Ricky is a huge England and Manchester City fan and in his exclusive column with TheFA.com, he will be giving you his thoughts during the tournament.

Here is the first installment...

Hi everyone.

I am very much looking forward to the World Cup. Every time the World Cup comes around I look forward to it, but this time more than ever.

It’s the best squad we’ve had for years. It’s been wonderful seeing Wayne Rooney kicking a ball again.

Wayne’s a great bloke. We met in a restaurant on Valentine’s Day and have spoken on a regular basis ever since. I have been out with him and his girlfriend Coleen a few times too.

He keeps joking that he’s going to come for some sparring with me. But he’ll need to ask his mum and dad’s permission first! He wants to make it for the belt but I’m not sure it will fit around his waist!

They say one man does not make a team, but I think it can. Look at Maradona in 1986. Argentina had some half-decent players but he did it on his own.

We have a great team, but the players will be even more confident now that Wayne is fit. He's that good.

He’s a great player. I have a picture of him in my games room, even though he plays for our arch rivals. As a big City fan, I can’t pay him a higher compliment than that.

We have as good a chance of winning as ever before. I think we can win it too. The expectation is really high but we always fall just short. But the squad has some extra class and that might just make a difference.

I think we can win it. You look at Brazil and Argentina, but we can match them. We have a really big chance.

I would love to be out there, but I have a few dinners and charity events coming up. I will watch some of the games in the pub with my pals and have a few beers.

My local can be quite boisterous during England games. It was wild during the Euros. There is nothing like watching England in a packed pub with a patriotic bunch.

I’m quite patriotic – I’m proud to be an Englishman. I always thank the English fans whenever I fight in America. At the moment I have Union Jacks flying out of the windows and I’ll be wearing my England shirt for the games.

I used to be quite a good footballer. I was a member of the Manchester City School of Excellence.

I was a bit like Roy Keane. I was a good tackler, very fit, was good at getting up and down the field and was a good passer of the ball. I used to go around kicking lumps out of people though!

I gave up when I was 16 after I got sent off for the fifth time. That’s not very good for schoolboy level is it?

Boxing took over. I was winning national titles and boxing for England by then.

It was my idea to have the City crest on my shorts from day one. When Sky said they were going to put me on TV, they said I had to bring some music. There was only one choice – Blue Moon!

My whole family are blue, but my brother Matt supports United. You always get one bad egg. We always have words on derby day but we have not come to blows yet.

But we will be in the pub together supporting England.

Stay logged on to TheFA.com for more from Ricky throughout the World Cup.

For more on Ricky Hatton, including information on future fights, click here for his official website.