It's on!

And in the ages-old fashion, Germany won their opening fixture 4-2.

Home field advantage is taken to new heights in the World Cup: the host nation has won six times (out of 17 tournaments; Brazil has won five more, and that leaves a whopping six tournament wins for people who were neither the home squad nor Brazil. I think this game is fixed). In a field of 16 teams teams (24 starting in 1982, 32 in 1998), for the host team to win so regularly is astounding. Eleven times the host team has been one of the four best finishers, including in South Korea four years ago and not-so-much powerhouse Chile in 1962 (the other six times are what happens when you hold the finals in places like the US or Switzerland). Amusingly, the single time it was held in Brazil, Uruguay won (1950).

If I were a betting person, my money would be on Germany. Since I'm not, I'm going with Croatia and the Netherlands in the final, and then I don't care which team wins because it's good all around.