World Cup Fever

For the Summer 2018 World Cup, the ultimate book for soccer fans around the globe!

The world will be riveted by the globe’s greatest sporting event in summer of 2018 (more than 27 million Americans watched the final game of the last tournament in Brazil). The 2018 edition will bring the sports’s greatest stars together, but who will take home the trophy?favorites Germany, France, Brazil, Argentina? Or a surprise?Belgium, Mexico, Portugal, or Colombia? And why is the World Cup the greatest event in sports?

Whether you call the game soccer or football, whether you have been watching the game for decades or are new to the joys of the beautiful game, you’ll love what Stephen Rea has to say in World Cup Fever. Born in Belfast, and now rooting for Northern Ireland and Chelsea from his home in New Orleans, he breaks down what smart fans should know about the World Cups past and present. Chapters highlight shocking upsets; immortal players such as Pelé, Maradona, Zidane, Iniesta, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, and more; and the most thrilling games from every tournament, starting with tales of the thirteen teams that played in Uruguay 1930.

With a look at the stars who will light up Russia in 2018?Lionel Messi (Argentina), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Paul Pogba (France), Neymar (Brazil), Thomas Müller (Germany)?this is the perfect read for anyone who believes that the World Cup is bigger than the Super Bowl, World Series, and Olympics combined. Often humorous and punctuated with personal anecdotes, passion, and knowledge, here is the beautiful game brought to life for every fan!

Stephen Rea is a freelance writer who has been watching the World Cup for four decades. He is originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland but has lived in New Orleans, Louisiana since 2004. A former national newspaper journalist in the UK, he penned the critically-acclaimed memoir Finn McCool’s Football Club and writes a weekly column for the official website of the English Premier League club Chelsea.

“With one boot in Belfast and the other in the Bayou, Stephen Rea writes with wit and joy in capturing his love for soccer, er, football and his unbridled excitement for the 2018 World Cup.”
?Steven Goff, Washington Post

“Rea introduces the book with a Fever Pitch style confession about his obsession with the beautiful game growing up during the ‘troubles’ in Belfast, including an anecdote about how he packed his better half off on a holiday so he could watch the World Cup finals in peace. . . . If this year’s World Cup is as entertaining as World Cup Fever we’ll all have something to cheer about.”
—First Touch Online