Spaceship stadiums and Ronaldo-mania: Guardian writers’ first impressions of the World Cup

Tournament has completed its first week and while the logistics have sometimes been challenging, the people and the football have been good It was quite a contrast touching down in sleepy Kansas City hours after having witnessed the bedlam on the streets of New York when the Knicks won the NBA Finals and Brazil drew with Morocco . But this is a World Cup full of contrasts, from Fifa’s never-ending quest to make a quick buck ($5 a pop for a bottle of water in the media centre) to the warmth shown by locals I’ve encountered in the Big Apple, Kansas City and Dallas. Then there’s the football. It’

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