After four years of anticipation, the 20^th FIFA World Cup is quickly approaching with the top notch countries fighting to win the most respected championship in soccer. This year, the World Cup will take place in Brazil. Fortunately for the passionate Brazilian fans, Brazil is a heavy favorite in this one as they have home field advantage and the experience of winning five World Cups. Along with Brazil, other strong teams competing are the reigning champs, Spain, and Germany, who maintains a well-balanced team.

The first round of the tournament, the group stage, will kick off on Thursday, June 12 with all 32 teams vying for the championship. The competition is comprised of eight groups consisting of four teams each, all randomly selected by drawings. The drawing system is, however, engineered to prevent the best teams playing each other early in the tournament. Each team will play the other teams in their group once, with a win rewarding three points and a draw rewarding one. After all teams in a group have played each other, the two teams with the most points in their group advance on to the round of 16.

The Americans’ chances of advancing past the first round have declined as the United States’ Men’s National Team  has fallen into a very difficult position in the “Group of Death”—a term for when more than two high-ranked teams are placed in the same group, with only two getting the opportunity to move on. Haunting the U.S.’s chances in the “Group of Death” are Portugal and Germany, with Ghana also posing a threat.

Most students asked for predictions believe that Brazil will win because of the home field advantage. While most believe that the U.S. has no chance of advancing past the first round, some optimists are calling for them to pull a miracle by advancing from their group.  The host country, Brazil, seems to have their group already locked up, with no other teams posing a major threat.  The champion and runner-up from the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Spain and the Netherlands respectively, are in similar positions.

With soccer superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi looking to further their prolific legacies and the dominant soccer nations ready to battle against each other, the 2014 World Cup promises to be an electrifying event to be forever remembered by soccer fans across the world.