Let’s be realistic. Australia is the lowest ranked of the 32 teams in the World Cup, and despite a very creditable performance in its first match against Chile, its chances of making it out of the group…
It is often said that football is the beautiful game, resistant to the kinds of doping seen in cycling, baseball or less beautiful games of the same name. Much like Australia’s confidence before its “blackest…
I’ve tried to ignore the patronising viral “Rules for Women during the World Cup” tweets, I am ignoring Facebook offers to go to a spa for “girly bubbles” to escape the football. But the idea of actually…
The section of the crowd behind the goal was awash with red and white when Switzerland took on Ecuador in their opening World Cup match. Faces were painted; many had white crosses painted onto red cheeks…
The offside rule is perhaps one of the most controversial rules ever applied to football. We only need to look to Mexico vs Cameroon on day two of the 2014 World Cup. Thank god for the 61st minute goal…
Forget Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Mario Balotelli. What will make your country more (or less) likely to succeed in the World Cup is its rate of economic growth. At this point, I expect European…
Nigeria’s World Cup campaign takes place amidst violent crises at home. The “bring back our girls” campaign following Boko Haram’s kidnapping more than 300 school girls last month has brought the militant…
While watching their national teams play in the World Cup, spectators may have their attention drawn away from the “beautiful game” on the pitch to the beautiful people off the pitch – the footballers…
For much of its more than 100-year history, Italian football has been dogged by stereotypes. It has been seen as defensive, cynical, as lacking in “fair play”. These stereotypes have often applied to Italian…
The expectation placed on Roy Hodgson’s 23-man England squad is immense – each player is representing a country that proudly boasts football as its national sport, and (rightly or wrongly) considers itself…
As a fan and professional sociologist whose main research interest is football, I spend so much of my time immersed in the sport that I should be excited about the World Cup, I know I should. And in a…
When FIFA awarded the 2014 World Cup finals to Brazil seven years ago, it looked as if the tournament would be a coming out party for the country. Now, the picture is far more mixed. It has become fashionable…
World Cup footballers will now be turning their thoughts towards those last tweaks of preparation. Most of the work will have gone in over the past weeks and months to get players into the best possible…
The football World Cup may be yet to kick off, but there have already been innumerable discussions on the various playing styles that each country will adopt. Will they play a 4-4-2, a 4-2-3-1, or a straight…
In the brouhaha surrounding Qatar winning the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, five of the World Cup’s six sponsors have raised concerns over the allegations surrounding this decision. FIFA has a total…
The “home advantage” is a well known phenomenon in sporting circles with home teams consistently winning more than 50% of sporting contests. But how exactly does playing at home help Brazil and disadvantage…
In 1863, the newly formed English Football Association (FA) drew up and published the first Laws of the Game of football. The aim was to provide a set of universal rules to govern the various forms of…
On the eve of the World Cup, football seems bigger and more dominant than ever. It’s the world’s richest, most watched and most played sport. The summer Olympics is the only sporting event able to match…
As fans from all over the world flock to Brazil to support their country’s pursuit of football’s biggest prize, there are 1,452 English and Welsh fans who won’t be joining them. These supporters are serving…
With the World Cup about to kick off, there are many out there who have no idea about the history of this long-loved sport. If you love football, you’re probably only aware of its history from recent times…