With the 2014 World Cup kicking off in Brazil this Thursday, excitement has reached fever pitch levels among football fans across the globe as they eagerly await the first match between Brazil and Croatia.
That will set the ball rolling on a month of football which is certain to provide high drama, wonderful goals and lots of talking points. For the past few weeks, everyone and their dog has given their predictions on what the outcome will be in Brazil come the final on Sunday 13th July.
Rather than do that, here are five teams I reckon you should keep an eye on for different reasons during the 2014 World Cup.
Brazil: The hosts may seem an obvious choice, but it is always interesting to see how the hosts do, no matter the quality of their team. The 2014 host nation also happen to be the favourites for the trophy and it will be fascinating to see how they cope with that pressure.
Despite seemingly picking up a knock in training, Neymar is fit and raring to go for their opening match against Croatia on Thursday evening and a lot will rest on the Barcelona man's shoulders. At the age of just 22, he has already scored 31 goals in 49 matches for his country and now a nation expects.
After an indifferent first season at Barcelona, there is no doubting Neymar will want to prove he is one of the best in the world, but if Brazil are to win the World Cup for a sixth time, then he is going to need help.
With 2002 World Cup winning manager Luiz Felipe Scolari in charge, the Brazilians have a manager who has quite literally being there, done it and lifted the World Cup. But does he have enough depth this time? The one- named Fred, Jo and Hulk aren't exactly Emile Heskey esque when it comes to finishing but compared to other nations, in particular their South American rivals Argentina, it won't strike fear into the opposition.
This isn't a bad Brazilian squad by any means as it features plenty stars from all over Europe's top leagues, but I'm just not convinced this is a World Cup winning squad. Can they prove me wrong?
Colombia: Even without the lethal finishing of Radamel Falcao, Colombia are another South American side that should be watched with interest this summer. Blessed with a good group draw where they will come up against Ivory Coast, Greece and Japan in group C, they should be confident. None of those teams will be push overs, but Colombia will be very keen to make an impression on their first World Cup in 16 years.
They finished 2nd in the South American qualifying group (which Brazil didn't compete in as hosts), behind Argentina collecting 30 points from 16 games. With the talent of Jackson Martinez and James Rodriguez in particular, Colombia play a lovely brand of football that could catch many teams unaware this summer.
Helped by having a top goalkeeper in Nice's David Ospina, experience such as captain, 38 year old Mario Yepes and the confidence to do well in the Brazilian climate, then a last 16 tie against Uruguay, Italy or England would be wonderful to watch and in the knockout stages of the World Cup, anything is possible.
England: Roy Hodgson's men are proving more difficult by the day for me to predict how they will do in this World Cup and that is why they make my list of five teams to watch. One minute I think they will be soundly beaten by Italy and Uruguay and possibly even by the vastly under-rated Costa Rica, then the next I reckon some of their youngsters could spring a surprise on some of the top nations.
Usually England make hard work of relatively easy groups, but they can't afford to do that this time thanks to their draw in Group D. The first game against Italy I suspect will be a cagey affair but if Hodgson wants to win, then I think he has to be bold and start some of these youngsters like Raheem Sterling and Ross Barkley who will be eager to shine on the biggest stage of them all.
Having failed to break down a ten man Honduras on Saturday, all signs point to an early exit for them in a lot of people's eyes but I wouldn't be surprised to see them scrape through to the quarter finals.
France: Like England, France are one of the European nations who are being written off by most people before the tournament starts. And much like England, I think that's why Didier Deschamps squad will be worth watching.
Warming up with a thumping 8-0 win over Jamaica, France also enjoyed a successful qualifying campaign, only losing once to Spain before beating Ukraine 5-0 on aggregate in the play-offs. And with a fresh squad, the memories of a disastrous 2010 World Cup are long gone from the memory, although Les Blues will be keen to atone for that with a good run in Brazil.
On paper, Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras don't present the hardest of challenges to France, certainly compared to the rest of the major European nations. Whilst losing star man Franck Ribery was a big blow, there is still enough talent in this French squad for them to make an impression on the tournament. With the fire power of Karim Benzema, Olivier Giroud and Antoine Greizmann backed up by the superb midfield talents of Paul Pogba and Mathieu Valbuena, France will not be short of creating chances.
A World Cup winner as a player in 1998, Deschamps has what it takes to inspire his players for big games and one thing is certain when it comes to France; it won't be dull viewing.
Belgium: My final side to keep an eye on is Marc Wilmots highly rated Belgian side. There has been a lot of hype around the country's national team for a few years now and they are expected to deliver big time in Brazil.
They strolled through qualifying, winning eight of their ten games including two against Scotland and only conceding four in the process. Now comes the real test though as they participate in their first finals since 2002.
They've been handed a favourable draw in Group H with Algeria, Russia and South Korea providing the opposition. Not three easy matches by any means, but with the quality they have Belgium should finish top of that group.
But will they then fall at the first hurdle? Despite having world class talent in all areas of the pitch, from goalkeeper Thibuat Courtois, to defenders Vincent Kompany and Jan Vertonghen, to Eden Hazard and Axel Witsel in midfield and Romelu Lukaku up front, this is a massive test for Wilmots side.
They have been talked up so much, they might well panic on the big stage in Brazil and their first knock out game is likely to be against Portugal or Germany so there is a distinct possibility they will be coming home early.
There is a lot of individual talent in this Belgian team, the finest to come out of the country in a generation, but the big question is do they believe they can really go all the way?
There are 27 other teams competing in Brazil and I'm sure each and everyone one of them will have us talking at some point over the next month. It's time to sit back and enjoy a festival of football.
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