Soccer. No other sport in the world captivates a bigger audience--and no other competition electrifies its fans like the World Cup. Now, just in time for the 2018 World Cup, comes this updated edition of Matt Christopher's classic title, jam-packed with information about each and every World Cup ever played. Want to know who was behind the biggest surprise defeat of the 1950 tournament? It's in here. Curious about what happened to the Jules Rimet trophy when it was in England? Turn to the chapter on World Cup 1966. Want to know more about the biggest triumphs and harshest defeats, all while feeling like you're on the field with the sports legends? Wondering what the term Total Football means? You'll find the answer here--along with much, much more. With updated content reflecting changes in the world of soccer, as well as all-new chapters going further in-depth into recent tournaments and the Women's World Cup--which the US women's team has won more times than any other team in history--this new edition is sure to capture a new generation of sports fans.

With a foreword by England legend Kelly Smith, the country's all-time record goalscorer and a player widely considered one of the best to have played the game. The exciting story of one of the fastest growing sports in the world, played by over 30 million girls and women. Over 25 million people tuned in for the Americans' 2015 Women's World Cup final victory - the most-watched football match in United States history. The Making of the Women's World Cup details the most incredible tales from previous Women's World Cups, including: Carli Lloyd's 13-minute hat trick and the worldwide movement set off by 2015 How Japan made their country smile for the first time since the devastating tsunami The USA's World Cup triumph on home soil in 1999 Germany's back-to-back titles in 2003 and 2007 Marta's magic: The birth of a Brazilian icon How Kelly Smith announced her arrival with the kiss of a boot The beginnings of Australia's golden generation The 122nd-minute USA equalizer against Brazil: the quarterfinal that changed everything The dawn of the Lionesses: England joins world elite through tears of joy and despair

Zurich, 2 December 2010. Sepp Blatter pulls the name of Qatar from the envelope. The accusations fly and the recriminations start. And once it s all sunk in, we start looking at maps and temperature charts and try to scrape together any fragments of knowledge about kingdoms in the Arabian desert. The Armchair Guide looks underneath some of the myths and preconceptions and tries to provide the average fan if there s any such thing with some sound information about what a World Cup in the desert might look like. Was the bidding process corrupt? How many people actually did die building stadiums? How hot will it really be? Can I go there with my mates and have a drink anywhere? What will the legacy be both in the region and for the global game? A light-hearted, sideways glance, Armchair Guide uses stories from within and beyond the game to cover everything about the 2022 Winter World Cup. It can t boast that it will pick a winner, but it ll go some way to shedding light on football s place in a changing world.

The world is getting ready for the biggest football event in history—and this book is your all-access pass to everything you need to know.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup isn’t just another tournament. It's a revolution in football. For the first time ever, 48 teams will battle across three host countries—the United States, Canada, and Mexico. With over 104 matches spread across 16 iconic cities, this is the most ambitious and culturally rich World Cup the world has ever seen. Now you can go beyond the headlines and experience the drama, planning, history, and dreams behind the tournament. From the fierce qualification battles across continents to the political, economic, and weather-related challenges, this book captures the full scope of the global football movement.

Whether you're a die-hard fan, a casual viewer, a journalist, or a football student, this book is packed with facts, insights, and predictions that will keep you informed and entertained through every stage of the tournament buildup.

What You’ll Discover Inside:

• The First Expanded World Cup: Learn how the tournament’s jump from 32 to 48 teams changes everything—from the group stage to the final whistle.
• North America’s Historic Hosting: Explore the logistics, legacy, and power dynamics behind the first tri-nation World Cup.
• Qualification Progress Across Continents: Get updated on which teams have qualified, which are still fighting, and how each continent is navigating the path to glory.
• The Race Among Global Giants: Track how countries like Argentina, Brazil, France, and England are preparing to dominate the world stage again.
• Impact of Climate and Geography: Discover how extreme heat, altitude, and long travel distances may affect players, fans, and match outcomes.
• The Rising Stars and Aging Legends: From breakout teens to final appearances for legends—this World Cup will be full of emotional exits and new beginnings.
• Symbols, Music, and Match Ball: Meet Adidas Trionda, the official ball, and explore the theme song and remixes that give this World Cup its unique cultural sound.
• The Road to the Final: Follow the new match structure—12 groups, knockout chaos, and the brand-new Round of 32.
• The Promise and Peril of Technology: From VAR to AI analytics, this World Cup will be as digital as it is dramatic.
• Protests Against Trump and the 2026 World Cup: A Clash of Politics and Sport: Read about how protest was made against Trump on issues like immigration, travel bans, and civil rights.

