Wanganui's Scott Tunnicliffe is accustomed to footballing pain ...
The England expat has seen his team bundled out of many football World Cups but, despite those past disappointments, his heart will be behind England again when he sits down to watch the global extravaganza that kicks off this morning with the opening match between Brazil and Croatia.
Mr Tunnicliffe is set for a month of early-morning football as he and many other Kiwi fans rise to watch the world's biggest sporting event.
"When it comes to the World Cup, like any good England fan, I will be backing them all the way - and I'll have this false sense of hope all the way," said Mr Tunnicliffe, who works at Wanganui YMCA.
His head, however, tells him something else.
"It's not looking promising - I'll be delighted if we get out of the group stages."
Mr Tunnicliffe has had Sky TV installed so he can make the most of the World Cup.
He said it would be huge back in his home country. "It captures Britain like nothing you can imagine - you drive down the street and you will see flags in every single window.
"Absolutely everyone becomes a football expert.
"I'll be telling them exactly what they've done wrong and exactly what they should be doing, as if I know it all."
Of the England team, he said: "I'm hoping with some of the younger fullas coming through, we'll surprise a few teams.
"After all of that I'll tell you this ... I think we're going to win it. Once you get captured and the World Cup takes hold, I'm going to expect England to win every single game - and there may be a few tears if we don't."
Come Sunday morning when England take the pitch against Italy, he'll be watching with his mate, Shane Drury, in a house full of English in-laws who are in the country for a few weeks.
"You could say we've shipped babysitters all the way from the UK."
He rates Brazil as the favourite and Belgium as the long shot.