How to Win the World Cup

Trophies get handed to players, but the decisions that produce them are usually made in the dugout months before the tournament starts. Chris Evans builds How to Win the World Cup around the national team managers, drawing on tournament history and interviews to examine squad selection, tactical adjustment, player management and the handling of pressure in knockout football. Episodes from past World Cups illustrate each theme, so the argument never floats free of evidence. A good deal of it reads as a study of leadership under scrutiny that happens to use football as its material. A quick breakdown: • Focuses on international managers rather than players • Interviews and tournament history throughout • Covers selection, tactics and squad psychology • Lessons that carry into leadership beyond sport For football supporters, coaches and readers interested in high-pressure leadership, available from Boipoka.