Masses of fans filed out of Maracana Stadium empty-handed on July 16, 1950, as the Brazilian soccer team had to settle for 2nd place in the World Cup tournament that it hosted. Little did the world know that in 2014, Brazil would approach this year’s tournament as the squad with the most World Cup titles (5), in addition to being the favorite in the upcoming tournament.

Flashback to July 11, 2010: Spain played in its first world cup final against the Netherlands. Spain won in extra time, finally fulfilling its achieved status as a powerhouse.

This summer, the World Cup will return to the country that dominates the sport. On July 13, the final will return to Maracana Stadium in Rio, where Brazil can redeem itself with a win in the same location it experienced defeat nearly 64 years ago to the day. While several other contenders will be hard to beat, Brazil and Spain are arguably the most likely to win the World Cup in 2014. Spain is ranked 1st in the FIFA World Rankings as of April, and while Brazil comes in at a sluggish 6th, the hosts are in good form and will be mighty difficult to topple this summer.

Junior Jimmy Keefe projected Brazil to win the final in 2014. “I think Brazil will win the final this time around because in 2010, they were really young, and now they have matured and aged more while maintaining if not increasing their quality of play.”

The World Cup lasts for one month every four years. From June 15, 2011 through November 20, 2013, 203 nations played in World Cup qualifying, vying for 31 spots in the 2014 tournament (Brazil automatically qualified as the host nation to round out the field at 32). This year’s tournament consists mostly of teams who were expected to make it, however, many of those teams left it too close for comfort. Uruguay finished 4th in 2010, and they were just one loss away from missing it this year. Mexico narrowly booked its ticket to Brazil after scoring a late game-winning goal in a must-win qualifier.

The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four teams each. Each team will play each group opponent once in the group stage. Afterwards, the top two teams in each group advance to the knockout stage (think of it as the playoffs), which is a single-elimination, 16 team bracket to determine the champion.

There are many intriguing groups this year. Spain and the Netherlands, the finalists in 2010, are both in Group B. European rivals England and Italy will battle in Group D. The 14th ranked USA was drawn in Group G, “the group of death.” They will face 2nd ranked Germany, 3rd ranked Portugal, and Ghana, the team that has eliminated them in each of the past two tournaments.

American fans are realistic about the USA’s schedule, and many believe simply making it to the knockout stage would be an accomplishment. “I think the USA should do well, but I don’t think they will get out of the group,” said Keefe. “But hopefully they will win some games and represent our country well.”

While all of the powerhouses are expected to be in the mix for the cup, never count out a dark horse. Every tournament, a surprise team advances far. Keefe believes that Belgium is one team in particular that shouldn’t be overshadowed. “They have a lot of young but talented players like (20-year-old) Romelu Lukaku,” he stated.

The tournament consists almost entirely of veterans. Bosnia is the only team that is making its World Cup debut. Brazil, on the other hand, is making its 19th appearance in the tournament.

The World Cup will kick off on Thursday, June 12 and a champion will be determined on Sunday, July 13.