"I never imagined the World Cup coming to my city," says Héctor Solorio, who has lived in Kansas City for 26 years and supports the local Major League Soccer team, Sporting Kansas City.
Hector is thrilled to welcome the world to Kansas City and prove that it's a football city of global renown - even if he doesn't truly believe the US Men's National Team can achieve much in the tournament.
"I think it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," said fellow Kansas City resident Alejandro Cabero when asked by the BBC how he felt about his city hosting some matches.
"When I came here there was no soccer around. The KC Wizards [Sporting's previous name] had fewer than 3,000 fans. It's amazing."
Located on the banks of the Missouri River in the heartland of the United States, the Kansas City metropolitan area - which straddles the state border between both Kansas and Missouri - is home to roughly 2.5 million people, making it one of this tournament's smallest host cities.
