WITH the 18th World Cup kicking off on June 9, all conversations will be turning to the beautiful game. So love it or loathe it, make sure you know all about it with 18 fascinating facts about the competition.

Countries have competed for this greatest of footballing accolades every four years since 1930 - the only exceptions being 1942 and 1946.

This year 32 countries will be taking part and hoping to wrest the trophy from current holders Brazil.

But while fans fondly recall the glorious moments on the pitch, sometimes events off the field have been just as fascinating.

Peter Seddon, author of The World Cup's Strangest Moments, says: "Such is the desperation of teams to be part of the World Cup finals that the very pursuit of 'getting there' has produced some odd moments indeed."

Here are 18 bizarre World Cup moments.

1. Man's best friend saved England from having to run the 1966 World Cup without a trophy. Scotland Yard arrested a man when the cup was stolen and held to ransom, but he refused to reveal its whereabouts. Luckily, two-year old mongrel Pickles decided to rummage under a holly hedge during his walk in south London - and found the trophy.

2. As Cameroon made their World Cup debut in 1982, 30-year-old Roger Milla was one of the proud players. A dozen years later he turned out for Cameroon again, making him the oldest player ever to score in a finals match, aged 42 years and 29 days.

3. Fans flocking to the 2002 World Cup, held jointly in South Korea and Japan, were told that the Japanese would be pleased if visitors made an attempt at their language. So one enthusiastic England fan bought a T-shirt emblazoned with what he thought said 'England on Tour - I love Japan'. He later discovered that it actually read 'Gay Submissive Englishman seeks Muscular Japanese Boy'.

4. England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales did not enter the competition until 1950, thanks to earlier differences with FIFA. But it wasn't the best year for any of the teams. Scotland pulled out after losing against England, despite having qualified anyway. Then England went out after their match against the USA resulted in a shock 1-0 victory for the Americans.

5. The 1950 World Cup was marked by shock exits - India also pulled out at the last minute when FIFA refused to let them play barefoot.

6. The first World Cup mascot was English - World Cup Willie, a shaggy lion wearing a Union Flag shirt, sturdy boots and a determined expression. He's been succeeded by a variety of others - not all as successful - including 1982's orange Naranjito, and the high-tech trio of Ato, Nik and Kaz in 2002.

7. Football fan King Carol II of Romania was determined to personally select his squad for the 1930 World Cup. When he discovered his finest players worked at an English oil company whose management refuse to let them take leave to play, he threatened to close the company. They swiftly relented.

8. As Brazil triumphed over Germany to become the best in the 2002 World Cup, another game was being played to decide the worst. Montserrat (national sport cricket), ranked 203 by Fifa, took on Bhutan (national sport archery), at 202, in the tiny Himalayan kingdom. The home advantage paid off, and Bhutan won 4-0, leaving Montserrat officially the worst side in the world.

9. The Wild West came to the 1934 World Cup - when late entrants USA knocked out Mexico 4-2, all their goals were scored by Italian-American Aldo T 'Buff' Donelli, whose nickname referred to his obsession with Wild West legend 'Buffalo Bill' Cody.

10. Three decades after England's sole World Cup victory, the ball made its way 'home' from Germany, where it had been since Helmut Haller grabbed it after the 1966 match. German tradition said the first to take the ball after the final whistle kept it - unlike English tradition which believed Geoff Hurst should have got it for his hat trick. Now displayed in The National Football Museum at Preston North End's Deepdale ground, anyone handling it must wear white gloves.

11. Footballers have sported some truly disastrous hairstyles over the years - but few beat the Romanian team, who all dyed their hair peroxide blond during France 98. Their goalkeeper was the only non-blond - he was bald.

12. The first ever World Cup goal was scored by Lucien Laurent, a French midfielder, just 19 minutes into the opening match of the 1930 tournament between France and Mexico.

13. The first 0-0 result in the World Cup finally came in 1958, during the 105th game between England and Brazil.

14. Yet another England v Brazil match, in Chile 62, saw a somewhat unexpected participant - a stray black dog who wandered onto the pitch and disrupted the game. Jimmy Greaves saved the day by getting on all fours, staring straight in the dog's eyes, grabbing him and then delivering him to staff.

15. The first penalty ever awarded in a World Cup final was handed out a mere 90 seconds into the 1974 match between West Germany and Holland - by the 'Butcher of Wolverhampton', referee John Taylor, who was indeed a butcher, from Wolverhampton. The Germans hadn't even had time to touch the ball.

16. How far would you go to see your team play? 52-year-old Argentina fan Pedro Garita couldn't afford the air fare to see them play in Mexico 86 - so he cycled from Buenos Aires to Mexico, 70 miles a day. Sadly, when he finally arrived, he couldn't afford a buy a ticket - even if there had been any left.

17. Footballers - and the fans - have always been superstitious, although perhaps not to such an extent as the Ivory Coast during their qualifier against Nigeria. Just before kick-off, a witch doctor, dressed in a loincloth and balancing a pot on his head, walked onto the pitch before ceremoniously relieving himself. Ivory Coast went on to win 2-1.

18. Scotland may not have brought home the World Cup, but they are officially - or rather unofficially - the greatest team in the world, according to the Unofficial Football World Championship, launched in 2002. Judged on every full international result in football's history - starting with Scotland v England in 1872 - Scotland tops the all-time table by a margin of 13 points.

The World Cup's Strangest Moments by Peter Seddon, is published by Robson Books, priced £8.99. Out now.

By Davinder Kaur