Key events<\/p>\n
Our teams are in, so while I get them up for you, something to dig into: here\u2019s my playlist of South African bangers. If you\u2019ve a Mexican equivalent, holler.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Oh man, this stuff gets me every time \u2013 we\u2019re watching Bafana Bafana singing their way into the ground. It\u2019s not the below, but it\u2019s similar \u2013 and similarly affirming.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m at the Gare du Nord waiting to board for Blighty,\u201d says Harry McDonald. \u201cMy first World Cup<\/a> was on radio in 1958, I was 10 years old. Danny Blanchflower and Harry Gregg were my main interest.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve watched every one since except the last. I watched not one second and I felt no sense of loss. It was an appalling decision to go there. I\u2019m definitely considering not watching any of this one either: similar reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n Blanchflower and Gregg, two absolute heroes. Harry, of course, saved lives at Munich like it was nothing, while Danny is responsible for one of the great football quotations:<\/p>\n double quotation mark\u201cThe great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It is nothing of the kind. The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Shakira and Burna time! The official tune isn\u2019t as good as the 2010 classic, but it\u2019s a decent effort. Burna\u2019s voice reminds me of the groove, depth and texture you get from records relative to CDs.<\/p>\n Shakira and Burna Boy perform during the opening ceremony. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach\/Reuters<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.09 EDT<\/p>\n \u201cMy dad went out and bought a colour telly for the first World Cup<\/a> I can remember, which was 1974,\u201d writes Matt Emerson. \u201cThat West German summer was relentlessly overcast and grey in my memory, so we needn\u2019t have bothered, but I was hooked. This will be my f14th and it\u2019s just as good, despite the ongoing attempts to screw things up generally. You measure your life out by World Cups and I reckon I\u2019ve got seven more left after this one, so I\u2019m going to enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n The tech bros will have us living beyond 300 by the time of your seventh, so we\u2019re all good.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.56 EDT<\/p>\n It\u2019d be nice if they told us who everyone is, but so far, it\u2019s just action, no captions or comms. There\u2019s a lad singing in a leather tracky, underneath which things must be extremely ripe, then it\u2019s time for some mariachi.<\/p>\n Artists perform during the opening ceremony. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.06 EDT<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m old,\u201d confesses Kev Dwyer. \u201cWatched the 1966 World Cup<\/a> on TV and then as one of a group of four apprentices we all decided to save \u00a32 per week from our wages and go and watch us retain the Jules Rimet in Mexico in 1970. Time went by, weddings happened and then there were two who headed off, the week after my 21st birthday, travelling on a trip organised by the England Football Supporters Association. Tickets to all the matches plus tickets to the final. I got to watch living football legends, and was sitting directly behind the goal when Banksy saved Pele\u2019s shot. The Azteca was a disappointment in that our seats were so far up in the Gods that you couldn\u2019t really make out the intricacies of the game. Great memories, hope that there\u2019s some more made for the supporters over there.\u201d<\/p>\n Brilliant!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe are a nation of diversity, heritage and pride,\u201d says the lead voice \u2013 words I wish were less poignant and pertinent.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThe home stadium advantage for Mexico<\/a> has been duly noted but until you experience it you can\u2019t fully appreciate it,\u201d says Mary Waltz. \u201cYes, the heat and altitude is oppressive. But it is the fans that make it so intimidating. Knowledgable, vicious, non-stop support and refs often swayed by the crowd.\u201d<\/p>\n I hope the fans who create that can afford to get in. On which point, we\u2019re ready to get going, drums beating, vocals soaring, dancers in formation.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>The opening ceremony begins<\/p>\n Aha, the opening ceremony is upon us. We\u2019re in the Azteca, mates!<\/p>\n Performers on the pitch during the opening ceremony. Photograph: Natacha Pisarenko\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.01 EDT<\/p>\n I talked earlier about first World Cups, so please do send in memories of yours. Mine was Mexico 86 \u2013 and how mad is it there\u2019ll have been three there since England last hosted \u2013 and my main takeaway now, as an apparent adult, is how Diego Maradona gave me and my cohort an entirely false representation of what football is. For years afterwards, I thought it was possible for someone to run around everyone between them and goal, but it turns out that\u2019s just him.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThat ITV studio is spectacular,\u201d reckons Kev the Poet. \u201cAlmost as spectacular as the nark-off between Roy Keane and anyone else. The BBC is going to have The Ghost Of Barry Davies coming out of the Manchester Ship Canal to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n It is \u2013 it\u2019s outdoors on the Hudson, with a sensational view of Manhattan. But I\u2019d take Barry Davies coming out of anywhere.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n And the correct answer is!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n I almost got away with playing this at my wedding.