Nearly half the world's population, well over three billion spectators, is expected to watch soccer's premier event as the FIFA World Cup kicks off in Brazil to much fanfare around the world.
Play begins with Brazil and Croatia meeting in Sao Paulo on Thursday (CBC, CBCSports.ca, coverage starts 12:30 p.m. PT).
- SCHEDULE 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil
Here in Vancouver, Brazilian and Croatian soccer fans are gearing up for the match with high expectations and worries about preparedness.
Soccer coach Marcelo Zuge emigrated to Canada in 2010, after visiting with a young soccer team. Now he's teaching Brazilian soccer skills in a style called futsal.
"The ball is fast, the ball don't bounce. It's a small space, so you have to think first."
"Foot on the ball. Close your arms, your mean face...no smile, now show your teeth," he tells his young players in North Vancouver.
Zuge is headed back to Brazil to take in the World Cup.
"You have this opportunity once a life. And this is a country I know better, I speak the language. I cannot think I might have a chance to go to Russia or Qatar."
He says he's pretty confident in his home team, "because they're playing at home. But I am afraid of Argentina."
Brazilian brothers, Brazilian style
In downtown Vancouver, Brazilian brothers Marcus Aurilio and Marcus Vinicios are busy teaching capoeira, the Brazilian martial art.
But, their thoughts are are back home.
"We bring Brazil to Vancouver itself, right? And that's why we run the academy, and here we have that same vibe," said Aurilio.
"When people are cheering and they're putting on that energy, we bring that energy also to this studio."
And they say the agility, speed and strength they teach comes in handy on the soccer pitch.
"Lots of Brazilian soccer players, they've either practiced capoeira before, or they even practice it till today."
But it's not all positive ahead of the tournament. The massive costs, concerns about preparedness and protests are also top of mind for these brothers.
"I feel like they could be spending the money into better things, you know. Like, we have hospitals that we could use, hospitals, we could use better education in Brazil," said Vinicios.
But as Brazilians in Metro Vancouver get excited for their first matches, they understand there is more than national pride on the line.
Croatian powerhouse
For Croatians too, it's a big game. Croatian Vancouverite DavidSoric cannot wait.
"There's a lot of pressure, I'm not going to lie, it's going to be fantastic, I'm telling you it's David against Goliath," said Soric.
"But the blood that's going to be flowing through the Croatian players, the pride that's going through all these Croatian people in Croatia and all around Croatia...
"It's not just a little country of four and a half million, it's a big, powerful country, a soccer nation, a football factory. They even call us the Brazilians of Europe."
Brazil v Croatia in Sao Paulo kicks off on Thursday at 1 p.m. PT (CBC, CBCSports.ca, coverage starts 12:30 p.m. PT).