AFTER arriving in Rio De Janeiro it doesn’t take long before you witness the huge divide between rich and poor.

The airport shuttle takes you across the Rio-Niterói bridge. An assortment of shanty towns and shoddily built favelas run alongside the highway down into the affluent centre of the famous city.

It also doesn’t take long before you see the nation’s main form of entertainment.

Whether it’s a small child dribbling a ball bare-footed along a railway track or a fully fledged floodlit five-a-side match, the ubiquity of the sport is evident.

And in a country where football stirs the passion of the locals perhaps more than anywhere else, its is surprising to see such a subdued atmosphere in the days leading up to the world’s biggest sporting event.

The question marks over the rising cost of the World Cup – transport, pay and basic infrastructure – have left the mood in Rio hard to gauge. Instead of increasing anticipation and excitement, Brazil’s warm up games showed public apathy, with bars empty and TVs unwatched.

There is just a sprinkling of decorations and build-up, far from the month- long carnival and streets festooned with colour that many travelling fans were expecting.

However, not all Brazilians are averse to the tournament. Joao from the Copacabana region is looking forward to welcoming visitors to his city: “I don’t want to focus on the negativity.

“It is really important for Brazil to be part of the global community, and I look forward to talking to all those coming from around the world.

About 60,000 of those travelling to Brazil will be England fans, and Worcestershire has its representatives too.

Michael Allen travelled from Kempsey but thinks England’s chances are slim.

“Based on recent performances we haven’t been too impressive but hopefully we can finish second in the group and then it’s cup football from there on!”

It remains to be seen whether World Cup fever will override the negativity of the locals, a win against Croatia would certainly help!