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

The end. The collapse. The exhaustion of 11 Arsenal players, slumping to the turf against the glittering backdrop of a Toon foil display. Mikel Arteta’s thousand-yard stare. Granit Xhaka’s chevron bro

After the FA lifted their ban on women playing at Football League grounds, England’s Lionesses played their first international in 1972 – two years later, Liz Deighan won her first cap against France

“The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.” Antonio Gramsci’s words, written in prison near Bari almost 100 years ago, ring out to us now. The politi

In spring 1953, Britain was looking forward. After the trauma of the war and its aftermath, people were no longer focused simply on surviving. Thanks in part to the postwar settlement and welfare stat

Africa Cup of Nations: a “ludicrous finale” to ...