This book is not only a guide—it’s a tribute to the beautiful game, its ability to unite the world, and its power to inspire every generation. Written in a clear, engaging style, The 2026 World Cup Guide delivers deep analysis without being complicated, making it the perfect companion leading up to the biggest sporting event of the decade.

If you're searching for a World Cup book that combines facts, foresight, culture, and creativity—this is it.

This book examines the most prolific international women's football tournament-the FIFA Women's World Cup-through media, fandom and how mediated women's soccer can improve on a global scale. Women's soccer has exploded in terms of media exposure, television audiences and live spectatorship. This book explores those macro-level issues, while also digging into micro-level topics such as Megan Rapinoe's celebrations and political activism, VAR reviews, LGBTQ imagery, and cultural obstacles for women's football in Central-Eastern Europe and Nigeria. Using an interdisciplinary approach, scholars look at issues through the lenses of feminist theory, cultural studies, rhetorical criticism, political economy, performative sport fandom, autoethnography, and more. Thus, the book is important reading for students, researchers and media practitioners with interests in women's soccer, gender in sports media, coverage of women's sport, and sport fandom.

England manager Gareth Southgate's decision to appoint Kane, still just twenty-three years old, as the team captain in 2017 could have been seen as premature, bringing with it pressure that could damage a young player's career. However, he knew that Kane, a modest, humble and inspiring figure was up to the task. Having lost faith in the national team, English fans weren't sure the players would even make it out of their group. No one could have predicted that this young and relatively inexperienced side would achieve their best result since 1990, or that their captain would win the tournament's Golden Boot with six goals. Perhaps most importantly for the team and their manager, they brought the country together to make for an unforgettable summer. While their eventual semi-final loss to Croatia came as a stinging disappointment, this is just the start for the team and their skipper, one of our most exciting players for a generation and a truly world-class English star. In this in-depth biography, bestselling sports writer Frank Worrall traces Kane's journey from an ordinary childhood in north London, growing up just a few miles from White Hart Lane, to the most remarkable tournament of his career.

The perfect gift for all those whose lives revolve around The Beautiful Game ...

The man works all week in the factory. The dog waits at home. On the weekend, they both watch THE MATCH on television together. Results aren't good so the dog decides to do something about it ...

With a knowing, dry humour perfect for fans of Wallace & Gromit, and a simple domestic setting, THE MATCH is the ideal gift for all football fans. Because if you aren't watching football, then reading about it is the next best thing!

A League of Their Own provides readers with a closer look at the FIFA Club World Champions, such as FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester City. Readers will catch a glimpse into the history of these clubs while also learning about the individual philosophies of some of the top coaches. This book discusses different tactical philosophies as well as how these tactical approaches have been adjusted by some of soccer's greatest coaches, such as Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Luis Enrique, and Louis van Gaal. Finally, readers will be taken through case studies of each individual team with a step-by-step analysis of how these tactical setups are successful and how they can be exploited. Each case study will provide a discussion of how each team sets up when in attack, defending, and in transition.Not only addressing how and why these tactical setups are powerful, this book also breaks down and specifies just how lesser teams can exploit the subtle weaknesses by adjusting their attacking, defending, and transition strategies. Winning the tactical battle on the pitch creates endless possibilities, and perhaps evens the playing field to continue intrigue of the game.

