The traditional dismissal of the US football team has already begun ahead of England's opening encounter in South Africa tonight.
What most English fans are often unwilling to accept is that whilst America has a smaller football following than some nations, those that do follow the sport are just as passionate and knowledgeable about the state of the global game. Indeed, it's the second most played sport in the country after basketball.
Every four years a significant percentage of the American population tunes in to the games, and this time around ESPN has made a concerted effort in both securing the rights and providing extensive coverage of the matches. It is rare that our brand of football graces the front page of ESPN's website, as is the case today.
I'm fully expecting tonight's meeting to be tight, and it is not unimaginable to see USA winning given their strong international appearances of late, most notably in the Confederations Cup last year.
Media coverage
Later in the week I'll be blogging on the quality of the television and radio coverage the tournament has provided thus far. Primary shock two days in; ITV has not been unwatchable.
Meanwhile, I have crumbled and joined Twitter, primarily for the purposes of the World Cup, where regular blog posts are not necessarily appropriate given the ever-changing situation. You can follow my inane ramblings here. Or not.
World Cup predictions
Posted up slightly late, but here is how I saw the tournament panning out before it began:
Mexico
France
South Africa
Uruguay
Argentina
South Korea
Nigeria
Greece
USA
England
Algeria
Slovenia
Serbia
Germany
Australia
Ghana
Holland
Japan
Denmark
Cameroon
Italy
Paraguay
New Zealand
Slovakia
Brazil
North Korea
Portugal
Ivory Coast
Spain
Honduras
Chile
Switzerland
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