Brazilian climbers create mosaic to inspire World Cup team

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - A group of 176 Brazilian climbers have abseiled down a bridge in Sao Paulo to form a giant mosaic they hope will inspire their soccer team to World Cup glory this year.

(Reuters)

The climbers lowered themselves into place to create a cardboard image of the Brazilian flag, an effort they hope will set a record for such a mosaic.

"I hope this will be an incentive for our players, because the Brazilian team has not won a title for a long time," one of the climbers, Iron Souza, said. "May this serve as an incentive for them to bring a "caneco" (cup) back to our country."

Brazil are the only team to win the World Cup five times but they have not lifted the trophy since 2002.

They are one of the favourites going into the tournament in Russia starting on June 14 and are in Group E along with Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia.

(Reporting by Andrew Downie, editing by Ed Osmond)