<p>During a schoolyard soccer game in Tokyo, Japan, a goalie jumps and extends his arms to try and prevent the ball from hitting a cement wall.</p>

During a schoolyard soccer game in Tokyo, Japan, a goalie jumps and extends his arms to try and prevent the ball from hitting a cement wall.

Photograph by David Alan Harvey, Nat Geo Image Collection

Vintage Photos Show the World's Love of Soccer

See people around the globe enjoying this beloved sport through timeless photos from our archives.

Soccer pitches come in many forms, from back alleys to beaches, green portside fields to billion-dollar stadiums. Regardless of the setting, the makings of the game are the same: find a ball—or anything round—split into teams, kick it past a marker or into a goal, celebrate and cheer.

The sport—called soccer, football, or futbol depending on where it’s being played—is the world’s most popular, uniting novice players, professional athletes, and super-fans. Though fans follow their favorite teams year-round, every four years the world comes together for a month to watch an international tournament of this globally revered game.

The FIFA World Cup began in Uruguay in 1930 with 13 teams vying for its championship title. Today’s Cup has grown far

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