01-07-2014 15:00

Most people in Brazil have their fingers crossed for their country to win the World Cup for a sixth time, but one family have a few more fingers crossed than others.

Fourteen members of the Da Silva family, who live near Brasilia, were born with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot.

The extra digits are caused by a rare genetic condition called polydactyly, and the sixth fingers can function exactly the same as the others.

The Da Silvas are proud of their extra digits and they say they believe that they can help the Brazilian national team win a sixth World Cup title.

“Yes, of course, because we are giving so much energy for Brazil to win the Cup, and I believe this energy will flow onto the pitch and they will play really well and win their sixth World Cup.”

The family has received lots of positive media attention after they announced their intentions to support Brazil with their finger energy on Facebook.

For the most part it seems to be working, as Brazil won their first match against Croatia 3-1, although, they were tied 0-0 with Mexico.

If Brazil does win this year, that will leave it with a Da Silva handful of World Cup titles.

Difficult words: to have fingers crossed (to wish somebody good luck by crossing your fingers or your toes), digit (sign that represents the numbers 0 to 9, but also a word for a finger or toe), handful (a lot of and also as much as you can hold in your hand).

Source: www.itn.co.uk