United States

The USA are one of three host nations, which means the pressure of a home crowd plus the awkward fact that Americans are still, collectively, getting used to caring about football — expect sold-out stadiums full of people who bought tickets before they knew the rules.

Their coach is Mauricio Pochettino, famous for taking Tottenham to the Champions League final and then being sacked before he could win it — a genuinely respected manager by European standards, which feels significant for US football.

The USA open on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles against Paraguay — 70,000 people in a venue better known for the Super Bowl, which tells you something about how seriously the country is taking this.

American football's growing popularity means this squad is full of players who grew up genuinely idolising the game rather than playing it for career reasons — the talent level is higher than at any previous World Cup.

They're in Group D with Paraguay, Australia and Turkey, which is winnable but not a gimme — if they don't get out of the group playing at home, it will be a national incident.