When host country South Africa kicks off the World Cup on June 11^th in Johannesburg's Soccer City against Mexico, it will be the two teams' fourth overall match, with Mexico winning two of the previous three and scoring a total of nine goals. Maybe South Africa will open up this tournament with a surprise win and tie the head-to-head comparison against Mexico, the infamous record holder for most overall team losses (22) in a World Cup.

Will we see a rise of new soccer nations or will the usual suspects be among the final four teams?

Over four weeks, 32 teams paired in eight groups of four will play a total of 64 games in 10 stadiums, until two finalists meet on July 11^th to determine who will take home the world's most coveted soccer trophy.

Will it be five-time champion Brazil, or Italy, the current title-holder and winner of four tournaments? Could it be Germany, winner of three titles and the team with the most appearances in the last four World Cups? Or, will one of the much talked about African teams rise to the occasion on its home turf?

Will we see rise to new individual records and personality brands?

Antonio Carbajal (Mexico) and Lothar Matthäus (Germany) share the record for most tournaments played, with each of them playing at five consecutive World Cups. Lothar Matthäus holds the record for most matches played (25) at the World Cup stage.

But, will a defining moment surface for Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese squad to capture the imagination of the world, or will we see Diego Maradona's Argentine team with Diego Millito, Lionel Messi, and Carlos Tevez who take home the trophy for the first time since 1986—tying Germany for three overall World Cup wins?

Will World Cup 2010 mark the final turning point in how we watch and participate in a singular-focused global sports event?

The World Cup was first televised in 1954 and is now the most widely-viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games. The cumulative television audience of all matches of the 2006 World Cup in Germany is estimated to have been 26.29 billion, with 715.1 million individuals (a ninth of the planet's population) watching the final match (Source: Wikipedia.org).

Since 2006 we all have witnessed the rise of social media, and the coming weeks are estimated to drive record social media traffic in South Africa and around the world. When Facebook, Twitter and YouTube launched in 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively, they were in their infancy compared to the dominant position they each hold today. As of June 1, 2010, Alexa, the Web Information Company, ranks Facebook as #2, YouTube as #3 and Twitter as #11 of the Top 500 sites on the web, based on monthly traffic numbers. Social media now connects millions around the world—50 million tweets are sent daily, while Facebook boasts more than 400 million active users—a development that will allow fans to celebrate goals or critique referee decisions together online. With all the mobile applications available from Apple's AppStore, you get a clear idea of how individualized one's World Cup experience can be.

As a soccer enthusiast, I am in the final stages of mapping out my highly customized experience map, among the iPhone Apps for ESPN, Fox, the FIFA website, and of course, Foursquare—ensuring I celebrate with the right crowd at the right time, in the right bar. I don't want to mistakenly stumble into on an Aussie bar on June 13^th when Germany takes on Australia. Australia—record-holder for the most goals scored in a qualifying match on the way to a World Cup at 31. Adding fuel to the fire, Germany holds the record for the most goals scored in one World Cup Tournament, with 25 goals scored during the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland. Between friends, family and even perfect strangers, a text here and a tweet there will unite soccer fans around the world—connecting them to one of the most exciting tournaments in the history of athletic competition.

Have a wonderful 2010 World Cup. For the Game. For the World.

Thomas Mueller is the global director, dynamic media for Siegel+Gale.