The FIFA World Cup kicks off in Brazil today with 32 teams from around the globe battling it out for the prestigious world cup trophy. However, in our busy schedule, we may find it impossible to keep with all the latest happenings in the world of football, including the team changes, match timings and results, and more. Fear not though, as your can use your Android smartphone and some excellent apps listed below to keep up with the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Official FIFA app

The official world cup app from FIFA is a great way to catch up with all the action and happenings in Brazil. The app will automatically send you notifications whenever a news related to your favorite team pops up, when a match is scheduled to start or when a team scores a goal.

You can also follow the live blog to keep up with all the actions in the game, share your views with your friends and other football maniacs, check the detailed profiles of team and players and schedule of the matches and more. Best of all, the app will also allow users to vote for the Man of the Match in each of the 64 games, which is a first for any sport.

Download: FIFA

Google Now

If you are not a football maniac but still want to follow the world cup, Google Now is your ally. Open up Google Now and chances are Google will automatically ask whether you are interested in all the latest happenings from the football world cup or not.

Tapping Yes will allow you to specify your favorite team(s), after which Google Now will show you a card for scheduled matches or scores when a match is going on. Perfect if you don’t want to rely on any apps to follow the world cup.

WatchESPN

Don’t just want to know the score but actually want to watch the match live on your Android smartphone? Well, WatchESPN is here to fulfill your needs then. It is among the few apps on the Play Store that will allow you to live stream the matches without any issues for free. The catch? It only works in the United States provided you have any of the cable operators listed on the app’s Play Store listing.

Download: WatchESPN

The above three apps and services should be more than enough to keep you on top of all the football action happening over the next month. However, if they don’t quench your thirst for some reason, you can check out the alternatives listed below as well.

Forza Soccer

Forza Soccer is the app to have if you are a football maniac. The app will send you notifications for match reminders, lineup, when a match starts, goals and when video highlights are available for a particular match. While it offers the same features as the official FIFA world cup, it has a nicer and streamlined UI.

Users can also take part in opinion polls and interact with other football fans from all over the globe. The My Calendar section is particularly useful as it allows users to check all the upcoming matches and add interesting ones for their followed teams.

Download: Forza Soccer

BBC Sport

If you live in the United Kingdom, the official BBC Sport app should fulfill all your requirements. The app will provide users with live commentary as well as push notifications for all the latest happenings before and after the match.

For obvious reasons, you should expect the app to focus more on England related news and their performance than any other team. BBC will also be making various programs about Brazil, Football’s history and more available to its users. If you somehow miss them, you can always view them later with the BBC iPlayer app.

Download: BBC Sport

Did we miss a must-have app? Drop in a comment and do let us know!