…

–Security seems to be all in place and highly organised. As long as