Stacks of lottery tickets are piled up at the entrance of a lottery shop in China.

These are World Cup-themed lottery tickets that went on sale with the opening of the tournament.

[I'd like to bet 500 yuan on a 6-1 Spanish victory.]

[I bought three tickets. Brazil, France, Spain. Go Brazil!]

There are various ways to play, such as predicting the winner or the exact score of a match.

While most people bet small amounts for fun, some pour in large sums of money in hopes of a windfall.

[Can I buy a lot? (How much are you planning to buy?) 100,000 yuan (approximately 22 million won).]

With the World Cup lottery craze, sales in the first week of the tournament exceeded 1.5 trillion won.

This is more than double the sales from the week before the tournament began.

Meanwhile, Chinese soccer fans have been quick to track down the family of Vozinha, the goalkeeper who became a hero for the small African island nation of Cape Verde after fending off a relentless offensive from powerhouse Spain.

[Chinese soccer fan: I am at Vozinha's house. The person in the middle is his mother.]

They even personally packed the suitcase for Vozinha's mother, who is traveling to the United States to watch her son's second match after resolving visa issues.

[She is taking the suitcase I gifted her to the United States.]

Chinese netizens are showering praise on the Chinese soccer fans, saying they were faster than any reporter.

China is also highlighting that Cape Verde's strong performance is thanks to a 15,000-seat stadium built by a Chinese company with support from the Chinese government.

Although the number of World Cup participating nations has increased to 48, China once again failed to qualify for the final tournament.

Unable to cheer for their own national team, fans are soothing their disappointment through lottery purchases and by emphasizing China's contributions to participating nations to find a sense of vicarious satisfaction.

Reported by Kwon Ran | Video by Choi Deok-hyun | Video Editing by Chae Cheol-ho