An all-encompassing, chronological guide to football's World Cup, one of the world's few truly international events, in good time for the June 2018 kick-off in Russia. From its beginnings in 1930 to the modern all-singing, all-dancing self-styled 'greatest show on Earth', every tournament is covered with features on major stars and great games, as well as stories about some less celebrated names and quirky stats and intriguing essays. Holt's focus is very much on what takes place on the field, rather than how football is a mirror for economic corruption, or how a nation's style of play represents a profound statement about its people, or how a passion for football can lift underpaid, socially marginalised people out of poverty. From the best World Cups, in 1958 and 1970, to the worst, in 1962 and 2010, he looks behind the facts and the technical observations to the stories: the mysterious sins of omission; critical injuries to key players; and coaching U-turns. He explains how England's World Cup achievements under Sven-Goeran Eriksson, far from being a national disgrace, were actually quite impressive, and looks at why Alf Ramsey didn't take Bobby Charlton off in 1970, but this is no parochial, jingoistic account. The book also asks why Brazil did not contribute in 1966, despite having won the previous two tournaments and going on to win the next one? Why the greatest players of their day did not always shine at the World Cup - George Best and Alfredo Di Stefano, for example, never even made it to the Finals. Why did Johann Cruyff not go to the 1978 World Cup? And why did one of Germany's greatest players never play in the World Cup? There are lots of tables, some filled with obvious, but necessary information, but others with more quirky observations. Alongside accounts of epic games, there are also brief biographies of all the great heroes of the World Cup.

The World Cup in 100 Objects tells the almost 90-year history of the world's most celebrated sporting event from a unique perspective and proudly boasts the most fascinating collection of artefacts from FIFA World Cup history. Every object tells a rich and fascinating story from one of the actual balls used in the very first FIFA World Cup final (the two teams could not agree on the match ball so supplied a ball to use in each half) and the collar of Pickles the dog, who found the stolen FIFA World Cup trophy in 1966, to Bobby Moore's shirt that he was photographed giving to Pele in the 1970 finals, and the shirt Diego Maradona wore when he scored his infamous "Hand of God" goal in 1986. Richly illustrated, authoritatively researched and expertly compiled, The World Cup in 100 Objects is produced in association with the National Football Museum (the world's leading football museum) and the official FIFA Collection. With text written by respected footballer authority Iain Spragg, this is the FIFA World Cup as never before.

'For those of you missing your football fix, anything by Michael Calvin is worth a read - the hugely respected sports journalist writes eloquently about the modern game in page turner State of Play.' DAILY MIRROR _______________________________________________________ LONGLISTED FOR THE 2018 WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD Award-winning author of The Nowhere Men, Living on the Volcano and No Hunger in Paradise returns with his magnum opus on the state of modern football First he revealed the extraordinary lives of football scouts in The Nowhere Men. Next he unearthed the pressures on football managers in Living on the Volcano. Then he chronicled the hardships of young players striving to make it in No Hunger in Paradise. Now in State of Play, in what marks the pinnacle of a career investigating the human stories of football, award-winning writer Michael Calvin turns his eye to the biggest story of all - the game itself. From mental health to money, concussion to Champions league, fan-owners to oligarchs, women's football to world cups, Calvin gets under the skin of the beautiful game, and reveals why it is truly the game of our lives. Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with leading figures around the world, from Arsene Wenger to Steven Gerrard, Calvin reveals the winners, the losers, the politics, the pleasure, the hope, and the despair of the world's most popular sport.

Qatar 2022 is an insider's view of the country's ambitious plans for the FIFA 2022 World Cup, and the journey that led them to become the first World Cup hosts in the Arab world. From desert tribes to pearl divers, to being custodians of the third-largest gas reserve in the world, there are many fascinating facets to this great nation. The book reveals how an influx of wealth transformed the country's aspirations to become a global powerhouse. To achieve recognition and regional dominance, Qatar strategically made sport its prime focus before delivering the seemingly impossible and winning the World Cup bid in 2010. There were many stumbling blocks along the way, but Qatar refused to quit. With the eyes of the world turning to Qatar for World Cup 2022, the nation realises this event will be pivotal to how the world perceives it. Knowing Qatar's ability to host events with panache, prepare to be blown away!

