n Lome, Togo's capital, one of the first things you notice is that football is everywhere.
On back streets flooded by the wet season's downpours, young boys chase a ball. On waste ground, teenagers splash around in the rainwater. On the long expanse of sand beside the Atlantic Ocean, clubs hold their training sessions.
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Togo are outsiders, a small West African state which many global World Cup viewers will have difficulty placing on a map.
Otto Pfister is aware of the challenges ahead, but he also knows that a football-mad country is watching, full of hope and expectation.
"It is like a religion," he told me after training. "Everybody is behind the team, from grandfather to baby. When Togo plays a game, no-one is in the street."
