Classical Music and Football: The First XI
How has soccer… ahem, football… inspired classical composers? From a football chant by Edward Elgar to a ballet by Dmitri Shostakovich about the sport, the Guardian’s Music Blog reveals how football has left its mark on classical music.

Quiz: Composer or Footballer?
Can you guess whether the subject is a classical composer or a World Cup footballer by name alone? It may not be as easy as you think.

Placido Domingo To Sing Before World Cup Final
He’s sung before a World Cup final five times already. On July 11, Placido Domingo will make it six.

World Cup 2014: What Makes a Great National Anthem?
Some anthems we love. Some anthems we don’t. Some we really don’t. Anthems can be so polarizing a topic that composer and cellist Phillip Sheppard received death threats after contributing to a 2012 article about the worst national anthems. In this article, the BBC poses the question: what makes an anthem great?

 And here’s an inspired idea from Twitter:

Brilliant. And may we offer a classical suggestion for your World Cup-watching pleasure? 24/7 classical music streaming from WDAV.