The sequel to The Roar of the Lionesses - named one of The Guardian's best sports books of 2016. England's Lionesses headed to France for the 2019 Women's World Cup endeavouring to improve on their third-place finish in Canada four years previously. But they didn't have the easiest of preparations, with dramas and headlines emerging for all the wrong reasons. Back home, FA upheavals brought yet another restructure of competition in women's football. The top flights switched back to a winter season, and now all the elite teams had to employ players on a full-time professional basis. While the superstars went in search of spectacular silverware, the goalposts were being moved for pros, part-timers and amateurs alike. Even women playing football for fun were forced to consider their place in the system. Carrie Dunn's Pride of the Lionesses offers a timely inside analysis of one of the UK's fastest-growing sports. Is women's football in England actually growing from top to bottom - or is it just another slick PR campaign?

Just in time for the 2018 World Cup, a lively and lyrical guide to appreciating the drama of soccer Soccer is not only the world's most popular sport; it's also one of the most widely shared forms of global culture. The Language of the Game is a passionate and engaging introduction to soccer's history, tactics, and human drama. Profiling soccer's full cast of characters--goalies and position players, referees and managers, commentators and fans--historian and soccer scholar Laurent Dubois describes how the game's low scores, relentless motion, and spectacular individual performances combine to turn each match into a unique and unpredictable story. He also shows how soccer's global reach makes it an unparalleled theater for nationalism, international conflict, and human interconnectedness. Filled with perceptive insights and stories both legendary and little known, The Language of the Game is a rewarding read for anyone seeking to understand soccer better.

We Made Them Angry is the story of Scotland's journey to and participation in the 1982 World Cup in Spain. The task for Jock Stein's men was to exorcise the demons of the disastrous campaign in Argentina in 1978. With the final squad containing some of the finest footballers playing on both sides of the border, Scotland looked in fine shape to do just that. But after a successful qualifying campaign, obstacles began to spring up. A ticketing disaster, a World Cup group draw fiasco, a threatened boycott of the tournament by the UK government due to the Falklands War, and of course there was no one better at beating Scotland than Scotland themselves. However, none of that would stop the Tartan Army from having a good time - not with Scotland stationed in the Costa del Sol. The group provided three pulsating games where the Scots faced minnows in New Zealand (who provided a shock), the world's most exciting and glamorous team in Brazil (who received a fright), and a dramatic but calamitous exit against the Soviet Union.

When a small English boy fell in love with football, his commitment to it was unlikely to wane.

As it does with everyone transfixed by its beauty, the game was destined to please, torment and frustrate him in all its imperfection. Such has been the journey of Michael Renouf - watching, supporting and obsessing over football matches since the late 1970s.

From the days of short pants and small screened black and white televisions, to international travel and attendance at the World Cup in person, this memoir spans 36 years, stretches across ten World Cups, military juntas, corrupt officials and goals impacted by the divine.

Set against the backdrop of personal, political and social change, the narrative explores what football means both within and beyond the 90 minutes on a pitch. It is a detailed, stunning - and occasionally humorous - account, blending life and football into one.

Fifty years on, the ultimate football and World Cup legend Sir Bobby Charlton looks back on England's greatest sporting triumph Wembley, 1966. England wins the World Cup to roars of a euphoric home crowd. Sir Bobby Charlton, England's greatest ever player, was there on the pitch. Now, half a century on, he looks back on the most glorious moment of his life and England's greatest sporting achievement. In 1966, he takes us through the build-up to the tournament and to the final itself - what he saw, what he heard, what he felt. He tells us what it was like to be part of Sir Alf Ramsey's team, his memories of his teammates, the matches, the atmosphere; the emotion of being carried on the wave of a nation's euphoria and how it felt to go toe-to-toe with some of the foremost footballers to ever play the game. His life has been forever defined by a single moment: one day when a man stood side-by-side with his best friends, united in a single aim in front of a watching nation. This is his story. 'It's gripping stuff... This is a mellow book, the product of many years' contemplation, and emotional in a way that may surprise you...He has a wonderful story to tell' Daily Mail

1966 was an iconic year in an incredible decade. The Beatles were at the height of their fame, programmes such as Ready Steady Go! and Top of the Pops dominated the television screen, and England won the World Cup in nail-biting fashion against West Germany at Wembley. For those of us who were around during this incredible year it still seems like yesterday. But now, fifty years later, this collection of memories by bestselling author Paul Feeney will be enjoyed by anyone who lived through 1966.

