The games that have been particularly inundated with requests are somewhat predictable.

The opening fixture on June 12, which will feature the host nation against a yet-unknown team at the currently under-construction Arena de São Paulo, has already received more than 168,000 requests, nearly enough to fill the stadium three times over, while the final, to be held at the revamped Maracanã, has been only slightly less oversubscribed with more than 165,000 requests - more than double the amount of seats in the stadium.

About 3.3 million tickets for the World Cup will be made available, with international fans facing costs of between $440 (£290/€335) and $990 (£650/€750) for the showpiece final on July 13, while prices for the opening match range from $220 (£145/€170) to $495 (£325/€380).

If the demand for tickets exceeds the number available for a match, a lottery system will determine the allocation, although there will be priority for Brazilian students, over-60s and Bolsa Família programme participants, who will be able to purchase match tickets from as little as $15 (£10/€11.50), with the cheapest category four tickets only going on sale to Brazilian citizens.

Brazilian fans will be able to get their hands on tickets for as little as $15

A total 400,000 of the 3.3 million tickets will be allocated to Brazilian citizens.

FIFA revealed last night that the highest levels of ticket requests have been from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, England and the United States.

Applications for this stage of the ticketing must be in before October 10, then the second phase of ticket sales will begin on December 8 following the group stage draw, with individuals able to request a maximum of four seats per match and a maximum of seven matches in total.

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