RIO DE JANEIRO, March 12 -- Less than a third of World Cup matches still have seats available after the opening of the latest sales phase.

More than 200,000 tickets for the June 12-July 13 tournament were sold in the first five hours on Wednesday, FIFA said on its official website.

Tickets for the knockout phases and matches involving Brazil were sold out in an hour.

According to FIFA, the highest demand came from Brazil, with 143,085 tickets sold, followed by the US (16,059), Australia (5,357), Colombia (4,574) and Argentina (3,800).

Some 345,000 tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis until April 1. A last-minute sales phase is expected to begin on April 15.

The World Cup opener in Sao Paulo between Brazil and Croatia, the final at Rio's Maracana stadium and the semifinals have not been included in the current sales phase.