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ESM Team of the Month – October 2021

Jamie Evans — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 16:53:37 GMT

ESM XI – October 2021 Votes: Edouard Mendy (Chelsea, 5 votes) Reece James (Chelsea, 3 votes) Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli, 8 votes) Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea, 4 votes) Ben Chilwell (Chelsea, 4 votes) Mikel Merino (Real Sociedad, 4 votes) Jorginho (Chelsea, 3 votes) Phil Foden (Manchester City, 3 votes) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, 13 votes) Robert Lewandowski (Bayern […]

World Soccer December 2021 – Available Now

Jamie Evans — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 15:28:10 GMT

World Soccer December 2021 is now available to buy online and in shops. From the Editor In the latest issue of World Soccer, players going out of their comfort zones is a recurring theme. We speak to Ryan Gauld who, after leaving Scotland as a teenager for Portugal, is now embarking on a new journey in Major League […]

World Soccer November 2021 – Available Now

Sam Straw — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 08:00:59 GMT

ESM Team of the Month – September 2021

Jamie Evans — Thu, 21 Oct 2021 12:25:18 GMT

ESM XI – September 2021 Votes: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich, 3 votes) Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain, 8 votes) Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli, 8 votes) Ruben Dias (Manchester City, 5 votes) Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich, 4 votes) Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich, 8 votes) Nicolo Barella (Internazionale, 4 votes) Idrissa Gueye (Paris Saint-Germain, 4 votes) Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, […]

World Soccer Presents: Iconic Teams – Available Now

Jamie Evans — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 10:23:44 GMT

In 2007, World Soccer called upon a panel of experts and correspondents to compile a list of the 20 greatest teams of all time. Glancing through it, one of the most striking things is how many of those sides fell short of their ultimate objective, stumbling at the final hurdle due to bad luck or […]

Vote: Who’s the greatest manager of all time?

Sam Straw — Tue, 10 Aug 2021 05:00:07 GMT

Juventus keen to sell Aaron Ramsey

Sam Straw — Tue, 27 Jul 2021 13:15:10 GMT

Manchester United edge closer to signing Raphael Varane from Real Madrid

Sam Straw — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 14:48:41 GMT

Top ten most expensive Premier League transfers ever as Jadon Sancho joins Manchester United

Sam Straw — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 14:14:42 GMT

Reports link Harry Kane with £160 million move to Manchester City

Sam Straw — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 10:53:58 GMT

My favourite game: Argentina v Iran, 2014 World Cup

Francisco Navas — Sun, 10 May 2020 10:59:23 GMT

My dad and I went from despair and frustration to pandemonium after Lionel Messi struck in style at the death

The Argentinian radio journalist Alejandro Fantino shouted “We are a disaster” in the 89th minute. He was right. The match that most had expected to be a rout was turning into a historic upset.

Argentina were as bad as Iran were good. Gonzalo Higuaín, Sergio Agüero and Ángel Di María were not working as a front three while the Asian champions were performing especially well at the back. Carlos Queiroz, Iran’s manager, appeared to have perfected the defensive formula that had plagued Argentina during the qualifiers: a parked bus and Lionel Messi well under control.

Which is the best World Cup ever? Rating contenders from 1954 to 2014

Guardian readers and Paul Campbell — Fri, 13 Jul 2018 11:50:59 GMT

Before things kicked off in Russia we asked you to reminisce about your favourite World Cups. You did not disappoint

The Miracle of Bern. Germany weren’t meant to get very far. German players were all still technically amateurs. Hungary were the Goliaths of world football, having gone undefeated for four years, including beating England – the self-ascribed “inventors of football” – 6-3 the year before and 7–1 just before the World Cup. Hungary beat Germany 8-3 in the round robin, so no one expected Germany to have a chance in the final. Removable cleats were used for the first time, which may have helped in a torrential downpour durijng the final. They made a movie of it. It was Germany’s first World Cup win and it revived the nation after the second world war. It also launched German football on a successful path for the years to come. A Germany fan

Germany’s early demise eases Brazil supporters’ recurring nightmare

Thiago Rabelo — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 19:51:54 GMT

Wounds from 7-1 thrashing in 2014 semi-final have not healed and fans of Seleção are greatly relieved by Germany’s shock exit

Every day is a different 7-1. This is an expression that became popular in Brazil after 2014, to talk about daily problems or a bad surprise. It is one of many jokes made by a nation which likes to make fun about its problems. It is a way to escape, or forget, the defeat by Germany in 2014, when Brazil hosted the World Cup and the world was left in shock.

The pain of 8 July 2014 is still raw four years later. Six members of the Germany side that thrashed Brazil also played in their humbling by South Korea: the goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, the defender Mats Hummels and the midfielders Sami Khedira, Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller and Mesut Özil. Jérôme Boateng, Hummels’s central defensive partner, would have played if he had not been suspended.

