By Jaclyn Withers – Sales Coordinator, Candlewick
There’s a wave of excitement as we get closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026! This year, sixteen cities in three countries across continental North America will be hosting the games, including eleven in the US.
To prepare for this monumental occasion, Candlewick Press will be releasing two new soccer titles to get you and your little ones hyped. The Soccer GOAT series launches on May 5, 2026, with two titles that pit the world’s best soccer players against each other to determine who is the greatest of all time. Book one focuses on Argentina all-star Lionel Messi vs Portugal’s powerhouse Cristiano Ronaldo, while the second title compares rising soccer stars Kylian Mbappé from France and Erling Haaland from Norway. These two new titles will be published simultaneously in hardcover and paperback.
Mbappé and Haaland will face off against each other during the June 26 game at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, so now is the perfect time to stack Candlewick’s Soccer GOAT titles on shelves for soccer fans.
While Candlewick’s The Soccer GOAT series is the star of this blog, Candlewick, Holiday House, and Peachtree all have a backlist filled with soccer titles for the enthusiastic fan as well as for the little one just learning how to kick a ball! Interested in getting in on some serious soccer reading fun? Check out these titles below.
