The 32 World Cup Teams and The Beatles Song That Best Describes Them

June 9th, 2010 | by: Daryl | View Comments

The last few weeks have been all about World Cup previews. Many many World Cup previews and team profiles and predictions. I’m not complaining. It’s part of the fun. But with so many preview, profiles and predictions it can all get a bit samey, and so originality becomes a thing to be cherished.

We tried to make our own World Cup team profiles a little interesting by including categories like “Best Youtube Video” and “Best Player Nickname”. We also tried to make the World Cup podcast previews a little different by comparing the various national anthems and potential celebrity spokespeople for each team.

Authors Steven D. Stark & Harrison Stark also did something a little different in their book World Cup 2010: The Indespensible Guide to Soccer and Geopolitics. The father-and-son team devote a chapter to each of the 32 World Cup teams, including a line that reads simply “Beatles Song That Best Describes the Team.”

What I like most about this feature is that there’s no subsequent explanation of how or why that song was chosen as best describing that team. In some cases it’s obvious (England) in other not so much (South Korea). But each team’s designated Beatles song gives you pause for thought at the very least. Here’s the complete list, copied from the book with the kind permission of Steven D. Stark. A podcast interview with Harrison Stark follows the list.

Group A
Mexico – “I Should Have Known Better”
South Africa – “When I Get Home”
France – “Tell Me What You See”
Uruguay “Helter Skelter”

Group B
Argentina – “Come Together (Over Me)”
Nigeria – “Please Please Me”
South Korea – “Don’t Pass Me By”
Greece “Get Back”

Group C
England – “Carry That Weight”
USA – “I Me Mine”
Slovenia – “Nowhere Man”
Algeria – “It’s All Too Much”

Group D
Germany – “I’ll Get You”
Ghana – “Getting Better”
Australia – “You Know What To Do”
Serbia – “Slow Down”

Group E
Netherlands – “With a Little Help From My Friends”
Cameroon – “I’ve Got a Feeling”
Denmark – “I Feel Fine”
Japan – “All Together Now”

Group F
Italy – “When I’m 64″
Paraguay – “All I’ve Got To Do”
Slovakia – “You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)”
New Zealand – “I’m a Loser”

Group G
Brazil – “Free As A Bird”
Cote d’Ivoire – “Run For Your Life”
Portugal – “Let It Be”
North Korea – “Do You Want to Know a Secret”

Group H
Spain – “We Can Work It Out”
Switzerland – “I’m Only Sleeping”
Chile – “Bad Boy”
Honduras – “Help!”

Buy the book:


World Cup 2010 – The Indispensable Guide to Soccer and Geopolitics

Taylor from the USA blog recorded an interview with co-author of the book Harrison Stark, as a podcast for the Total Football Soccer Show. Click play below to listen:

Download the mp3 of the show, or subscribe to future shows via iTunes.