‘On the pitch there was a divide’: tales behind England’s World Cup failures

Simon Burnton — Tue, 12 Jun 2018 22:27:33 GMT

Before kick-off in Russia, England squad members from each World Cup since 1998 reflect on key lessons to be learned

Knocked out by Argentina on penalties in last 16

World Cup stunning moments: the 1966 World Cup

Scott Murray — Thu, 24 May 2018 09:00:36 GMT

Random tales from the 1966 tournament that have absolutely nothing to do with Azerbaijani linesmen, Kenneth Wolstenholme or Pickles the Dog

1. The branding for the 1966 Football World Championship for the Jules Rimet Trophy was all over the shop. But at least Fifa were trying. The 1966 finals was the first to be blessed with a mascot, a small lion wearing a union jack shirt walking along with its eyes narrowed to the point of being totally shut. A myopic nationalist, who’d have thought it. Willie was the creation of the freelance artist Reg Hoye, who had first considered “a little man in a bowler hat” and “a man in a cloth cap” but wished to steer clear of class issues. “I don’t think the result’s pompous,” he insisted, “it’s just to show that we’re not as clapped out as some people think we are.” Hoye was paid a flat fee for his work while the FA creamed off all the profits from the various tat bearing Willie’s grinning boat. “The enormous success of Willie has not made Mr Hoye bitter,” reported the Guardian. “Only a little unhappy.”

2. Our man Eric Todd’s column on the opening morning of the “eighth World Cup final series” was a remarkably prescient piece of writing. “I believe that the vacillations of temperament will play a crucial part,” he predicted. “Certainly they will be awaited with trepidation in some quarters and with undisguised relish in others where ugly scenes are the beginning, the middle and the end of any football match. Is it too much to hope that no player will be sent off, carried off, or escorted off? … Not every guest will be well behaved, and I have no doubt at all that somewhere along the line discipline, judgment and manners, on and off the field, will be set aside.”

World Cup stunning moments: Italy shocked by South Korea in 2002 | Paolo Bandini

Nicky Bandini — Mon, 21 May 2018 10:39:54 GMT

The Azzurri’s controversial second-round defeat in Daejeon was just the start of a barely believable series of events

Francesco Janich felt the first tomato fly past his head. Drunk on cognac and disoriented by the darkness as he stumbled down onto the tarmac at Genoa’s Christopher Columbus airport at around 3.40am on 22 July, 1966, the defender could not immediately identify the fruit but he did know one thing: “It definitely wasn’t fresh”.

Three days earlier, Janich had been part of the Italy side that lost 1-0 to North Korea at Ayresome Park – crashing out of the World Cup in the process. Embarrassed and fearful of a backlash from supporters, administrators did their best to conceal plans for the journey home. As well as pushing the team’s return flight back to the most antisocial hour possible, they refused to disclose which city they would land into.

World Cup stunning moments: the Miracle of Bern

John Ashdown — Thu, 03 May 2018 09:42:38 GMT

Hungary were unbeaten in four years. West Germany had no chance. Yet in the 1954 final the underdogs produced one of the great World Cup shocks

The rain was teeming down in Bern and Hungary were about to win the World Cup. Ferenc Puskas had put the Mighty Magyars ahead after six minutes and Zoltan Czibor had doubled the advantage after eight. They were 2-0 up inside 10 minutes and they had not lost in four years. They were 2-0 up inside 10 minutes against a team that they had beaten 8-3 barely a fortnight earlier. They were 2-0 up inside 10 minutes against a side who, four years earlier, did not even exist.

What unfolded over the next 80 minutes, if you subscribe to the more romantic interpretations, created one country and fanned the flames of a revolution in another. Even the most mundane reading of events would still need to use the phrase “greatest comeback ever seen in a World Cup final”. Hungary were 2-0 up inside 10 minutes but it was West Germany who were about to win the World Cup.

World Cup stunning moments: Haiti shock Dino Zoff's Italy | Simon Burnton

Simon Burnton — Thu, 26 Apr 2018 08:49:21 GMT

Italy should have seen off Haiti with ease in 1974 but the group game burst into life through the unheralded Emmanuel Sanon …

The win-or-bust, tension-ratcheting final rounds of the World Cup allow memorable moments and dramatic sub-plots to breed like bacteria on a soggy handkerchief. Italy v Haiti, however, was the opening game of Group Four, a match which the heavy favourites won by a two-goal margin. And yet it was a day when one man rose into legend and another crashed into infamy; an afternoon knitted with spectacular yarns and statistical curiosities and embellished with one of the sport’s most controversial substitutions.

We should start, though, with qualification, a process through which one side sailed with record-breaking ease, while the other relied on officiating so blatantly biased it would leave the Eurovision Song Contest with a frog in its throat.

World Cup stunning moments: Dennis Bergkamp's wonder goal | Rob Smyth

Rob Smyth — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 08:59:07 GMT

On 4 July 1998 the forward took three divine touches, scored the perfect goal and sent the Netherlands into the semi-finals

Bobby Moore never got a bathmat wet in his life. Mike Summerbee, who sometimes shared a room with Moore on England trips, said he was “the only man who could have a bath and get out dry”. Moore would flick the water off one leg, dry that with a towel and then step out on to the dry leg, before continuing the process with the rest of his body. Moore’s routine will come as no surprise to those who watched his immaculate, pristine defending. Nor will the fact that he brought such meticulousness to his wardrobe, where jumpers were hung up in order from dark to light. “It was,” says his first wife Tina in Bobby Moore: By The Person Who Knew Him Best, “almost an aesthetic pleasure to open the wardrobe.”

