World Cup Books 2018: A Literary Guide to 32 Countries

I am on a mission to find a cracking read on each of the 32 countries competing at Russia 2018. I’ve made a start below but need help with the gaps. Can you help?

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Group A

Russia: As a comprehensive guide to football across the former Eastern Bloc, the first port of call should be Behind the Curtain by Jonathan Wilson. Also, take a look at Football Dynamo by Marc Bennetts, which looks at the state of modern Russian football (published in 2008).

Uruguay: The role of Uruguay in the development of football has often been forgotten, but to get under the skin of this small South American country’s relationship with football, be sure to read Soccer in Sun and Shadow by Eduardo Galeano and ¡Golazo! by Andreas Campomar.

Egypt: This country is soccer-mad and the relationship between football and politics runs deep, as James Montague’s excellent When Friday Comes covers. Check out our podcast with James about his football travels around the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia National Football Team is a short review of the players involved. I’m not aware of any more in-depth writing.

Group B

Iran: Again, When Friday Comes has a massive section on Iran

Portugal: I couldn’t find much on the home of the 2016 European Champions, but if you speak Portuguese, A Historia do Futebol Português (The History of Portuguese Football) is a brilliant two-part series on the rise and rise of the sport by Ricardo Serrado. I interviewed him here on the history of Portuguese football. Check it out!

Spain: Unlike its Iberian neighbour, there is plenty of literature on the game in Spain. For the full story be sure to read Phil Ball’s Morbo, but to understand the biggest dynamic in Spanish football – Real Madrid v FC Barcelona – read Sid Lowe’s Fear and Loathing in La Liga.

Morocco: Feet of the Cameleon by Ian Hawkey features a chapter on Moroccan football.

Group C

France: I remember reading the excellent France Football magazine as a teen to help me in my French GCSEs (exams you take when you’re 16, for those outside the UK). I’ve struggled to find much literature apart from Football in France: A Cultural History by Geoff Hare. Any other suggestions?

Peru: Once more, Campomar’s ¡Golazo! covers the development of football in Peru, but not in great detail

Denmark:  Denmark peaked in the mid-80s and early nineties with the surprise win at Euro ’92. The story of the foundations of that team is told expertly in Danish Dynamite, one of the best football books you’ll ever read.

Australia: As someone who’s played the game in Australia at a local level, it’s been astonishing to keep tabs on the growth in popularity of the game. The Death and Life of Australian Soccer by Joe Gorman chronicles the journey of the sport from a fringe game played largely by immigrants of Mediterranean origin to an established player in a crowded sports market.

Group D

Argentina: Of all the literature around Argentina, the definitive guide is Jonathan Wilson’s Angels with Dirty Faces. Also, ¡Golazo! covers Argentina in depth.

Iceland: The best book about the astonishing rise of Icelandic football was written after Russia 2018. Listen to our interview with Matt McGinn, author of Against the Elements.

Croatia: Jonathan Wilson’s Behind the Curtain explores the Balkans in depth.

Nigeria: There’s a new book out – The History of Football in Nigeria by Wiebe Boer.

Group E

Brazil: There’s been a whole bunch written about Brazil, but Alex Bellos’ Futebol is the most comprehensive.

Switzerland: Any suggestions?

Costa Rica: El Epoca de Oro del Fútbol en Costa Rica (The Golden Age of Football in Costa Rica) by Fernando Naranjo Madrigal is in Spanish and written in the late eighties.

Serbia: Have a look at Grobar: Partizan Pleasure, Pain and Paranoia, James Moor’s story of his time in Belgrade. Also, Behind the Curtain covers Serbia.

Group F

Germany: Where start with Germany? There’s a massive modern canon to choose from, but the standouts must be Ulrich Hesse’s Tor! for the full history, Das Reboot by Raphael Honigstein tackles how German football reinvented itself after the disaster of Euro 2000, while Matchdays by Ronald Reng tells the inside story of the Bundesliga

Mexico:  This Love is Not for Cowards by Robert Andrew Powell chronicles a season with the Indios team from the dangerous city of Ciudad Juárez.

Sweden: Any suggestions?

South Korea: Published in 2020, Devon Rowcliffe’s Who Ate the Squid? looks at South Korea’s football culture.

Group G

Belgium: Any suggestions?

Panama: Goalkeeper Jaime Penedo’s Nunca Te Rindas (Never Give Up) came out this year.

Tunisia: Any suggestions?

England: Again, there is a huge canon here, mostly club- or player-specific, but to pull just two out from leftfield take a look at Hatters, Railwaymen and Knitters by Daniel Gray, which chronicles the author’s trip around some lesser-known clubs. Meanwhile, Savage Enthusiasm by Paul Brown tells the story of football fandom in England.

Group H

Poland: Ryan Hubbard’s From Partition to Solidarity covers the first 100 years of Polish football.

Senegal: Any suggestions?

Colombia: ¡Golazo! covers Colombia and El 5-0 (The 5-0), which refers to Colombia’s 5-0 win away to Argentina in a 1993 World Cup qualifier.

Japan: Sebastian Moffett’s 2002 book Japanese Rules: Japan and the Beautiful Game came out the year Japan co-hosted the World Cup and discusses how it came to embrace the game.

Other great World Cup books

The definitive guide to the entire history of the tournament should be Brian Glanville’s The Story of the World Cup, but I also recommend World in Motion by Simon Hart, All Played Out and One Night in Turin, both by Pete Davies on Italia ’90.

Of Russia 2018 absentees, John Foot’s Calcio covers Italy’s World Cup endeavours and Brilliant Orange by David Winter has plenty on the Netherlands’ unlucky World Cup record.

Any suggestions on the ones we’re missing or recommended reading?