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHere in the States, the pre-game crew includes, as ever, Alexi Lalas, but also has a new addition of Zlatan for this tournament,\u201d advises Mac Scarles. \u201cIf the approximately 10 seconds of interaction I just saw is any indication, the odds are high that Zlatan just might kill Lalas with his bare hands before the tournament is over. A chemistry void for the ages. It\u2019s going to be a fun six weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n Goodness, I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s possible to understand football culture, spirit and soul less than Lalas does. Godspeed, Zlats old mate.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Aaaaand the first email of the competition goes too \u2026 Justin Kavanagh. \u201cFootball used to be seen as the opiate of the masses, with many stories from previous World Cups of ceasefires declared to watch games, birthrates soaring 9 months after victories \u2026 etc. However, this one feels more like a methadone clinic, with thin rations stretched out over a longer time frame, and with the dealer going uptown where he\u2019ll find wealthier marks. Sure we\u2019ll all watch on TV because we love the game. But more and more people who actually once participated in the game at any level are coming to the realisation that Fifa\u2019s product is poisoned by politics and by greed, and Infantino and co have shut the gates on us.\u201d<\/p>\n It takes a lot to make Sepp Blatter look like the arch liberator, doesn\u2019t it? I wish I had something pithily amusing and reassuring to say here, but I don\u2019t; we just have to do our best to oppose wrongness in our immediate spheres of influence.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Almost straight off the bat, ITV go to the politics \u2013 \u201cThings that always litter a pre-tournament buildup,\u201d says Neville. Er, do they? He goes on to say the football will take over, but Ian Wright, Roy Keane and Mark Pougatch make sure to stipulate we mustn\u2019t let it obscure the continuing issues.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Gosh, the first montage of the tournament, of tournaments past, has me quite emotional \u2013 there\u2019s a lot to take in, and that\u2019s before I get going on Gary Neville\u2019s shirt, straight off the peg from River Island c.1995.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Watching from the UK, it\u2019s time for ITV\u2019s credits and, if you\u2019ve not seen them, they\u2019re beautiful, shot on film and lush as you like.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.45 EDT<\/p>\n Yes! <\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Quiz time: name that tune!<\/p>\n Ahhhh! Ding! Ding ding ding ding! Neow! Ding ding ding ding! Ta bam bam bam bam bam bam!<\/p>\n De ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne. De ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne. De ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne, ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne!<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n What a feeling! Thirty-nine days, 104 matches, and the greatest joy known to humankind, an affirming, inspiring, immersive, absorbing, challenging, compelling, enriching, educational orgy of glorious, wondrous, beauteous football. Drink it in, people!<\/p>\n Just be careful you don\u2019t choke. Because though we thought that, after Russia and Qatar, World Cups \u2013 or should that be Worlds Cup, we deal with all the important issues here \u2013 couldn\u2019t get any more problematic, here we are.<\/p>\n The awfulness is too extensive to enumerate in this preamble but, before football happens and narcotises us into compliance, we must pay our debt to pleasure \u2013 ideally not simply by grousing, but perhaps by doing something small to combat the forces that co-opt us and our incomparable game. Being kind and tolerant, perhaps, or donating to a charity that supports migrants or refugees \u2013 our options are numerous.<\/p>\n Quite how we segue from here back to the sport isn\u2019t totally clear, but such are the complexities of life, the game a victim of its own genius, simply too amazing and uniting not to be exploited by bad actors, corporate voids and invertebrate suits. So let\u2019s dig into that; seamless, eh?<\/p>\n We\u2019ll begin of course, with the spectacle and snark of our first opening ceremony \u2013 USA is also staging one \u2013 with those of us old enough to remember 1970 and 1986 forgiven for convulsing into tears at the mere sight of Estadio Azteca. In which connection, it\u2019s worth remembering that for millions of children around the world, this is their debut tournament; the first time they\u2019ve experienced the joy of a football onslaught. And, while those of us who are well beyond that will never recapture our personal moment, staying up late and sneaking snide watches, the sense of wonder is something we understand better now, as adults, than in the moment as kids.<\/p>\n A Mexico fan poses for a photograph outside the stadium. Photograph: Kai Pfaffenbach\/Reuters<\/p>\n A lot\u2019s happened to us since then, the weight of the years narrowing eyes and dulling senses. But if we take a moment with ourselves, we\u2019re there, the sense of wonder perpetually part of us and perennially there for us. These are the days of our lives, and this is the vibe we can bring to it \u2013 and everything else \u2013 if we allow ourselves to.<\/p>\n On to our opening match and it\u2019s a belter, two teams looking to attack but in different ways: Mexico<\/a> by controlling the centre of the pitch and South Africa with thrust down the flanks. Look out for Gilberto Mora, the hosts\u2019 17-year-old midfielder \u2013 he\u2019s the youngest player in the tournament and a serious talent \u2013 but really, look out for absolutely everything. It\u2019s here!<\/p>\n Opening ceremony: 11.30am local, 1,30pm EDT, 6.30pm BST, 3.30am (Fri) AEST<\/p>\n Kick-off: 1pm local, 3pm EDT, 8pm BST, 5am (Fri) AEST<\/p>\n