The fastidiousness demonstrated by Moore is one of the sub-genres of perfectionism within football. There’s also the impossible, self-torturing expectations of perfectionist-winners such as Soren Lerby and Roy Keane, whose business face should be the subject of a modernist painting entitled simply: ‘Standards’. Other significant manifestations include the perfection-making practice of forces of nurture like Peter Shilton or Cristiano Ronaldo, Spain’s obsessive-compulsive tiki-taka and Pep Guardiola’s need for control, and the artistic leanings of players like Eric Cantona and Dimitar Berbatov.

World Cup stunning moments: Mussolini's blackshirts' 1938 win

Simon Martin — Thu, 05 Apr 2018 12:20:05 GMT

In 1938 Italy went to France and shrugged off protests and wild unpopularity to successfully defend their World Cup crown

The critical moment was … when our players raised their hands to give the fascist salute … I entered the stadium with our players, lined-up military style, and stood on the right. At the salute we predictably met with a solemn and deafening barrage of whistles, insults and remarks. It seemed like we were in Italy so much did the expressions resound of our idioms and dialects. How long that rumpus lasted I couldn’t say. I was rigid, with an arm outstretched horizontally I couldn’t check the time. The German referee and Norwegian players looked at us worriedly. At a certain point the hullabaloo began to die down and then ceased … We had just put our hands down and the violent demonstration started again. Straight away: “Team be ready. Salute.” And we raised our hands again, to confirm we had no fear … Having won the battle of intimidation, we played.

The recollection of Italy’s 1938 World Cup first-round match with Norway by the national team coach Vittorio Pozzo encapsulated fascism’s single-minded, uncompromising approach to retaining the trophy it had won at home four years earlier.

World Cup stunning moments: Andrés Escobar's deadly own goal | Barry Glendenning

Barry Glendenning — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 12:49:09 GMT

An own goal at USA 94 led to horrific ramifications for Colombia’s captain, who paid the heaviest of prices for the failings of society as much as his national team

Life doesn’t end here. We have to go on. Life cannot end here. No matter how difficult, we must stand back up. We only have two options: either allow anger to paralyse us and the violence continues, or we overcome and try our best to help others. It’s our choice. Let us please maintain respect. My warmest regards to everyone. It’s been a most amazing and rare experience. We’ll see each other again soon because life does not end here”

Colombia captain Andrés Escobar writes in Bogota’s El Tiempe newspaper following his country’s elimination from USA 1994.

World Cup stunning moments: Cameroon shock Argentina in 1990

Simon Burnton — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 15:30:11 GMT

François Omam-Biyik’s goal and an unheralded team of journeymen defeated Diego Maradona’s world champions

Of the great World Cup upsets – the USA’s victory over England in 1950, North Korea’s over Italy in 1966 and Algeria’s over West Germany in 1982 probably push it close – this one stands alone in myth and memory. It was not a perfect match but it was an irresistible narrative, as the World Cup champions, led by the great Diego Maradona, were vanquished by an unheralded team largely assembled of journeymen players from the French lower divisions – though for some of them even that was either an impossible dream or a distant memory.

In the space of 90 minutes African football, once derided for being all about juju magic and Zairian defenders with a limited grasp of free-kick regulations, became credible. The result was celebrated not only in Cameroon, where impromptu street parties erupted across the nation and a reporter from the Telegraph wrote, intriguingly, that “a lady in a floral dress and turban did a hand-stand”, but across Africa and beyond. When they were finally knocked out a woman in Bangladesh committed suicide, writing that “the elimination of Cameroon means the end of my life”.

World Cup draw cock-ups: dropouts, dropped balls and dresses

Richard Foster — Wed, 29 Nov 2017 14:00:01 GMT

Dividing teams into groups for a football tournament should be easy but nothing is ever simple when Fifa is in charge

By Richard Foster for The Agony and the Ecstasy of the Guardian Sport Network

Gary Lineker has faced accusations of hypocrisy after condemning Fifa as a “revolting organisation” and then agreeing to co-host its World Cup draw in Moscow on Friday. Lineker is not the first person to have found participating in the ceremony an awkward experience.

The practice of inviting celebrities began at the 1990 World Cup, when Luciano Pavarotti and Sophia Loren were among the famous faces onstage in Rome. Four years later, Franz Beckenbauer was joined in Las Vegas by Evander Holyfield and Robin Williams, who played the whole thing for laughs, pulling on a glove like an overly enthusiastic doctor and instructing Sepp Blatter to “turn your head to the side and cough”.

Concussion protocols at 2014 World Cup failed Fifa standards, study finds

Nicola Davis — Tue, 27 Jun 2017 16:09:21 GMT

Almost two-thirds of head collision incidents at the tournament were not followed by players being assessed on the sidelines by medical professionals

Head collisions experienced by footballers during the 2014 World Cup were not tackled according to Fifa’s own standards, research has revealed.

