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30 Best Twitter Accounts to Follow the World Cup With
June 5, 201430 Best Twitter Accounts to Follow the World Cup With
The 2014 World Cup is only seven days away, and many who aren’t able to watch all of the televised action will want to keep up with all the latest news, reports and gossip through social media sites.
Twitter will be in overdrive when the prestigious international tournament commences, with plenty of different accounts giving interesting statistics, rumours and even some jokes to keep their followers entertained.
So what are the best Twitter accounts to follow for the World Cup this summer? Here are the top 30 compiled in no order.
BBC Sport: @BBCSport
If you want action of all the games, a selection of good pictures from the matches and regular feed of all the goings on with England, BBC Sport is a very good Twitter account to follow. Match reports and occasional opinion articles from their football experts always make a good teatime read too. A typically solid account that will keep you informed on all the important football news.
ITV Football: @ITVFootball
Similar to the BBC Twitter account in regard to the coverage it provides, the ITV Football Twitter account has a lot of the World Cup games which will be linked in the tweets. Another trusty avenue to get all the World Cup news this summer from a slightly different angle with other football experts.
Rio Ferdinand: @rioferdy5
When he’s not plugging his own brand of caps, Rio Ferdinand’s Twitter account can be a good source of entertainment. He’ll be watching every minute of the World Cup this summer and is never short of an opinion that will cause controversy or hilarity. He's had a lot to say about the England national team already and is sure to steal some of the headlines this summer from behind the screen.
Gary Lineker: @GaryLineker
Gary Lineker has an opinion on most football matters, and certainly has a lot to say about the England national team, like Rio Ferdinand. He does come up with the odd joke too, and will reply to some of the tweets he gets from his followers. A good account to follow as he provides good witticisms and strong opinion. He'll be very active during the World Cup while being equally as critical.
An example of the things to expect from his account:
More allegations of corruption against Qatar and members of FIFA exec. Is anyone surprised anymore?
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) June 1, 2014
FIFA World Cup: @FIFAWorldCup
Interviews, ticket news, match reports and everything in between you’ll get from the official FIFA World Cup account. They also interact with their followers with polls and questions that raise debates. They'll provide plenty of information on your feed of all the news, big or small. A must-follow to stay abreast with the World Cup news.
England: @England
Anything and everything about the England side will be on this account. Pictures, interviews and match reports are all provided. “The official feed of the England football team” delivers as it promises and will give you every piece of news about the Three Lions.
Guillem Balague: @GuillemBalague
A Spanish football expert who is a trusted source of news happening in Spain. While he does a lot about La Liga transfers, he’s also a respected writer for a number of reputable sites and has his work published on the account which makes for a great read.
Guillem talks with his followers in both Spanish and English and loves to raise a good debate. He'll be talking a lot about the tactical style under taken by the Spanish national team this summer too, so he's worth checking out.
Michael Cox: @Zonal_Marking
Run by Michael Cox, Zonal Marking is a great account full of statistics and tactical articles to get you thinking. A regular stream of solid, intriguing articles and thought-provoking tweets will flood your feed if you follow this account. A definite must.
Futbol Pictures: @FutbolPictures
Futbol Pictures posts a high amount of images from matches that are being played. A good account that shows all the breaking news in the games through pictures. The World Cup is sure to have many memorable moments throughout, and this account will capture it perfectly.
Squawka: @Squawka
Another account for statistics, but will also feed you interesting information that is somewhat topical in the football world. A very useful account to retweet insightful one-liners to your followers while providing a very impressive database of stats.
Opta Joe: @OptaJoe
Statistics galore, but with a twist. The tweets that come from the account are sometimes very intriguing, but always an eye-opener. The infamous tagline at the end of every tweet shows the account remains a fun tool to use while staying brilliantly accurate.
For example, a tweet from the account Wednesday night said:
7 - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain dribbled past an opponent 7 times tonight. No England player has managed more in a game since Sept 2008. Spark.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 4, 2014
Tim Vickery: @Tim_Vickery
Vickery works for the BBC and covers all things in South American football. With favourites Brazil and Argentina in his repertoire, he's sure to come out with some fascinating facts and news from either camp this summer when the World Cup commences. Also provides opinion articles outside the box that make for good reads.
He recently wrote an interesting piece on BBC Sport about Brazil's tactical fouling and how key it could prove to be.
Who Scored: @WhoScored
Who Scored is another account for statistic-clad articles. There are plenty of interesting pieces that will raise debate, and during the World Cup, there's sure to be plenty of talking points raised from specific facts and figures. Another huge database of information that really gives a good insight into how players are performing. World Cup related pictures like this always make for interesting viewing.
Sky Sports Football: @SkyFootball
Another solid football account that have their breaking news out very quick. Slightly sided towards more England news than any other nation, but does provide the big news coming from the rest of the world on a regular basis. Certainly a great account to follow for the speed of the news they're privy to.
FTBpro: @FTBpro
The best fan-generated site out there at the moment. With over 1,330 writers putting content on the site, FTBpro don't miss out on anything. There's regular content coming through on the Twitter account, and the World Cup is no different. Opinion articles about players who haven't been selected, list articles about the ones to watch this summer and match reports on every single game will be on the account.
