5 apps to step up the game

Look around, you will find someone flaunting a jersey of his or her favourite football team. Also, every other person you come across would try his best to talk like an analyst. Hence, if you do not want to fall behind in the game, you ought to use that thing called smartphone and stay up to date with all that's happening in the world of soccer. Here are some applications which will help you do so:

Liv Sports

Sony is the official broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup in India and its Liv service is one of the best ways of watching the matches on your smartphone or tablet. For Rs 120 for the entire tournament or Rs 60 for all matches of any one team, you will be able to watch live matches on your smartphone or tablet via the app or on your personal computer via the Sony Liv website.

Official FIFA app

FIFA's official app and YouTube channel is one place where you will find all kinds of stuff related to World Cup 2014. While the official YouTube channel won't stream the live matches, it will show match highlights, player interviews and classic matches. The app has multimedia content as well, such as match highlights, in addition to content such as real-time scores, news and schedules. You can head over to Apple's App store or the Google Play Store to download the app.

TuneIn Radio

This is a service that will take you back to the old days when a TV wasn't a household thing. You will be able to listen to live commentary of the matches on TuneIn Radio. The service has programmes scheduled for live matches as well as podcasts when there is no live match.

ESPNFC

ESPN has completely revamped its website, as well as updated its iOS and Android app, ahead of the World Cup. During a match, the service will offer live blogging, scores, statistics and commentary. In between matches, there will be a host of feature and news stories about the teams, players and dedicated writers will give us a first-person view of the atmosphere in Brazil.

Google Now and Google Trends

As expected, Google Now will give you quick access to live scores and match schedules on your smartphones. Not to be left behind, like Twitter and Facebook, Google too has introduced a new page on Google Trends, which will display what people around the world are searching in real-time and also display information about the matches, teams and players. Earlier this month, Google also introduced a way for people to tour the World Cup stadiums using Street View.