A team of doctors from Canada have found that after almost two-thirds of the head collision events that occurred during the tournament, the players involved did not receive an assessment on the sidelines by healthcare personnel.

Latest Russia allegations raise big questions for Fifa – and football | Sean Ingle

Sean Ingle — Sun, 25 Jun 2017 18:13:34 GMT

Fifa must deprive Russia from staging next year’s World Cup if possible doping offences by the country’s 2014 World Cup squad are found to be true

Of course there were denials. There are always denials. It is part of the dance, the fast‑paced barynya, when it comes to Russia and doping allegations. No sooner had the Mail on Sunday revealed that the country’s entire 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup was under investigation by Fifa for possible doping offences, than its deputy prime minister, and chairman of 2018 World Cup Russia, Vatily Mutko, put up the shutters. “There have never been and will never be any problems with doping in our football,” he said. “They have written some sort of nonsense.” He was similarly dismissive about allegations about doping in Russian athletics in 2013. So it goes.

This, of course, is the same Mutko that a World Anti-Doping Agency investigation found might have personally intervened to cover up a failed drug test by a banned foreign footballer, which meant the sample was never declared positive and he was free to keep playing. And the same Mutko who was Russia’s sports minister during the period when the Canadian law professor Richard McLaren found that more than 1,000 elite Russian athletes across 30 sports had benefited from a state-sponsored doping programme. Strangely it did not harm his political career. In fact he was promoted.

Farewell Philipp Lahm, the man who won it all and left as a champion

Jason Humphreys — Thu, 18 May 2017 15:02:28 GMT

Philipp Lahm has won eight Bundesliga titles, six German cups, the Champions League and the World Cup. Now he is going out at the top

By Jason Humphreys for Englische Woche, part of the Guardian Sport Network

It’s 18:06 on Friday 20 June 2006 and 66,000 people, mostly clad in Germany colours, have packed into Munich’s shiny new Allianz Arena on a warm evening to watch the first match of the World Cup. The crowd is bouncing, buoyed by the home team’s tenacious start and still drawing breath following a 30-yard shot from Thorsten Frings that narrowly missed the net. Noise levels begin to swell again as Philipp Lahm picks up a loose ball wide on the left. He is faced with two Costa Rica defenders. Bastian Schweinsteiger is offering the overlap, but Lahm drops his right shoulder and shifts the ball inside quickly with his right foot, leaving Danny Fonseca on his backside.

The Costa Rica player lands heavily and, as he glances over his shoulder, the next thing he sees is Lahm opening up his body and winding back his right foot. Lahm blasts the ball past everyone in the area and into the top right corner, the ball kissing the post on its way in. Six minutes in, and the first chapter of Germany’s Sommermärchen has been written. Lahm was an instrumental and respected footballer but, even in that moment, as he scored the opening goal at a World Cup in his home city, few of the millions watching would have predicted just how important he would become for his club and country over the next decade.

Stadium deals, corruption and bribery: the questions at the heart of Brazil’s Olympic and World Cup ‘miracle’

Jamil Chade — Sun, 23 Apr 2017 08:00:08 GMT

The two mega-events were framed as a reason for Brazilians to be proud of a modern and forward-looking country; instead the economy has been shattered and a supreme court investigation keeps unearthing unsavoury allegations

With their hands up in the air, ministers, four-star generals and International Olympic Committee officials danced to famous samba tunes at the closing ceremony of the Rio Games last August. While carnival was taking over the Maracanã Stadium, politicians hugged each other in the VIP area. It was a moment of relief, after seven years of tension and controversies. The confetti falling over their heads served as a curtain, closing the Rio 2016 Olympics on a high note.

But the drums could not hush up the investigations into allegations of massive bribes related to the two sport events – the World Cup and the Olympics – that were to be used as a joint endeavour to present to the world a new image of Brazil: a modern country, sophisticated and, above all, responsible.

Home and Away: Writing the Beautiful Game by Karl Ove Knausgaard and Fredrik Ekelund – digested read

John Crace — Sun, 06 Nov 2016 17:00:21 GMT

‘My ideal football match is one locked at 0-0 after 24 hours with more than half the players having died of exhaustion’

Dear Karl, I’ve landed now. As ever, my senses felt overloaded. Life and death is very close in Rio. Just off to the Copacabana beach for a swim. Can’t wait for the World Cup to begin.

Dear Fredrik, I’m sorry not to have replied sooner but I was asleep when your email arrived. I then had to get up and make breakfast for the children because Linda is away. It is enormously irritating to have to deal with the kids when I have so much of importance to write. But to business. I am smoking my third cigarette of the day and I find my thoughts are not entirely dissimilar to those I was having when I smoked the second, namely that I am quite happy to watch the World Cup on TV here in Sweden while you are in Rio. It also occurs to me that we might be able to turn the emails into a book so that we can get paid for doing what we were going to do anyway. By the way, I rather want Argentina to win. I have always admired their nihilism.

