Grammar Test - and/but

Thirty two nations play, but billions of people in countries all around the world drop everything they are doing for a month every four years to see who claims the title of World Cup soccer champion.The teams that compete in the World Cup finals are those that emerge from a series of qualifying rounds played out over the prior three years. The tournament of tournaments is therefore a showcase of the finest squads from across the continents and hemispheres.It during the finals that the intense challenge begins. First, in a series of first round games, each team plays the three rivals in its opening bracket. Teams get three points for each win, one point for a tie, and zero for a loss. The top two teams in the bracket then move on to the single game elimination rounds, with victorious teams proceeding though quarterfinal and semifinal rounds before the final championship match.