World Soccer – World Cup 2026 Special

Summary

£5.99 buys 212 pages of definitive analysis on all 48 teams bound for North America 2026, with 1,248 player profiles, manager Q&As from every camp and a giant wallchart pull-out. Editor Jamie Evans does not hide his unease about FIFA's "Greed is Good World Cup" — ballooned to 48 teams, priced out for many fans — yet insists the football itself must win. The result is an unusually honest, data-dense pre-tournament reference, built for the fan who wants substance over ceremony.

Mexico opens the team-by-team section on page 10, followed by 47 more squad breakdowns, each laid out over four pages with a predicted starting XI, 26-man roster projection, tactical diagram and coach interview (Saudi Arabia excepted, where a last-minute change denied the Q&A). Beyond the 200-page team core, "How They Qualified" (p.202), "Stadiums" (p.208) and the full "Schedule" (p.211) turn the final section into a practical match-day companion. Aficionados football-travel pages promote the Samba Football Experience — 10 nights across Rio, Sao Paulo and Iguazu Falls, from £2,695, led by Tim Vickery.

The regular "In Pictures" opener frames the tournament through Getty Images before the contents page hands over to the mammoth team guide. "Contributors" (p.7) names the experts behind each profile. A subscription offer on page 8 locks in future issues at £2.69 per copy — 61% off the cover price for those who commit before the final whistle.

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Content Guide

▸ Team Profiles / Cover Feature / Travel / Reference

p.6 · World Cup 2026 Special Introduction
Evans opens with a confession: he remembers his first World Cup as the moment curiosity turned into obsession, but this edition — swollen to 48 teams, hosted across three nations amid war and political branding — tests that love. He names Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan as first-time debutants, and points to Erling Haaland, Michael Olise and Lamine Yamal as the elite newcomers worth the price of admission alone. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric may be making their final major-tournament appearances. Read this before you dive into 200 pages of team data so you know exactly whose side the editor is on.

p.10-201 · The Teams (48-team guide)
Each four-page dossier opens with a manager Q&A — Graham Arnold on Iraq's tactical identity, Sergej Barbarez on coaching through war memories — followed by a tactical diagram, predicted XI and a 26-man shortlist. The data-heavy spread includes each team's summer schedule in local and UK kick-off times. Use the wallchart on the inside cover to track your bracket across the group stage without flipping pages.

p.202 · How They Qualified
A continent-by-continent summary of the qualification marathon that started four years ago. The section highlights the upset routes — Curacao's diaspora-driven run, Uzbekistan's first-ever qualification — and the near-misses that kept traditional powers at home. Check this page before you tell your friends who "should" be in the tournament.

p.208 · Stadiums
All 16 venues across the USA, Canada and Mexico are catalogued with capacity figures and architectural notes. The MetLife Stadium East Rutherford and Mexico City's Estadio Azteco appear as the two showpiece finals candidates. Walk into any watch party knowing which stadium favours high-press systems and which rewards counter-attack width.

p.211 · Schedule
The full match calendar from opening fixture to the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium. Each game is listed with local time and venue, cross-referenced to the team profiles. Tear this page out and pin it next to the wallchart for zero-miss tournament navigation.

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Editor's Take

This is the most scrupulously honest pre-tournament guide in years — Evans calls the 48-team expansion "cramped" and the pricing "greedy" in his first paragraph, yet delivers 212 pages of cold, usable data anyway. The weakness is the inevitable shelf life: every projected 26-man squad will be wrong the moment injury replacements begin, and the wallchart's value drops after the group stage draw. That said, for the fan who wants manager quotes, tactical diagrams and 1,248 player names in one binding, there is no faster resource between now and July 19.

Strengths
• 48 team guides with identical structure for direct comparison
• Managerial access that most previews do not get
• Wallchart and schedule printed for offline use

Weaknesses
• 26-man rosters will shift before kick-off
• No individual player stat tables beyond the profiles

Verdict: Essential — One-stop 212-page reference for the 48-team World Cup, honest about its flaws and built for active match-day use.