How football (nearly) came home: adventures in Putin's World Cup

"The England team taht touched down in Russia for the 2018 World Cup was a new look outfit: there were no real stars, no overblown egos and no dickheads. With fans still reeling from the wincing exit in Iceland to the 2016 Euros, expectations were at an all-time low. Qualification had been smooth if not spectacular and pundist abnd fans alike were lukewarm about the team's chances. Just avoiding embarrassment would have been counted as some kind of success. As the tournament kicked off, a stunningly stage-managed occasion by Putin and his cronies at FIFA, we all took a deep breath and waited for the inevitable: technical ineptitude and crap penalties. ..."--Back cover.;Introductyion: Coming home -- 1. At home with Vlad -- 2. Waiting for gareth -- 3. Victory on the Volga -- 4. Messi business -- 5. We're on our way, we're on our way -- 6. FIFA: the men who sold the world -- 7. The phoney war -- 8. Spain, and comiong to the end of things -- 9. Colombia, and the end of all that -- 10. Brazil and being the bd guys -- 11. O happy day -- 12. Waiting for the great leap forward -- 13. The reckoning -- 14. This is the end.