Football Extra newsletter: Pat Nevin's guide to enjoying the World Cup

The bags are packed, my travel is sorted and match preparation done.

Well, maybe not all the prep but I am getting there. Getting ready to go to a World Cup working in the media is an impossible task, even if this will be my seventh. Just have a look at the blizzard of international friendlies being played this week. What can you learn, how many can you see – can you even remember what the scores were?

What about information on all the players and teams, where do you start? Every newspaper, TV programme, website, podcast and social media thread seems gushing with World Cup information and facts – or, more often, opinions dressed up as facts.

I have already met some folk suffering from "Fomo" (fear of missing out) in case the big World Cup moment happens and they aren't there to witness it.

Fortunately I learned from being a pro footballer that when there is an important competition looming, there are times when you need to relax, cut out the noise and focus on the most important things.

If we are going to really enjoy these 104 games, remember this is a marathon not a sprint.

Start easy, enjoy as much as you can and try not to get too stressed too soon – unless your own team is playing. Then, obviously all bets are off.

After giving this advice, I now have to ignore it because the first game I will be at is Scotland's opener against Haiti.

Whoever loses is essentially out of the competition after just 90 minutes. Brazil, who are among the favourites to win the competition, and Morocco, who were semi-finalists in Qatar, make up the group.

This is the dilemma for international managers; they have a long slow four-year build-up at a leisurely pace and then bang, it goes past in a blur. Decisions and plans that have been mulled over for months on end often have to be discarded in a flash.

I do feel for the coaches, they want to use every moment of their time with the players to get their messages across because they don't get them for long during the domestic campaign.

As soon as the madness starts, they are bombarded from every angle by media. Just when they need a clear head most, the world tries to cram itself into their brains.

For them the next month will be a blur.

Perhaps that's why managers can sometimes come across as curt, rude, angry or even disinterested in post-match press conferences.

They're stressed and under pressure – but they also do not want to be doing so much media.

Even though I will be at many of those pre and post-match pressers, I would still advise them to be a curt as they need to be; 99% of the reaction will be about the score and the performance on the field, not about your performance in that room.

Focus on the football!

What about a final piece of advice for the players just before one of the most momentous periods of their lives?

There are so many things you have to take on board about being in the moment, enjoying the event and taking the time to absorb the entire spectacle, all while trying to win football games.

The preparation, making sure you are at your physical best, is a given. But there is one simple action that might be of huge help right now.

Any player representing his country in an event at the centre of global interest for the entire month – yes, maybe even more than some of the grotesque wars being fought – should go to their phone and get off social media.

If something goes wrong at any moment of any game, players are in danger of being mentally destroyed by the abuse. It isn't worth taking that chance.

Almost as importantly, if you are lost in your device instead of looking around and absorbing everything, you are not bonding with your team-mates. Team spirit is a crucial thing to build within the group.

You might be asked to talk about those relationships for the rest of your life and they will be less interesting if you haven't noticed your team mates because you were lost on the socials.

Players can get their 'people' to manage their online content if they must. But my advice is not to read a thing. You will need a positive mindset and strong mental health in these life-defining moments.

The rest of us can spend as much time online as we like and there is lots of fun to be had there, I guess.

But for the players, this decision could even make the difference between success and failure.

I am usually slow to advise but hell, I am on a roll.

Referees have a hard job too with plenty of stress in the big moments. The VARs actually help most of the time, ensuring the on-pitch officials don't blow the biggest decisions that might lead to a nation losing out or the World Cup going to the wrong team.

There are many more rule tweaks this time which will add a bit of confusion, many of them related to VAR.

It can now look at second yellow cards, mistaken identity and corner kicks, among other things. Sadly, the elephant in the room is ignored yet again.

One day they will use VAR to severely punish those who cheat by obviously feigning injury. But the technology's best use still seems to be out of FIFA's myopic vision.

So any referee who does card a player for feigning injury will become an instant hero with real fans of sportsmanship.

I hope one referee takes on the role that starts the revolution. Then the authorities will finally have to acknowledge that mammoth pachyderm on the pitch.

This is my full column from this week's BBC Football Extra newsletter. Throughout the World Cup we'll be sending editions daily, landing in your inbox every morning to help guide you through the biggest and busiest version of tournament to date.

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