England under Roy Hodgson – in pictures

Jim Powell — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 09:52:42 GMT

From his appointment in 2012, through three international tournaments ending with the humiliating defeat to Iceland at Euro 2016, we take a look back at Roy Hodgson’s England reign

Rio de Janeiro: Extreme City by Luiz Eduardo Soares – review

John Kampfner — Mon, 23 May 2016 06:30:05 GMT

This political history of Rio reveals a city still in the grip of its violent past

It wasn’t so long ago that Brazil was the shining light. For a decade this was the emerging economy that everyone envied, a country with many problems, for sure, but a vibrant democracy, endlessly cool with entrepreneurship possibilities. Now, with months to go before it hosts the Olympics, the country is in chaos; the Rio 2016 infrastructure and political system in a mess. President Dilma Rousseff is on the verge of impeachment. Supporters and detractors take to the streets.

Luiz Eduardo Soares is well placed to explain and illustrate. A political scientist, activist and briefly national security chief, he casts a melancholic gaze at Brazil’s most famous city, Rio de Janeiro – “Extreme City”, as he labels it in the subtitle.

Mario Balotelli and fiancee Fanny Neguesha jet-ski in Miami

Sun, 25 Jan 2015 14:42:39 GMT

Former Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has ignored all of the furore caused by him posing with what appeared to be a gun on Instagram by going jet-skiing with his fiancee Fanny Neguesha.

Germany 1-0 Argentina: Mario Gotze scores World Cup winner for Germans in extra-time

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 14:39:23 GMT

MARTIN SAMUEL AT THE MARACANA: The perfect team versus the perfect superstar that was the narrative here. On one side Die National Mannschaft, on the other Lionel Messi. Yet football has a way of confounding such expectation. Mario Gotze scored a team goal, true, but with a level of technique that would have won Messi the Golden Ball had it come from his foot.

Germany 1-0 Argentina: Mario Gotze scores World Cup winner for Germans in extra-time

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 14:39:23 GMT

Bastian Schweinsteiger targeting Euro 2016 glory for Germany after lifting World Cup

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 12:33:46 GMT

Bastian Schweinsteiger is targeting further glory with Germany after finally winning his first major trophy with the national side. Schweinsteiger had become used to just coming up short in major tournaments.

Gary Neville admits England cannot copy Germany's model as FA look for solution

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 11:01:10 GMT

Gary Neville had barely digested his first breakfast under the new world order when he waded into an online debate with those who thought England should simply try to copy the way Germany produce footballers.

Messi and Rodriguez eat your heart out... Watch amazing footage of football freestylers on special bouncy pitch

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 10:50:37 GMT

SPONSORED: Lionel Messi and James Rodriguez have lit up the summer with their silky skills and fabulous flair... but back home these football freestylers have impressed on a special pitch in east London.

Rihanna celebrates Germany World Cup win vs Argentina by flashing bra

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 08:37:12 GMT

There's nothing better than your country winning the World Cup, but Barbadian singer Rihanna seemed more than happy after Germany beat Argentina.

Luiz Felipe Scolari QUITS Brazil manager job after World Cup host nation humiliation

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 08:36:41 GMT

Luiz Felipe Scolari quit as manager of Brazil after the host nation tasted their first back-to-back defeats on home soil since 1940 during a humiliating World Cup.

Lukas Podolski takes the captain's seat as Germany wing their way home

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 08:34:17 GMT

Philipp Lahm was Germany's intrepid leader on the pitch but Lukas Podolski was leading them home to their inevitable rapturous reception in Berlin.

England's early World Cup exit couldn't ruin a brilliant football party that surpassed all expectations... I can't wait for the next one

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 08:32:16 GMT

BRIAN BARWICK: This has been a hugely enjoyable World Cup for viewers and one that England’s early exit failed to diminish.

Lionel Messi's golden ball award shocked Diego Maradona and Sepp Blatter

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 08:27:54 GMT

Lionel Messi's crowning as the World Cup's outstanding player shocked some prominent figures, but without his individual brilliance Argentina's goals dried up.

Lionel Messi welcomed home by Argentina President as Diego Maradona says heir to his throne didn't deserve Golden Ball award

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 08:20:12 GMT

Diego Maradona took a swipe at Lionel Messi the day after his World Cup heartache by insisting the heir to his throne didn't deserve to win the Golden Ball award.

Lukas Podolski, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Co relax on hotel balcony with the World Cup trophy and sign autographs for locals

Tue, 15 Jul 2014 01:08:51 GMT

Germany's World Cup-winning stars were letting their heroics at the Maracana sink in on Monday as they relaxed at their Rio de Janeiro hotel with their ultimate prize.

Arsenal are World Cup kings! Gunners boast most winners after Germany beat Argentina

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 22:16:47 GMT

There will have been plenty of Arsenal fans cheering on Germany on Sunday evening, attempting to share in the triumph of a World Cup win that seems to edge further away from England's dreams.

Ray Whelan turns himself in as World Cup ticket fugitive surrenders to Brazil court

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 21:36:12 GMT

Ray Whelan, the English director of FIFA's official ticket and hospitality partners MATCH, is in police custody after handing himself in to a judge in Rio de Janeiro several days after being declared 'a fugitive' by police investigating a ticket touting ring.

Germany celebrate World Cup victory as Angela Merkel joins dressing room party

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 16:53:28 GMT

It was party time for Germany after clinching their fourth World Cup with a 1-0 extra-time victory over Argentina in the final on Sunday.

Fred retires from international football after Brazil's dismal World Cup showing

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 15:25:46 GMT

Fred has retired from international football at the age of 30 after Brazil's disappointing World Cup campaign came to an end. He scored 18 goals in 39 games.

Lionel Messi should not be Argentina's scapegoat after World Cup 2014 final loss, says Jose Mourinho

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 15:15:01 GMT

Jose Mourinho says Lionel Messi should not be considered the scapegoat after Argentina's World Cup final defeat to Germany.

GERMANY 1-0 ARGENTINA PLAYER RATINGS: Bastian Schweinsteiger is Germany's heartbeat

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 14:01:31 GMT

MARTIN KEOWN: The World Cup final can be the best occasion of a footballer's life, or the worst if they crumble under the pressure.

World Cup stats: The best 20 from Brazil 2014, including Lionel Messi's three shots on target

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 13:33:56 GMT

And then there was one, Germany the winners of Brazil 2014 following their victory over Argentina in the final at the Maracana. But what about the other numbers to emerge from the finals?

Mario Gotze progresses from Germany's wunderkind to national hero after World Cup final winning goal

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 13:23:50 GMT

Mario Gotze may look like he is not long out of babygrow lederhosen but his status as Germany’s wunderkind has been established for some considerable time.

Bastian Schweinsteiger led Germany to World Cup glory with robot-like precision in midfield

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 13:02:12 GMT

SAM CUNNINGHAM: Blood oozed from the cut beneath his right eye. The wound was so deep that the bright red claret streamed down his protruding right cheek.

World Cup 2014 in Brazil may have been the best ever... here's 10 reasons why

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 12:54:08 GMT

It was a World Cup full of stunning goals, epic entertainment, brilliant performances and many shocks. Sportsmail's Chris Wheeler reflects on Brazil 2014 and lists 10 reasons why it was the best ever.

BBC shades the battle of the montages with ITV in World Cup 2014

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 12:33:30 GMT

They are the bits of tournament television coverage we love to watch but which we also dread, and in the battle of the World Cup 2014 montages BBC just shaded it over ITV.

James Rodriguez wins World Cup Golden Boot as Thomas Muller fails to score for Germany

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 11:48:06 GMT

Despite playing just five games at the World Cup, Colombia's star James Rodriguez won the Golden Boot with six goals.

Mike Ingham bows out after 30 years at the BBC on the biggest stage of all at World Cup final in Brazil

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 11:00:58 GMT

MARK WEBSTER: Mike Ingham, a familiar voice on BBC Radio 5 Live for three decades, delivered his last commentary as Germany beat Argentina to win the World Cup on Sunday night. As ever, he found the right words for the occasion.

Germany WAGs congratulate their men after winning World Cup 2014 at Maracana in Rio

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 09:45:52 GMT

As the Germany players celebrated their World Cup victory, their WAGs could not resist joining the on-field party at the Maracana.

David Beckham and his boys at the Maracana for World Cup 2014 final

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 09:42:04 GMT

David Beckham and his three boys were at the Maracana to take in the World Cup final on Sunday night - and there was no doubting which side they were supporting. Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz were all kitted out in Argentina shirts as they took on Germany for the greatest prize in world football.

Gary Lineker's helicopter entrance and smart suit fronted BBC's excellent World Cup final coverage - but Adrian Chiles' long trousers and smile did well on ITV too

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 08:55:37 GMT

BRIAN BARWICK: And so to Match 64, or the World Cup Final as you and I call it. And the two teams are rested, recuperated, and ready for ‘the big one’.

World Cup highlights 2014: Robin van Persie's header to Luis Suarez's bite and James Rodriguez's goal

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 08:38:31 GMT

It has been a month of high drama, stunning goals and a fair share of controversy. And with the World Cup over, Sportsmail asked its experts how they will best remember Brazil 2014.

Nicola Rizzoli handled World Cup final well... though Sergio Aguero was lucky to stay on the pitch

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 08:22:16 GMT

GRAHAM POLL: Nicola Rizzoli will be able to look back on this final with pride as he performed well as did both of his assistants in a tough match.

Manuel Neuer clatters into Gonzalo Higuain in World Cup final

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 08:12:36 GMT

There were echoes of Harald Schumacher's infamous pole-axing of Patrick Battiston as Manuel Neuer clattered in to Gonzalo Higuain in Sunday night's World Cup final.

Lionel Messi had the chance to win the World Cup for Argentina... but missed it

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 07:56:33 GMT

IAN LADYMAN AT THE MARACANA: Lionel Messi played well enough for 90 minutes, but when the defining chance came early in the second half he couldn’t take it.

Germany in heaven after years of graft finally delivers the World Cup for Joachim Low's men

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 07:20:31 GMT

NEIL ASHTON AT THE MARACANA: Germany have been regarded as the best prepared team at the tournament for some time: Best players, best training ground, best coach, best everything.

