James Reynolds

In our conversations, though, we wanted to hear from fans.

Later, we'll bring together three World Cup obsessives, including Craig, who's walked across the United States to see his team compete.

Our first guests, though, who spoke to my colleague Rahul Tandon, are from countries which are making their World Cup debut.

My name is Danny.

I'm from Cape Verde, and our country is in the World Cup for the first time.

And I'm extremely excited because this is actually a country that gained independence only 50 years ago.

So for a very new country that just gained independence to be on the world stage is extremely exciting.

We're a small nation.

We're very proud people.

I mean, I'm getting goosebumps actually just talking about it right now.

It definitely brings tears to my eyes.

So yeah, just a very, very exciting time to be Cape Verdean, and I'm sure these other guys can relate.

Hi, my name is Pedro de Souza from Curacao, a small island in the Caribbean, close to Venezuela.

The population over here is only under 58,000, but we have a rich culture influenced by Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Football is deeply rooted in our culture.

You'll find children playing in neighborhoods, beaches, and at football clubs as well, of course.

Despite our size, we have always believed that we could compete

with bigger nations, and now we qualify for the World Cup has made that dream a reality.

Well, listen, congratulations to all four of you.

I can hear the enthusiasm in your voices there.