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June 12 has finally arrived, sounding the curtain call for the 2014 World Cup finals.
Hosts Brazil will take on Croatia in the Arena de Sao Paulo on Thursday night, in front of a capacity crowd of 65,000.
As hosts, much is expected of the Brazilians - but perhaps unlike any other country, success must be achieved through style, guile, and beautiful jogo bonito football, to be held aloft as idols by their devoted fans.
However, the football trickster is no longer a role reserved exclusively to the Brazilians, oh no, even the English and Germans are having a go nowadays.
John Barnes, of course, made his claim back in 1984, with a truly wonderful goal in the Maracana - one which any Brazilian would have been proud of. We caught up with the Liverpool and England hero to hear who he expects to light up the Brazil with their skills. We asked for five names, he obliged, and did so without selecting Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
Click below to see Barnes' five boxes of tricks to watch at World Cup 2014.
John Barnes names his five boxes of tricks to watch at World Cup 2014
John Barnes was speaking at the launch of ESPN FC’s partnership with TfL to provide live score updates on the tube throughout the World Cup.
