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Simon Kuper World Cup Fever A footballing journey in nine tournaments 352pp. Profile. £20. Jonathan Wilson The Power and the Glory A new history of the World Cup 608pp. Abacus. £25. In 1994, a column

Had qualification for the World Cup been decided by population, Spain would only just have made it for the past seven tournaments. Ranked 31st by that metric, they lag behind Myanmar, Sudan and Colomb

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT THE FUTURE'S

How an enterprising consultancy firm is utilising artificial intelligence to transform the footballing fortunes of international minnows