For a small footballing nation, Scotland boasts a proud record of having qualified for the World Cup Finals on eight occasions. But this fantastic record is also tarred with the glorious failure of never having reached the latter stages of the tournament. Scotland '74 is a bitter-sweet celebration of the closest Scotland has ever got - so far at least - when a team of superstars managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the dying seconds. Forty years on, it still hurts. For Scotland, the World Cup Finals in West Germany in 1974 promised much. Group 2 had a talented Brazil side with Jairzinho, Rivelino and Cesar, a hard-to-pronounce Yugoslavia line-up and group minnows Zaire. But the Scotland squad boasted household names like Billy Bremner, Kenny Dalglish, Denis Law, Peter Lorimer and Joe Jordan. How could Scotland not get to the second phase of the tournament for the very first time? Well, this is the story of how, astonishingly, it just didn't happen - even though Scotland ended up as the only unbeaten team in the tournament.As history tells us, 1974 was a massive missed opportunity for Scotland, and Richard Gordon now reveals how it all went wrong in the days before the shambles of Argentina '78 and the 3-0 humbling by Morocco in 1998. Drawing on archive reports and the memories of squad members, Scotland '74 relates the story of that big adventure, encompassing a shocking start to manager Willie Ormond's reign (a 5-0 beating by England), frequent player indiscipline, and, ultimately, the on-field heartbreak that left a nation in mourning for a lost opportunity.

The Big Fix gives the first detailed account of how South Africa paid $10 million to secure the 2010 World Cup.

Between June and July 2010, 64 games of football determined that Spain was the world’s best team at the World Cup in South Africa. South Africans – and the world – celebrated a brilliantly hosted tournament where everything worked like clockwork and the stands were packed with vuvuzela‐wielding fans. But the truth was not yet known. Behind this significant national achievement lay years of corporate skulduggery, crooked companies rigging tenders and match fixing involving the national team. As late as 2015 it was revealed that the tournament’s very foundations were corrupt when evidence emerged that South Africa had encouraged FIFA to pay money to a bent official in the Caribbean to buy three votes in its favour. As Sepp Blatter’s FIFA edifice crumbled, a web of transactions from New York to Trinidad and Tobago showed how money was diverted to allow South Africa’s bid to host the tournament to succeed.

In The Big Fix: How South Africa Stole The 2010 World Cup, Ray Hartley reveals the story of an epic national achievement and the people who undermined it in pursuit of their own interests. It is the real story of the 2010 World Cup.

Books on the World Cup fall into two types: some are weighty, detailed and reasonably accurate but inaccessible, for the most hardcore of fans only; others are funny, easy to read and a great introduction but pack little punch and leave plenty of stones unturned. There is nothing in the middle. But why not? What if there were something which both World Cup veterans and novices could pick up and enjoy, with all the info and all the drama, all the stats and all the weirdest incidents? There is now. This series of books covers both bases: it looks at every single match of every single tournament in more detail than ever before, not missing a single kick; but it also searches out the fascinating, the extraordinary, the memorable, and brings them out of the text, highlighting the pick of the action. This volume takes in Spain's glorious triumph in South Africa in 2010 and previews this summer's extravaganza in Brazil. It also includes all-time team selections for all the World Cup's most successful nations.

Books on the World Cup fall into two types: some are weighty, detailed and reasonably accurate but inaccessible, for the most hardcore of fans only; others are funny, easy to read and a great introduction but pack little punch and leave plenty of stones unturned. There is nothing in the middle. But why not? What if there were something which both World Cup veterans and novices could pick up and enjoy, with all the info and all the drama, all the stats and all the weirdest incidents? There is now. This series of books covers both bases: it looks at every single match of every single tournament in more detail than ever before, not missing a single kick; but it also searches out the fascinating, the extraordinary, the memorable, and brings them out of the text, highlighting the pick of the action. This volume looks at the three World Cups from 1970 to 1978, as colour TV brought the watching millions the great Brazilians of 1970, the Total Football of Johan Cruyff's Holland and a new World Cup trophy.