Packed with stunning photography and expert analysis of each team, its star players and its prospects in the finals, this is essential reading for football fans everywhere. The book also features a guide to each of the stadiums and host cities, a history of the World Cup and a tournament progress chart that can be filled in as the competition progresses. No other event in the sporting world can rival the glamour, impact, fervent following and universal appeal of the World Cup - and no other tournament comes close to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Official Book. Whether you are watching the games live in Brazil or in your own home, this is the tournament preview for you.

This title takes a brief look back at the history of the World Cup, then turns to focus on Brazil, the 2014 host. Packed with information about Brazil's sporting history, cities, and stadiums, as well as the teams and players to watch out for during the tournament.

Nothing equals the sporting spectacle of the World Cup! This FIFA-endorsed guide, the only official one aimed at younger readers, contains everything kids need to become experts on the thrilling competition. Informative and accessible, it includes easy-to-follow team analyses of all 32 finalists, star player profiles, outstanding big match photographs, puzzles, games, fill-ins, and an introduction to Fuleco, the match mascot.

MATCH World Cup 2014 is the ultimate guide to the world's greatest sporting event, from the makers of Match magazine. * Profiles of every team * Features and posters of all the star players * The expected highs and lows of the tournament * Key groups and games to watch Plus the low-down on Brazil as the host nation and info on the venues -- all in time for kick off of the championship on 12 June 2014. With hundreds of photographs, maps, chats and puzzles, Match World Cup 2014 is almost as good as being there!

One of the Boston Globe’s Best Sports Books of the Year: “Incisive, heartbreaking, important and even funny” (Jeremy Schaap, New York Times–bestselling author of Cinderella Man). The people of Brazil celebrated when it was announced that they were hosting the World Cup—the world’s most-viewed athletic tournament—in 2014 and the 2016 Summer Olympics. But as the events were approaching, ordinary Brazilians were holding the country’s biggest protest marches in decades. Sports journalist Dave Zirin traveled to Brazil to find out why. In a rollicking read that travels from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro to the fabled Maracanã Stadium to the halls of power in Washington, DC, Zirin examines Brazilians’ objections to the corruption of the games they love; the toll such events take on impoverished citizens; and how taking to the streets opened up an international conversation on the culture, economics, and politics of sports. “Millions will enjoy the World Cup and Olympics, but Zirin justly reminds readers of the real human costs beyond the spectacle.” —Kirkus Reviews

Soccer, the most popular mass spectator sport in the world, has long been a site which articulates the complexities and diversities of the everyday life of the nation. The imaging and prioritization of the game as a ‘national’ or an ‘international’ event in public opinion and the media also play a critical role in transforming the soccer culture of a nation. In this context, the FIFA World Cup remains the grand spectacle for asserting the identity of the nation. This book intends to offer eclectic perspectives and discourses on the FIFA World Cup, and to throw light on the changing dimensions of football and sports culture in terms of identity, race, ethnicity, gender, fandom, governance, and so on. On the one hand, it focuses on the significance of the FIFA World Cup for nations in terms of hosting, performance, playing style, and identity formation. On the other, it looks beyond the World Cup to highlight the growing importance of a host of perspectives in sport in general and football in particular with reference to art, fandom, gender, media, and governance. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

This is the ultimate reference book on the World Cup, with match-by-match articles featuring the biggest names in world football, plus results from every game played. All the statistics are here in one volume, enough to satisfy the most avid of World Cup fans, including team line-ups, goalscorers, stadiums, referees, crowd figures and exact dates, plus an authoritative records and statistics section, as well as detailed reports of every game played in the finals. From the brilliant Italian team, winners in 1934, and Geoff Hurst's hat-trick for England in 1966 to the fabulous Brazilian team of Pele, Tostao and Jairzinho of 1970, and the 1998 French side of Zidane, Deschamps and Desailly, all the fabulous memories and defining moments are captured in this one book. As well as the facts and feats, this book contains archive photographs of some of the most memorable images of football's greatest tournament.

In anticipation of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, this celebration of Brazil's football obsession captures every angle of the game, the players, and the fans of the most beautiful game on earth. Having photographed football in Brazil for two decades, no one understands the country's passion for the sport better than Christopher Pillitz. From Brazil's sun-kissed beaches to its densely populated favelas, Pillitz reveals the sport as Brazil's religion. His bold and brightly colored photographs show players of every age and walk of life. They take readers from enormous stadiums and prison yards to the tops of tall buildings and a deep-sea oil platform; across countless streets, alleys, and highways; even inside a local seminary where longrobed monks display incredible agility playing in their cassocks. While he captures stylish kicks, athletic headers, swaying dribbles and passes, and the samba and capoeira behind the incredible moves, Pillitz also shows us the wild excitement of the colorful, eccentric fans, and, of course, he reveals the gentle side of the beautiful game--the many women footballers and fans who enjoy the sport as much as their male counterparts. Timed to coincide with Brazil's hosting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, this absorbing and thrilling collection will help new and seasoned fans understand what football truly represents to the country's people and its culture.

The Unofficial Football World Championships is probably the most exciting football competition on Earth. Its amazing story involves legendary teams and footballing minnows, classic finals and forgotten friendlies, celebrated players and unsung heroes. An alternative soccer history, Unofficial Football World Champions reveals international football's real champions and offers up a fresh perspective on the greatest game in the world. This fourth edition is fully updated for 2018.