Previewing the 6 World Cup Matches in Seattle

It's finally here.

Soccer, soon to be football, fans across the Pacific Northwest have been waiting with bated breath for Seattle to play host to the largest sporting event in the world: The FIFA World Cup.

The tournament is bigger than ever in this fixture. Set to span Canada, the U.S. and Mexico from mid-June through mid-July, with Mexico and South Africa opening festivities on Thursday. As such, the field has expanded for the first time since 1998 with 48 teams instead of 32, meaning 104 matches rather than 64.

Seattle will play host to six of those matches, with four group matches through June culminating in a Round of 32 match on July 1 and a Round of 16 match on July 6. With the expanded field, the number of teams qualifying for those knockout games will increase from the top two finishers in each group after three group matches to the top two finishers plus the top eight of 12 third-place finishers, making a 32-team field.

This added opportunity to qualify for knockout games should only benefit the viewers in Seattle, as many of the seven unique squads set to play in the Emerald City are slated to finish second and third in their groups. While any World Cup game is special, the chances of fans showing up to a game lacking real tournament implications are quite low.

While the knockout-match teams in Seattle are obviously TBD, Belgium will take on Egypt on June 15 to kick off Seattle's run while the United States and Seattle Sounders star Cristian Roldan will play Australia on June 19. From there, Qatar will take on Bosnia & Herzegovina on June 24 before Egypt and Iran finish the group stage off on June 26.

What can fans expect to see in those matches?