The Illustrated History of Soccer World Cup 1930 - 2026 English

by German Aczel

320 pages, Hardcover

Published May 5, 2026

Reviews

[Brayden Raymond]

Not quite finished but will mark now since I'll finish before the end of the tournament. If not by the first semi final. It's just simply a fun coffee table book.

Ok I gotta say though that the illustrations are absurd and this art style just doesn't really do it for me. The exaggerations while probably harmless...yeah you get the idea.

That said the format and information is succinct and interesting. The breakdowns of scores and results and statistics are really cool, especially given they are weaved among a story of each tournament.

[Jesse Scobie]

Finished this cool, fun, well-drawn graphical history of the World Cup! Actually read the last entry ( the 2026 Cup) last week. It's certainly aimed more middle to early high school, but it packs tons of game, player stats, team info and many drawings of winning goals.

[Satyaki Das]

a book that has great watercolor illustrations along with funny cartoonish blend, aczel's book really is a great dictionary or rather a bible for the football fan due it it containing such detailed entries on every world cup along with its players' achievements !

[Jed Walker]

I’ve read a lot of World Cup books. This one captures the moments and passion of this unique event while providing all the historic details any reader would want. Fun, whimsical illustrations.