These Android apps keep you informed about the Football World Cup 2014 in Brazil

The World Cup 2014 in Brazil starts in eight days with the opening match between host Brazil and Croatia.

Depending on where you live, your timezone may be different which means that matches may take place while you are asleep at night, at work, or commuting.

Football apps designed specifically for the World Cup may keep you informed at that time, or most of the time.

If you search on Google Play for World Cup apps, you will find plenty. Most are free to use but require quite the set of permissions to run.

The following selection lists two applications with minimal permission requirements. One in fact requires no extra permissions at all, while the other requires a single permission only.

Update: The application is no longer available. You may want to try general-purpose football applications for Android such as Onefootball or All Football. End

Brazil Cup 2014

The Brazil Cup 2014 app requires no extra permissions. It is free but will display ads at the bottom of the screen.It displays an overview on start with an option to set your favorite team of the World Cup.

If you do so, information about the team's next match are displayed here on the page. The same page lists the next matches that take place highlighting the teams, group or stage, stadium, and day and time it takes place.

The time is automatically adjusted to your local timezone, with options to modify it in the options of the application.

A tap on the hamburger icon displays all pages the app makes available:

• Calendar - Displays all matches in calendar format.
• Favorites - You can favorite matches which are displayed here then.
• Group Stage - Displays all groups, plays, points, ranking and wins, draws and losses.
• Playoff Stage - All playoff matches are highlighted here.
• Teams - Extensive information about each team including Twitter coverage, team information, players and upcoming matches.
• Stadiums - Stadium information including links to Google Maps and which group and playoff games take place in each stadium.
• History - The World Cup winner, second, third and fourth placed nation in each previous World Cup.

The app offers several additional information. If you tap on a match for instance, you are taken to the match overview page. Here you find head to head statistics, information about each side's lineup and game statistics.

Some of the information will be made available before the game while others during and after each match.

There is also a calendar option that you can make use of to add a match to your device's calendar.

World Cup 2014

The app requires just one permission. It is also powered by ads which it displays in a similar fashion at the bottom of the screen.

The application displays the groups on start each with points, matches played and score difference. A click on the app's hamburger icon displays additional information:

• Matches - All matches, the timezone is not automatically adjusted.
• Ranking - Displays the group standings.
• Scorers - Information about players who scored the most goals.
• Videos - Taken from Fifa TV directly. Features team profiles, interviews with trainers and more currently.
• Image Gallery - Also from Fifa but static images this time.

The application is not as extensive as Brazil cup 2014 but it offers videos and images which the other does not offer in abundance.

The main issue here is that the timezone is not adjusted automatically which means that you will have to adjust it manually instead.

Have another application that you prefer? Share it with everyone else in the comments. Also, what is your favorite team and why?

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