'Daily Show' to cover World Cup

NEW YORK, June 9 (UPI) -- "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" correspondent John Oliver is preparing to cover the World Cup in Africa, Comedy Central said Wednesday.

Oliver and producer Tim Greenberg are to start filing reports from Johannesburg, South Africa, Thursday.

In the first piece, Oliver embeds with the U.S. Soccer team as they train for their highly anticipated game against England, the network said in a news release. Future segments will see Oliver sitting down with the acting South African ambassador, taking a look at the first African World Cup, examining the current state of race relations and, finally, celebrating the true spirit of the game.

"As a little boy, my only dream was to one day play for England in the World Cup. It seems that the closest I will ever get to that dream is to go to the World Cup and make fun of it," Oliver said in a statement. "If these pieces result in anything less than soccer becoming the No. 1 sport in America, I will deem them a total failure."