Who are the World Cup favorites?
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You can always expect one of those top teams to be beaten earlier than expected and there is guaranteed to be a smaller team that has a deep run in the knockouts. That’s the beauty of a cup competition.
Why is soccer so big?
South America has become one of the most influential places in the world of soccer.
South America has become one of the most influential places in the world of soccer. Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images
Curaçao fans celebrate qualyifing for this year’s World Cup.
Curaçao fans celebrate qualyifing for this year’s World Cup. Ricardo Makyn/AFP/Getty Images
The sport forces fans through every emotion.
The sport forces fans through every emotion. Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
Now, we’ve covered what to expect from the World Cup, you might be left wondering why so many people love this game and where it all started. In truth, the answer to both those questions is up for debate.
Ahead of this year’s World Cup, I spoke to soccer historian Matthew Taylor to try to get to the bottom of why kicking a ball around eventually became a sport that took over the world.
“There are forms of ball games that exist in lots of ancient societies,” he said. “I suppose the most well-known one recently is Cuju, the Chinese game.
“But there were forms of ball games everywhere, and people have tried to connect them. But I think it’s difficult to do so. A game involving a ball and potentially the use of feet and hands is quite endemic to the way humans are, so I think it’s difficult to make very clear connections with the codified game.”
And that’s the crucial bit, the codification of the game we see today occurred in the late 19th century.
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Spain’s Lamine Yamal celebrates after Dani Olmo scores their first goal REUTERS/Heiko Becker/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – Euro 2024 – Quarter Final – Spain v Germany – Stuttgart Arena, Stuttgart, Germany – July 5, 2024 Spain’s Lamine Yamal celebrates after Dani Olmo scores their first goal REUTERS/Heiko Becker/File Photo
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The simplistic answer is to say the birthplace of modern soccer is the Freemasons’ Tavern, an old pub situated in the West End of London. This was the place chosen by the newly formed English Football Association in 1862 to hash out the rules by which the game should be played.
There’s still a plaque outside the building today – now a hotel and nightclub – which reads “The Football Association was formed on the proposal of Ebenezer Cobb Morley at the Freemasons’ Tavern which stood on this site. The modern game of football was born on this day. 26 October 1863.”
As neat and whimsical as that is, it’s debated. Others claim to have invented the modern game, notably in Scotland. Experts simply can’t really decide… sorry.
“I think the truth is that it emerges from a kind of mixture of people and places,” Taylor said. “So, yeah, it’s a chaotic and complicated picture.”
Soccer is now a commercial beast with huge influence on society.
Soccer is now a commercial beast with huge influence on society. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Now, though, the global game is governed by FIFA. It is they who are organizing the World Cup this summer and who are trying to grow the sport in every which direction.
The money involved is astronomical, with the sport a commercial beast that has more political sway than most nations. But strip it all away, and the Beautiful Game itself hasn’t changed anywhere near as much. After all, it’s still 22 people running around trying to score.
And it’s that simple essence of the game that initially made it spread throughout the world, somewhat off the back of the British Empire and trade routes that helped disseminate the word of soccer.
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JAKARTA, INDONESIA – JUNE 05: Players of China line up during the FIFA World Cup qualifier Asian third round Group C match between Indonesia and China at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on June 05, 2025 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Photo by Zhizhao Wu/Getty Images)
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