ZURICH, (Reuters) – Some 2014 World Cup teams will play afternoon matches at tropical venues in Brazil after organisers announced kickoff times yesterday.

Most games will be played in the afternoon which is unlikely to be a problem in the cooler south but could subject players to searing heat in the tropical north and northeast.
The months of June and July represent the winter in the south but conditions are tropical further north.
Two matches in the northeastern city of Natal have been scheduled for 13:00hrs local time (1600 GMT), as have two in nearby Recife and two in Salvador.
Manaus, in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, will stage one game at 15:00hrs local time and two at 16:00hrs. The final at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro will be played at 16:00hrs on July 13.
“When defining the kickoff times the following criteria were taken into consideration: equitable distribution across all teams, equitable rest periods for teams in the same group, temperature in venues, global TV market considerations, fan travel logistics, flight times and accommodation,” said world soccer’s governing body FIFA in a statement.