The Fifa World Cup, Brazil 2014 will kick off in a day’s time on Thursday, 12 June 2014 and the final match will be played on 13 July 2014.

The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champions are Spain, who won the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

kaizerchiefs.com spoke to Reneilwe ‘Yeye’ Letsholanyane who was part of Bafana Bafana setup in 2010, when South Africa was hosting this prestigious Fifa tournament.

The World Cup is here, what is going on the participating players’ minds at the moment?

“I think it is a nervous time for the players. Players are looking forward to play in the biggest stage in their soccer career. Expectations are high for the host nation and more so that Brazil are one of the top ranking teams in the world, and soccer is like a culture to them. The players must be going through emotions now that it is less than 24 hrs to go to kickoff,” said Yeye.

The current format of the tournament involves 32 teams competing for the title at venues within the host nation (Brazil) over a period of about a month (12 June – 13 July); this phase is often called the World Cup Finals. A qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding three years, was used to determine which teams qualify for Brazil including the host nation.

Who do you fancy to win in Brazil?

“I am going with Spain and Argentina but obviously no one can afford to rule out Brazil. Belgium are the dark horses and are likely to be the surprise package this time. They are looking good. Belgians are not only playing for big teams in Europe but they are mostly doing well. It is a tough call to make, soccer is full of surprises,” commented Yeye.

Yeye’s surprise package: Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid, on loan from Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Sammy Bossut (Zulte Waregem). Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Atlético Madrid), Laurent Ciman (Standard Liege), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Nicolas Lombaerts (Zenit), Daniel Van Buyten (Bayern Munich), Anthony Vanden Borre (Anderlecht), Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham). Midfielders: Nacer Chadli (Tottenham), Steven Defour (Porto), Moussa Dembélé (Tottenham), Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Zenit).

Forwards: Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United), Romelu Lukaku (Everton), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Kevin Mirallas (Everton), Divock Origi (Lille).

The 19 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams. Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Italy, with four titles; West Germany, with three titles; Argentina and inaugural winners Uruguay, with two titles each; and England, France, and Spain, with one title each.

What about ‘Star’ players, who do you reckon will rule in Brazil?

“I have not focused on individuals, I am for a collective effort in team sport. Ronaldo, Messi and Neymar are expected to do well and create a hype in this world cup. They will be under pressure - unfortunately as you know football is unpredictable. Their first touch of the ball will determine who will be king come 13 July finals,” said Yeye.

The World Cup is among the world's most widely viewed sporting events; an estimated 715.1 million people watched the final match of the 2006 Fifa World Cup held in Germany.

What about the players who were injured during the final preparations like Ribery of France?

“Ribery must be disappointed to be injured and missing the world biggest stage in sports. It is part of the game. It is heartbreaking to miss out on a chance to compete with your peers even if you have tasted that before it never ceases to be a moment in time for any professional footballer,” said Yeye.

Radamel Falcao, Franck Ribery and Marco Reus head the cast of injured stars ruled out of Brazil World Cup.

What is Yeye doing during offseason?

“I am relaxed and will be watching some of the games. As you know I played for Bafana Bafana recently in Australia and New Zealand so my offseason break was cut short a bit. I will depend on the time clock as we are 5hrs ahead of Brazil which will pose a challenge to follow some of the games,” said Yeye.

The next three World Cups will be hosted by Brazil in 2014, Russia in 2018, and Qatar in 2022.

Thursday’s opener between Brazil and Croatia in Group A kickoff at 17:00 Brazil time (22:00 SA time). The game will take place at Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians.