Get into gear for the World Cup with this detailed official book

THE TELEVISION schedules on the sports channels look markedly different this week, after the completion of the vast majority of soccer competitions in England and Scotland. For the first time in many months, it’s no longer a given to switch on the box on any particular evening and be virtually assured of seeing live match coverage of some sort.

However, that won’t last for long, given that it’s one of those biennial years when a major international competition will attract a lot of attention in the early part of the summer.

In this case it’s the FIFA World Cup in Russia, set to start at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 14, with the less-than-glamorous meeting of the hosts and Saudi Arabia in Moscow.

That gives sports fans a bit of time to brush up on their knowledge and ponder how it might all unfold.

And, if you’d like a guide to the programme of events that will stretch all the way to the July 15 final, then the official book produced by the organisers is your best bet.

At a mere 128 pages it isn’t too long, and the colourful and well-designed pages make for easy reading.

It’s the type of reference book that can be kept close to the armchair while the action unfolds, with a nice balance between the essential facts and figures as well as some more in-depth articles.

It’s a tried and tested formula, and one of several official publications that are available to cater for various age groups.

This is the book that adults should target, whereas there’s also a kids’ preview version as well as a fact file.

After a few ‘Welcome To Russia’ pieces, including a focus on the various venues, the road to the finals is broken into two sections: the qualifiers in Europe, and then the rest of the world.

The full list of results, along with the tables, comes next, followed by a piece on the draw for the finals.

And then we get into the detail of all 32 contestants, with each and every team given a two-page spread to assess their merits.

That includes a profile of the coach, a couple of ‘ones to watch’, plus the full record at previous tournaments.

And if you’re still unsure of the players most likely to leave a lasting impact on this global celebration of the beautiful game, then the selection of 16 FIFA World Cup superstars will certainly narrow it down.

The bar may be set fairly low with the first selection, Australian veteran Tim Cahill whose best days are surely well behind him at the age of 38.

Then again, it is an official book after all, so the compilers no doubt had to make sure that all continents were well represented.

And given that the list also includes the likes of De Bruyne, Iniesta, Messi, Neymar, Ronaldo, Salah and Suárez among others, they probably haven’t strayed too far from what most fans would regard as the leading lights ready to sparkle in Russia.

If you like to have all the answers at your fingertips, then you’ll appreciate the conclusion to this book as it contains the complete FIFA World Cup record, covering everything from past results to goalscorers, final venues and attendances, and a lot more besides.

Finally, the fixtures for all eight groups are spread over two pages, so you can plan your schedule well in advance to make sure you don’t miss England’s inevitable implosion!

Hopefully it will be a feast of football, with hooliganism not rearing its ugly head as many are fearing. I’ll definitely have this book close at hand as the games get under way in earnest.

ALAN AHERNE

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