We've been asking who you are most looking forward to seeing in this summer's footballfest? Is there anyone you are desperate for your team to sign? Any inside info on who the ones to watch may be?

Social media comments from around the world are being translated and curated by the BBC's multilingual World Cup Twitter conversation, @viabbc., external

Mohamed Serhan:, external Starting tonight, every single Lebanese citizen will become a fully-fledged football pundit.

Saud Al-Shammari:, external I predict that Brazil reaches the final with either Germany or Argentina.

Kim-Wan:, external For the next month, I'll be staying in Sichuan Province, living a Brazilian lifestyle and my heart goes to Germany.

Just seven little games, that's all it takes for any one of the 32 sides in Brazil to win the thing. Will Brazil do it again?We'll have a better idea by closing time tonight.

Neil: The last three world cups have held no excitement for me. But this one, I can't wait. A good match tonight with a slim Brazil victory should set the tournament alight. Bring it on.

We are 25 minutes away from the opening ceremony in Sao Paulo now. The pitch is looking very colourful and the stadium - which has had its issues - is looking marvellous.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Monitoring reports that former Croatian international Robert Prosinecki has told the team to "play for pleasure" and "relish the opportunity" when they face hosts Brazil in tonight's opening game of the World Cup.

The former Portsmouth, Real Madrid and Barcelona midfielder added that the current Brazil team are yet to prove themselves and played "poorly" in their recent 1-0 over Serbia in a pre-tournament friendly.

Prosinecki is a rare breed - he scored in the World Cup for two countries, Yugoslavia and Croatia. He is surely the only man to play for Real, Barca and Pompey as well..

We've been asking who you are most looking forward to seeing in this summer's footballfest? Is there anyone you are desperate for your team to sign? Any inside info on who the ones to watch may be?

Ross:, external Three players I'm most looking forward to seeing are Arturo Vidal, Heung Min Son, and Mario Gotze. All great and all very underrated.

Ryan:, external Rickie Lambert!!

Will:, external Neymar, Mario Balotelli, Ivan Rakitic, Raheem Sterling, Romalu Lukaku, and Luis Suarez.

That Croatia team of the mid to late 1990s was a favourite in my school playground. Davor Suker? Yes please.

All the talk is understandably about Brazil, but Croatia won't be lying down this evening.

Former Tottenham man Luka Modric will be pulling all the strings in midfield, and alongside him is another man to watch.

Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic - linked with Barcelona - has been called a 'todocampista' in Spanish newspaper Marca. That's 'the complete midfield player' to you and I.

Just like new Barca manager Luis Enrique in his Championship Manager days?

Modric, Rakitic and Inter man Mateo Kovacic have been called the new 'magic triangle' in Croatia. The original was Zvonimir Boban, Robert Prosinecki and Aljosa Asanovic in 1998. Big names.

Dan Roan
BBC sports news correspondent

Image source, @DanRoan

"My view of the Itaquera Stadium here in Sao Paulo where the World Cup kicks off in three hours."

Image source, Getty Images

Brazil start the tournament as favourites - and perhaps with good reason.

The hosts are unbeaten in 36 matches in Brazil since defeat to Paraguay in 2002, have won their last nine games in a row, and 15 of their last 16.

If your last look at the boys in yellow was at the last World Cup you'll be in for a surprise though. Only six men in the squad have any World Cup experience, though most of them are familiar to fans of the Premier and Champions Leagues.

Undecided who you fancy for tonight's game?

The Blue Peter tortoise Shelley has been predicting the winner of Brazil v Croatia. Who has she picked?

Have a look on the CBBC website to find out.

When in doubt, ask a reptile. Sage advice.

The omens are certainly stacking up for a Brazil win this evening.

The host nation has never lost their opening World Cup game, with the 20 previous hosts winning 14 and drawing six of their openers. Home banker?

We've been asking who you are most looking forward to seeing in this summer's footballfest? Is there anyone you are desperate for your team to sign? Any inside info on who the ones to watch may be?

Ben:, external Hoping Belgium can carry the quality of their individual players into a team performance. They were a long 12 years to wait.

Kieran:, external Is Adam Lallana our new David Platt?

Image source, Getty Images

It was decided many years ago that we can't have a sporting event without some highly-coloured clowns engaging in a farcical pitchside ceremony.

Today is thankfully no different, with the 2014 Fifa World Cup Brazil opening ceremony kicking off at 19:15 BST.

A cast of 660 people will be taking part in a ceremony which is 'a tribute to Brazil's greatest treasures: nature, people and football.'

I'm told we will have characters and props, with the principal focus being a central, "living" ball. This LED ball possesses more than 90,000 light clusters.

There's also the performance of the official World Cup song "We Are One" by rapper Pitbull, Claudia Leitte, and Olodum.

J-Lo may be in attendance as well. She keeps changing her mind like a right diva.

Former England striker Sir Geoff Hurst:, external "Well, here we go, nearly there. Here's to a great World Cup 2014 in Brazil."

England's players will have played on worse, surely?

Saturday night is when England's World Cup quest begins of course. You can join us for England v Italy, live here and on BBC One, with kick-off at 23:00 BST.

Don't peak too early, if you know what I mean. You need to be in Las Vegas fight night mode.

Image source, @BISHOPK

Image source, @BishopK

BBC News correspondent Kevin Bishop, external has tweeted some shots from the Arena Amazonia in Manaus, where England play Italy on Saturday: "Some treatment work going on to the pitch at the Manaus stadium. Scoreboard currently showing England 8-6 Italy. I'd take that."

Danny Mills
BBC Radio 5 live

"We always have this great belief that Brazil have such flair, that they play with backheels and one-twos in their own box, but they have always had an edge, they have always had holding players who can break up the game - look at Dunga in 1994, and that is also why they win sometimes.

"They have got that flair but they also know how to play. The belief they have in coach Luiz Felipe Scolari gives them a fantastic chance but it comes down to whether or not they buckle under the pressure because it is absolutely immense."

Image source, Getty Images

It seems I'm not alone.

BBC Monitoring reports that a survey conducted by YouGov shows Brazil to be the most favoured team in the world, and are believed to play of the most attractive brand of football amongst the World Cup nations. Other interesting findings show that fans in Argentina are mainly rooting against England, while the English have abandoned their dislike towards the South Americans and Germany have shifted their ire towards Russia. The Americans demonstrate the greatest level of eccentricity, rooting for and against their own national team.