World Cup closing ceremony 2014 sees Shakira, Rihanna, David Beckham and more for final

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 04:38:03 GMT

For plenty, the World Cup coming to an end is unwelcome after more than a month of explosive football on the biggest of stages.

Jasper Cillessen sitting on things goes viral after Holland goalkeeper takes break against Brazil

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 00:55:53 GMT

Holland goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen sparked a flurry of internet jokes after sitting against the post during Saturday night's third place play-off.

Phil Brown drafted in by Sky Sports News to provide rival World Cup final coverage to big guns BBC and ITV

Mon, 14 Jul 2014 00:46:50 GMT

Southend United manager Phil Brown became an unexpected talking point on Twitter on Sunday night after Sky Sports News selected him to be a pundit on the World Cup final.

Lukas Podolski kissed by Bastian Schweinsteiger in selfie after Germany beat Argentina in World Cup final

Sun, 13 Jul 2014 23:48:31 GMT

Lukas Podolski needs no invitation to take a selfie, so the Germany striker wasn't about to let the opportunity pass him by after winning the World Cup.

Argentina lose in World Cup final 2014 as 'We're all German' trends in Brazil

Sun, 13 Jul 2014 22:57:38 GMT

MATCH ZONE: Huge roars greeted the Germans, with 'Oles' roaring around the stadium for any sustained passing sequence by Joachim Low's side.

Germany 1-0 Argentina World Cup final 2014 MATCH REPORT: Mario Gotze nets in extra time

Sun, 13 Jul 2014 22:39:23 GMT

At first glance it looked so simple. Almost a toe-poke, in fact. And then, around the stadium, those in celebration and despair searched for the replay. There it was, in all its glory. A goal to grace a World Cup final, a goal that was so much more than the sum of its parts.

Brazil media brand World Cup 2014 hosts 'ridiculous' after Holland third-place play-off defeat

Sun, 13 Jul 2014 18:50:24 GMT

Brazil's third-place play-off against Holland on Saturday was a chance for a redemption following their jaw-dropping 7-1 semi-final humiliation to Germany.

Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Holland squad greeted by fans after World Cup 2014

Sun, 13 Jul 2014 18:00:55 GMT

Robin van Persie and Holland may have had to settle for finishing third in the World Cup, but their army of supporters don't seem to be fretting too much about what could have been.

Rihanna meets Pele on trip to Brazil ahead of 2014 World Cup final in Rio

Sun, 13 Jul 2014 16:46:44 GMT

World Cup fanatic Rihanna posted a picture of herself and football legend Pele soon after she landed in Brazil ahead of Sunday evening's final. The Barbados-born singer, who has been tweeting her thoughts on the World Cup throughout the duration of the tournament, met the 72-year-old in Rio de Janeiro.

Germany is a team bred for World Cup success - Unlike England they never settle for second best

Sun, 13 Jul 2014 16:33:32 GMT

What sets Germany apart is that they are in a constant state of self-evaluation, while never allowing the free pass of treating a World Cup as a dry run.

Louis van Gaal asks Arjen Robben to sign for Manchester United after Brazil win

Sun, 13 Jul 2014 16:02:41 GMT

Arjen Robben has revealed he turned down Louis van Gaal's advances after the outgoing Holland coach asked him to follow him to new club Manchester United.

Gilberto Silva says Brazil's World Cup failure has been coming for ten years

Sun, 13 Jul 2014 11:52:20 GMT

Long-standing issues throughout the Brazilian game have led to disappointment in their home World Cup, according to Gilberto Silva.

World Cup vanishing spray inventor Heine Allemagne set to become a millionaire

Sun, 13 Jul 2014 11:34:38 GMT

Heine Allemagne, 43, the man man who invented the magic vanishing spray adopted for use in Brazil, us set to reap the financial rewards after years in poverty and facing bankruptcy.

BRAZIL 0-3 HOLLAND PLAYER RATINGS: Which of Louis van Gaal's men excelled and which Samba stars flopped?

Sun, 13 Jul 2014 06:40:36 GMT

Louis van Gaal created the little bit of history that he desired by ensuring Holland remained undefeated in normal and extra time with a 3-0 third-place play-off victory over hosts Brazil.

Fabrice Muamba: I wouldn't have put any money on Germany being world-beaters

Sun, 13 Jul 2014 00:55:35 GMT

This summer, former England Under-21 team-mates Theo Walcott and Adam Johnson played golf together in Portugal. At the same time, six of the Germans they faced in the 2009 European Championship final were in Brazil heading towards the World Cup final.

Alejandro Sabella won't be partying if Argentina beat Germany in World Cup final 2014

Sat, 12 Jul 2014 23:26:29 GMT

If Argentina do confound what would appear to be growing opinion and lift the World Cup for the third time on Sunday, do not expect to find coach Alejandro Sabella in the middle of the post-match party.

Mexico manager Miguel Herrera extends contract to 2018

Sat, 12 Jul 2014 17:47:04 GMT

Mexico manager Miguel Herrera illuminated the World Cup with his touchline passion – and the good news is he’ll be back in four years’ time.

Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli in charge of 2014 World Cup final between Argentina and Germany

Sat, 12 Jul 2014 17:16:50 GMT

The Italian official accused last week of favouring Argentina and Lionel Messi has been chosen to referee their World Cup final against Germany.

Watch the adidas World Cup final advert ahead of Germany and Argentina's showdown at the Maracana

Sat, 12 Jul 2014 08:37:58 GMT

The 2014 FIFA World Cup final is almost upon us, and adidas have released their advert to mark the showdown at the Maracana.

David Luiz lifted from World Cup heartbreak by letter from young Brazil fan

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 23:33:25 GMT

David Luiz has been lifted out of his World Cup depression by a fan letter from a young supporter. Luiz left the pitch in Belo Horizonte in floods of tears after Brazil's humiliating 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany.

Ray Whelan not a 'fugitive' insist FIFA official ticket and hospitality firm MATCH

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 23:28:05 GMT

FIFA's official ticket and hospitality partner MATCH has denied its English director Ray Whelan is 'a fugitive' from Brazilian police.

BUZZ FROM BRAZIL: 100,000 Argentina fans expected in Rio for World Cup final and is Diego Maradona's curse set to continue?

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 22:22:23 GMT

Organisers expect around 100,000 Argentina fans to descend on Rio for the World Cup final on Sunday, most of them without a ticket.

Argentina and Germany meet in World Cup final for third time

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 21:31:38 GMT

JEFF POWELL: If the third World Cup final between Argentina and Germany resembles the first, we are in for an entertaining evening on Sunday. If it is anything like the second final, four years later, we will be nodding off or turning over before the 9pm watershed.

Luis Suarez's lawyer accuses FIFA of 'draconian, totalitarian and fascist' ban of Uruguay striker for World Cup bite

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 15:09:56 GMT

Luis Suarez's lawyer has condemned FIFA's punishment of the Uruguay striker for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini as 'draconian, totalitarian and fascist', and said an appeal will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Arjen Robben believes Argentina have no chance of beating Germany in the World Cup final

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 14:22:39 GMT

Holland winger Arjen Robben has insisted Argentina have zero chance of beating Germany in the World Cup final on Sunday.

Neymar: I'll be rooting for Lionel Messi and Argentina in 2014 World Cup final

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 12:00:26 GMT

Neymar has admitted he will be supporting Brazil’s bitter rivals Argentina in Sunday’s World Cup final. The injured superstar gave a press conference two days after his side were thrashed 7-1 by Germany in the last four.

Jose Mourinho says Lionel Messi is not the greatest player of all time

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 11:19:02 GMT

Jose Mourinho believes Lionel Messi is not the greatest player of all time, and not even a man-of-the-match performance in the World Cup final will change that.

Louis van Gaal will not take a holiday after the World Cup

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 10:57:51 GMT

Ultimately, he couldn’t see the job through to the end. Louis van Gaal’s dreams of heading to the Barclays Premier League with the ultimate stamp on his CV were dashed by the trauma of a penalty shoot-out.

Neymar breaks down in tears as he reveals how he came within inches of being paralysed by Juan Zuniga in Brazil's World Cup win over Colombia

Fri, 11 Jul 2014 07:05:58 GMT

Brazil star Neymar could not hold back the tears as he revealed he had come within a few inches of being paralysed. Neymar, giving his first press conference after being hospitalised with a fractured vertebrae in Brazil’s World Cup quarter-final win over Colombia, also said he disagreed with his agent for calling coach Luiz Felipe Scolari 'a repulsive and conceited old jerk'.

Diego Simeone inadvertently tells wife of journalist Jorge 'El Topo' Lopez on Twitter that he died in car crash

Thu, 10 Jul 2014 13:30:05 GMT

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone unintentionally told the wife of World Cup journalist Jorge 'El Topo' Lopez that her husband had been killed in a car crash in Sao Paulo on Twitter.

Clint Dempsey appears on The Late Show with David Letterman

Thu, 10 Jul 2014 06:52:04 GMT

USA captain Clint Dempsey appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday night in a further indication of the rise in popularity of football in America.

Cafu claims he was thrown out of dressing room by Brazil chief after Germany defeat

Wed, 09 Jul 2014 17:24:44 GMT

World Cup-winning captain Cafu has sensationally claimed that he was thrown out of the Brazil dressing room after their 7-1 thrashing by Germany.

WORLD CUP 2014: All 19 previous finals - From Uruguay's first win to Spain glory - Golden Years

Wed, 09 Jul 2014 12:20:21 GMT

With the wonderful Brazilian World Cup coming to its climax this weekend, Sportsmail's nostalgic picture series Golden Years remembers all 19 finals played so far in tournament history.

Brazil's World Cup 2014 defensive meltdown vs Germany is no surprise, says Glenn Hoddle

Wed, 09 Jul 2014 11:05:48 GMT

Glenn Hoddle says he's not surprised by Brazil's utter capitulation in Tuesday's humiliating 7-1 World Cup semi-final defeat to Germany.

White House petitioned to rename airport after United States goalkeeper Tim Howard

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 11:21:38 GMT

Tim Howard's popularity in the United States has led to a White House petition being lodged requesting the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is renamed after him.