From the inaugural tournament in 1930 to today's 'Greatest Show on Earth', every World Cup is covered, including a preview of the 2018 finals in Russia. Holt celebrates the grace and glory of international football's greatest contest,but also examines less savoury aspects - the cheating, biting, racist chants and hooliganism. There are plenty of statistics - some conventional, others quirky, yet always revealing.Alongside detailed accounts of epic games, there are brief biographies of the heroes of the World Cup; some familiar, others less widely known. Holt analyses technical changes and advances in the game - Dutch 'total football', for example - to explain shifts in fortune, and the occasional startling result. Some common(but incorrect) assumptions are debunked, and the author radically reappraises some familiar controversies. · How did one team lose 8-3 in a group match, before going on to beat thesame opponents to win the Final?· Why are so many more players sent off in the modern game?· Which team is - and its record proves it - the archetypal 'quarter-finalteam'?· Whose last-minute goal denied France and Eric Cantona a place in the1994 finals?And was Pelé really that good? Yes, he was. For the rest, you'll have to read thebook.Biographie de l'auteurNick Holt has published a number of books on sport, music, film, and other aspects of popular culture. His particular passion is football.