Around the world in 8 goals

The field may be makeshift. The goalposts may be bent. But the game is always the same.

goal post
(Image credit: (Reuters))

The World Cup is by far soccer's flashiest stage. Brazil spent something like $11 billion to host this year's games — making this the most expensive World Cup in history.

But at its heart, soccer is a simple game that requires little more than a ball, a patch of land, and a couple goal markers to play — which is among the chief reasons that the beautiful game is so beloved across the globe. And while the fields themselves can be marvelously diverse, as these photos from Reuters show, the sport played on them remains the same.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Lauren Hansen produces The Week’s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.