Rumours, lists and pictures can all be viewed on this account, so it's another must-follow.
Paddy Power: @paddypower
Paddy Power describe themselves as "mischievous," and they aren't lying. The Twitter account is wickedly hilarious and uses topical football events to make jokes that are viewed by hundreds of thousands of people. While primarily for football odds, Paddy Power are consistently entertaining and well worth a follow.
They have also employed former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes to write his own column for them which is a good read too.
But for an example of what to expect from the Twitter account, this tweet was sent Wednesday night when describing how close the camera was when recording the England friendly against Ecuador:
Hope this isn't the default view for the whole of the WC. Feel we're close enough to see that Hodgson's neck resembles Mr Burn's scrotum.
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) June 4, 2014
Mario Balotelli: @FinallyMario
The Italian international Mario Balotelli will keep all his followers updated on his antics with the national team this summer. The AC Milan striker posts pictures with his teammates and will entertain with a choice tweet or two.
He is also on Instagram a lot and will tweet funny things he sees or behind the scenes pictures from the dressing room and training ground. Mario never fails to impress, so he's worth a follow.
Joey Barton: @Joey7Barton
Joey Barton can't open his mouth or type out a sentence on Twitter without raising a country-wide debate, but the QPR midfielder is entertaining nevertheless. Barton is full of opinion that can often get him in trouble, but it doesn't stop him from airing his thoughts on football matters as much as he pleases.
He's very critical about England and won't think twice about giving his controversial views on the national team this summer if he feels they're underperforming.
Robbie Savage: @RobbieSavage8
Football pundit Robbie Savage will never sit on the fence when his opinion is asked. The former football player has some very controversial ideas about the game that raise great debates online, and he interacts with his followers regardless of whether it's a good or bad response. Savage can't be ignored on Twitter.
Soccer Guy: @usasoccerguy
USA Soccer Guy is a comical account that will post all the topical news and match results with a twist. The account uses adjectives that aren't synonymous with football at all, which always leads to abusive replies from supporters. He'll be very active through the World Cup, so definitely worth a follow.
Here's an example of what to expect:
Corner restart kick is head kicked in to the Soccergoal interior by O'Cahill. That should be enough for three points. #englandsoccerclub
— Soccer Guy (@usasoccerguy) May 30, 2014
101 Great Goals: @102greatgoals
No prizes for guessing what makes this account good. 101 Great Goals will provide all the goals and match action from games this summer. Very quick at getting the goals up after they've been scored, so you won't miss a trick if you follow this account.
They also have transfer news and interviews to keep up with the topical football news you need to know.
Henry Winter: @Henry Winter
Henry Winter is a writer for the Telegraph. Good looks aside, Henry is very knowledgeable on football matters, and will be a very busy man talking abut the World Cup. A trusted source to follow, who will also give his own opinion on controversial subjects.
Tweet about England taken from his account Wednesday night:
Hodgson wrong to criticise Barkley in public. He played well. ok a couple of errors but #eng need that risk-taking (which made Lambert goal)
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) June 4, 2014
Expect more England opinion from him this summer.
Raphael Honigstein: @honigstein
Raphael Honigstein covers all things Germany and will be focusing on them in the World Cup. Expect articles to be published on a regular basis and transfer news of the German players in question to also be spoken upon. He's football mad with a very insightful look on the game.
TalkSPORT: @talkSPORT
An informal way to follow the World Cup this summer, The talkSPORT Twitter account will be full of debate and controversial opinion to keep you on your toes. With the radio show having callers with very different views on football, the Twitter account will often use their quotes to ask their followers questions about big subjects.
What to expect:
England rated and slated: Everton starlet shines as Man United defender has a nightmare - http://t.co/TvbOcqDpBn #mufc #efc #eng
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) June 4, 2014
Stan Collymore: @StanCollymore
Stan Collymore works for talkSPORT and is a writer on Bleacher Report too. He's never shy to give his opinion on football matters, and certainly knows better than anybody how to raise a good debate. He will be active during the World Cup quizzing everyone about the England national team and asking controversial questions to get you thinking.
BBC Radio 5 Live: @bbc5live
Similar to talkSPORT in regard to the controversial topics that are raised when callers of their show offer their own opinion, the 5 Live Twitter account offers transcripts of interviews and will often ask great questions to cast a wide range of responses about an important subject. This World Cup, it will be England heavy, of course.
James Horncastle: @JamesHorncastle
The European football writer pays deep attention to tactics, and will give his followers an insight into what he's seeing. For the World Cup, James will provide some great analysis that will see you learning more about the game. He's spoken a lot about Italy of late, but will also cover the other European nations, so is definitely worth following.
The Football Association: @FA
The England Football Association will provide a lot of England news through their Twitter account while also giving match reports of their games. Any other snippets around the England camp will be spoken about, and the account does provide some good pictures of the squad.
Bleacher Report UK: @br_uk
The best of the bunch. Transfer news and all the big World Cup updates will be rife on this account. But there's also a lighter side with some off-topic humour to keep the followers amused. Bleacher Report's Twitter account has plenty of short footage from the games, with memorable goals galore too.