Thirty two teams and a world of possibilities.

The 31 countries that qualified for the 2014 World Cup and host nation Brazil will cross fingers and toes and hope for the luck of the draw on Friday when their names are plucked from bowls one by one in a globally televised extravaganza to determine where, when and, most importantly, who they will play in Brazil next June at football's showcase tournament.

Former Spain coach Luis Aragones, the founder of the country's "tiki-taka" style of football, announced he is retiring.

The 75-year-old Aragones, who last coached in 2009 at Turkish club Fenerbahce, tells Spanish online magazine Voxpopuli that "age has retired me. When I left Turkey I knew it would be difficult to continue and today it is definitive."

Security experts say passwords for more than 2 million Facebook, Google and other accounts have been compromised and circulated online, just the latest example of breaches involving leading Internet companies.

Some services including Twitter have responded by disabling the affected passwords. But there are several things you can do to minimize further threats —even if your account isn't among the 2 million that were compromised.

A plan by the New Zealand government to upgrade the country's notoriously slow Internet service has hit a snag after accountants confirmed the main contractor is facing financial problems.

The government agreed to spend $1.1 billion over the next six years to lay fiber cable throughout much of the country to replace existing copper cables. But Communications Minister Amy Adams said Thursday that accountants at Ernst & Young have told her that infrastructure company Chorus is at risk of not fulfilling its contract.

Portland took over as the NBA Western Conference leader by beating Oklahoma City 111-104 on Wednesday, ending the Thunder's eight-game winning streak.

LaMarcus Aldridge had a season-high 38 points and added 13 rebounds for the Trail Blazers.

Host Myanmar has won two gold medals in the traditional sport of Chinlone, the first event for the 27th Southeast Asian Games.

The sport, in which six players juggle a rattan ball with their feet, heads, knees and chest, is believed to have originated in Myanmar but is played in various forms regionwide.

Celebrity chef Nigella Lawson admitted in court Wednesday that she had taken cocaine, but denied being a habitual user. She accused her ex-husband of trying to "destroy" her, during a lacerating day of testimony that laid bare a materially affluent but deeply troubled marriage.

Lawson said her former husband Charles Saatchi, a millionaire art collector, spread drug rumors about her after he was photographed gripping her throat outside Scott's restaurant in London. The widely published image ignited harsh criticism of Saatchi and was soon followed by their divorce in July.

Luis Suarez's stunning quadruple for Liverpool capped a goal-laden night in the Premier League that saw the top four all win, but Manchester United lose 1-0 to Everton to be cut adrift in the title race.

Arsenal preserved its four-point lead as Nicklas Bendtner capitalized on a rare start to score in a 2-0 win over Hull, while Eden Hazard capped a brilliant performance with two goals in Chelsea's wild 4-3 victory at Sunderland.

Orchid is growing on us: A version of the purple hue is Pantone Inc.'s color of the year for 2014.

It follows this year's pick of emerald green.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique suggests unhappy players should look to leave the club as it battles through its first slump of the season.

Wednesday's comments came days after Cristian Tello and Marc Montoya said they could look to leave at season's end if their minutes did not improve.