A giant hot air balloon in the shape of Brazil's "Christ the Redeemer" statue wearing an Australian Socceroos jersey flies over the Melbourne skyline on Tuesday. Everywhere across the globe, fans are ready to enjoy the feast. Photo: AFP

The World Cup is a special event that only comes once every four years. Featuring the best teams and players in the world, the games bring people together as they cheer for their favorites.

As such, the Global Times has spared no effort to provide the most comprehensive coverage of the World Cup.

We are thrilled to bring our readers a daily weekday four-page special during the World Cup featuring the latest results, news and happenings at the tournament. 

We've dispatched our best sports columnist, Jonathan White, to Brazil, where he'll be making his way to several cities, including Rio, during the tournament.

While our man in Brazil shares news, insights and observations on the ground, we've also invited leading Chinese sports experts to provide their analysis in these pages as well.

We're kicking everything off with this preview, where White gives his expert rundown on all 32 teams as well as a schedule of the entire tournament.

We hope you can enjoy this year's World Cup as best as you can, which of course includes reading our special coverage throughout the week right here in the Global Times.
Newspaper headline: Soccer fever takes over Brazil