Intro:

The International Space Station crew got into the World Cup spirit by holding a zero gravity kick-about 155 miles above the Earths surface on Wednesday. Hosts Brazil open the tournament with a match against Croatia in Sao Paulo's Arena Corinthians on Thursday (KO 21:00 BST).

Script:

For some fans, the tricks on show at this summer's World Cup will be out of this world. For these three astronauts, their skills were exactly that.

Americans Steve Swanson and Reid Wiseman and German Alexander Gerst had a zero gravity kick-about on board the International Space Station on Wednesday.

The hopes of those supporting hosts Brazil may be high but they don't get much higher than these three football fans, 155 miles above the Earth's surface.