You can see everywhere around Brazil that several fans do still care about the tournament. Incoming flights to the country were jam-packed, this, despite the skyrocketing fares for Brazil-bound air travel. The price of air tickets to Rio was five times higher than the usual. Most of the hotels around the city were booked, a seldom occurrence on a Friday in the city in an ordinary day.

The 69,000 seats in the stadium were filled after a certain period of time. Fans in yellow-colored clothing and accessories made it seem like Brazil still stands a chance in the final championship round.

Some of the fans at the tournament's venue were quoted as saying:

Tiago de Paula, 32, a banker cheerfully relayed:

"For me, it's a chance to be a part of history,"

"Not to put a picture on Facebook, but to be able to tell my children and grandchildren."

Her sister, actress, Camila de Paula, 30 echoed her thoughts:

"If the game goes to penalty kicks, we'll have to miss them".

The parties around Rio came to a halt as everybody trooped in to have their presence felt at the game, live.

Daniel Silva, a supermarket employee in the city said on Friday:

"The day before all other games, there was much more beer sold than usual,"

"It was crazily busy. Today, things are practically at a standstill."

Resenha, a popular sports bar in town used to fill a 240-person customer base in an hour or so. However, the figures dipped down to 200 as the World Cup fever went on.