Muslim players in World Cup teams who have qualified for the last-16 round in Brazil face a thorny question on Sunday when much of the Islamic world will start observing the holy month of Ramadan with a dawn to dusk fast.
The question is trickiest for Algeria , who faces a formidable Germany on Monday. Muslims can also be found in the Nigeria and France teams and they will have to weigh their religious convictions against the effects of fasting on their performance.