This week sees the start of the soccer World Cup in Brazil and if you’ve not already got on a plane, the chances are that you’ll be watching the action from home.

For soccer fans, Brazil is perhaps the ultimate place to see the World Cup in person. There’ll be an incredible party atmosphere there, not least because the Brazilians really know how to party and because it’s a nation that is extremely passionate about the game. Even when the World Cup is held in other countries many factories and workplaces shut down on the days when Brazil is playing, and schools are often closed too. You imagine that normal life for the whole country will come to a standstill during the next month!

So, if you’ve missed out on getting a trip to go this year, you may be feeling disappointed. However, don’t feel too bad – and focus on some of the downsides to being in Brazil during the World Cup. For one thing, the prices for everything – from transport to accommodation to food – are likely to be highly inflated compared with any other time. Then there’s also the fact that Brazil is such a huge country and the different matches are spread between 12 different venues. So any fans travelling from one city to another will have a lot of their time taken up with road trips, unless they can afford the fares for internal flights. Another potential downside of being in Brazil is that you could pick up dengue fever, yellow fever or malaria – so fans will have to be on their guard to protect themselves from mosquitos and to have had yellow fever vaccinations before they left for Brazil.

It’s also accepted that there’s a lot of violent crime in Brazil, so visitors will have to be vigilant against potential muggings or theft when really all they want to do is have a good time and watch the football. In fact, when you think about the disadvantages associated with a trip to Brazil then sitting at home or in your local sports bar to watch the matches might seem quite a relaxing alternative.

And you can spend a tiny proportion of the money you would have spent on the trip and tickets to the games (if you could get hold of them) on a couple of well-chosen bets on the tournament. The easiest way to gamble these days is to use a mobile betting app so that wherever you are you can get a bet on within a couple of taps; ideal for live in-play bets. Brazil is the favourite to win the World Cup – at 3/1 on most sites – but there is a huge range of other bets you could place with better odds attached to them. For example, you might want to back a certain player for the Golden Boot, or for interest earlier in the tournament place some bets on which nations you think will win their Groups. Many of the betting sites like bet365 are offering free World Cup bets too, such as a refund if your chosen team goes out on penalties.

It’s best to accept your fate of being at home during the World Cup and revel in home comforts while you watch what is likely to be one of the most exciting World Cup tournaments ever!

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