
<p>The World Cup is upon us, and whether this is your first or fortieth year of watching the world’s greatest tournament, each one has its own unique story. Certainly this one in the winter and in Qatar is historic, but also complicated and controversial.</p>



<p>To help the casual soccer fan navigate the Qatar World Cup, I compiled a reading list of current and past books. This selection is not just a list of the best recently released books about World Cup 2022, although there are many of those. Rather, think of it as the book version of a carefully curated wine and cheese pairing, with each book a flavor designed to entice a reaction or understanding based on its pairing.</p>



<h2>World Cup 2022 reading list</h2>



<h5>World Cup history important to know for 2022</h5>



<ul><li><em><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/2022/10/03/book-review-of-how-to-win-the-world-cup-by-chris-evans/">How to Win the World Cup</a></em> by Chris Evans. </li></ul>



<p>This new book released in time for Qatar 2022 examines the role of the manager in the World Cup. What makes a successful World Cup manager? Of course the answer is, “it depends” but Evans does a good job explaining how managers can find success in the weird set-up that is international soccer.</p>



<ul><li><em><a href="https:\/\/www.amazon.com/Soccer-Travels-journal-beautiful-game/dp/1523230711" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Soccer Travels</a>: One Man. One Journal. One Beautiful Game</em> by Drew Farmer. </li></ul>



<p>The author writes a travel journal about his visits to different cities and his reflection on how modern society impacts soccer today. His descriptions about getting around Qatar – pre-build up – is definitely worth a read.</p>



<ul><li><em><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/news/book-review-of-dark-goals-by-luciano-wernicke-20221013-WST-404312.html">Dark Goals</a></em> by Luciano Wernicke. </li></ul>



<p>The World Cup and FIFA are corrupt, this is nothing shocking. What may be shocking is just how corrupt. Wernicke’s new book details the history of government interference in the world’s biggest event from the beginning with a level of research impressive and scary.</p>



<ul><li><em><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/news/updated-soccernomics-book-proves-authors-still-right-10-years-later-20180522-CMS-241680.html">Soccernomics</a> (2022 edition)</em> by Simon Kuper and Stefan Syzmanski. </li></ul>



<p>This book is like The Emerging Majority for soccer fans – read it at a surface level and it is easy to nitpick the conclusions of the authors. Read it and consider it and you’ll understand more deeply why the World Cup (and modern soccer) is what it is today.</p>



<h5>Learning about specific Qatar controversies</h5>



<ul><li><em><a href="https:\/\/www.amazon.com/Ugly-Game-Corruption-Qatari-World-ebook/dp/B0112OOPKI" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Ugly Game</a>: The Corruption at FIFA and the Qatari Plot to Buy the World Cup</em> by Heidi Blake and Jonathan Culvert. </li></ul>



<p>Written seven years ago, this book is still one of the best deep dives into Qatar’s bid for 2022. The book is based on articles in The Sunday Times shedding a light on the corruption with the bidding process and expanded to book form.</p>



<ul><li><em><a href="https:\/\/www.amazon.com/Away-Game-Search-Soccers-Superstars/dp/0393292207" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Away Game</a>: The Epic Search for Soccer’s Next Superstars</em> by Sebastian Abbot. </li></ul>



<p>One of the most important soccer books written in the past decade, Abbot’s book focuses primarily on the impact of mining African soccer clubs for talent to exploit in Europe. The role of Qatar, however, is critical to see how the kingdom tried to boost its team ahead of 2022.</p>



<ul><li><em><a href="https:\/\/www.hurstpublishers.com/book/football-in-the-middle-east/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Football in the Middle East</a> </em>by Abdullah Al-Arian. </li></ul>



<p>This collection of essays is a little more academic than most of these books but it is a good book to have if you want a very deep dive into the culture and history of soccer in the Middle East.</p>



<h5>US fan specific reading</h5>



<ul><li><em><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/news/new-kids-in-the-world-cup-book-tells-early-usmnt-growth-in-90s-20221120-WST-408675.html">New Kids in the World Cup</a></em> by Adam Elder. </li></ul>



<p>I just wrote a review of this new book and it is essential reading for U.S. soccer fans to see how far we’ve come as a soccer nation in 30 years.</p>



<ul><li><em><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/news/review-of-christian-pulisic-book-my-journey-so-far-20221113-WST-407904.html">My Journey So Far</a></em> by Christian Pulisic. </li></ul>



<p>You can question the wisdom of publishing an autobiography in your 20s, but if you want to understand America’s biggest name, this is your book. An added bonus is beautiful photos and some controversial statements about Thomas Tuchel.</p>



<p><em>PHOTO: IMAGO / Action Plus</em></p>



<div style="background:#f9e4ea;padding:10px;">
<h3>Guide to World Cup 2022</h3>
<div style="padding:10px;">
Here are some resources to help you get the most out of the biggest event in soccer!
</div>
<div style="padding:10px;">
<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/world-cup-tv-schedule/"><strong>TV Schedule:</strong></a> All the info on <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/world-cup-tv-schedule/">where and when to watch</a> every game
</div><div style="padding:10px;">
<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/2022/04/04/analysis-of-world-cup-groups/"><strong>The Groups:</strong></a> We <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/2022/04/04/analysis-of-world-cup-groups/">breakdown each group</a> and all the teams
</div><div style="padding:10px;">
<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/world-cup-jerseys-for-qatar-2022/"><strong>The Kits:</strong></a> Check out <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/world-cup-jerseys-for-qatar-2022/">what every team will be wearing</a> on the field this fall
</div><div style="padding:10px;">
<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/predictor/"><strong>Predictor:</strong></a> Play out every scenario with our <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/predictor/">World Cup Predictor</a>
</div><div style="padding:10px;">
<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/2022/04/05/world-cup-bracket-free-download/"><strong>World Cup Bracket:</strong></a> Map out the <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/2022/04/05/world-cup-bracket-free-download/">entire tournament</a>, from the groups to the final
</div><div style="padding:10px;">
<a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/category/world-cup-2022/"><strong>World Cup Hub:</strong></a> Your one stop for <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.com/category/world-cup-2022/">everything Qatar 2022</a>
</div>
</div>


Looking for a reading list to get you up to date on all things soccer for the 2022 World Cup? Here are nine suggestions for you.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "Reading list"

Book Review

Reading list for the 2022 World Cup