2014 World Cup: Oldest Players

32+ year old players at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

GROUP A

Brazil
DF - Maxwell (32)
DF - Maicon (32)

Cameroon
FW - Samuel Eto'o (33)
FW - Pierre Webó (32)

Croatia
GK - Stipe Pletikosa (35)
DF - Darijo Srna (32)
DF - Danijel Pranjić (32)
FW - Ivica Olić (34)

Mexico
GK - José de Jesús Corona (33)
DF - Carlos Salcido (34)
DF - Rafael Marquez (35)
DF - Francisco Javier Rodriguez (32)


GROUP B

Australia
GK - Eugene Galeković (33)
MF - Mark Bresciano (34)
FW - Tim Cahill (34)

Chile
GK - Johnny Herrera (33)
FW - Esteban Paredes (33)

Netherlands
FW - Dirk Kuyt (33)

Spain
GK - Iker Casillas (33)
MF - Xavi (34)
MF - Xavi Alonso (32)
FW - David Villa (32)


GROUP C

Colombia
GK - Faryd Mondragón (42)
DF - Mario Yepes (38)
MF - Aldo Leão Ramírez (33)

Cote d'Ivoire
GK - Boubacar Barry (34)
DF - Didier Zokora (33)
DF - Kolo Toure (33)
FW - Didier Drogba (36)

Greece
DF - Loukas Vyntra (33)
DF - Vangelis Moras (32)
MF - Giorgos Karagounis (37)
MF - Kostas Katsouranis (34)
FW - Thoeofanis Gekas (34)
FW - Dimitris Salpingidis (32)

Japan
MF - Yasuhito Endo (34)
FW - Yoshito Okubo (32)


GROUP D

Costa Rica
GK - Patrick Pemberton (32)

England
MF - Steven Gerrard (34)
MF - Frank Lampard (35)
FW - Rickie Lambert (32)

Italy
GK - Gianluigi Buffon (36)
DF - Andrea Barzagli (33)
MF - Andrea Pirlo (35)

Uruguay
GK - Rodrigo Muñoz (32)
DF - Diego Lugano (33)
MF - Diego Perez (34)
MF - Egidio Arevalo Rios (32)
FW - Diego Forlan (35)


GROUP E

Ecuador
DF - Walter Ayovi (34)
DF - Jorge Guagua (32)
MF - Edison Mendez (35)
MF - Segundo Castillo (32)

France
GK - Mickaël Landreau (35)
DF - Patrice Evra (33)

Honduras
GK - Noel Valladares (37)
GK - Donis Escober (34)
DF - Victor Bernardez (32)
FW - Jerry Palacios (32)

Switzerland
NONE


GROUP F

Argentina
GK - Agustin Orion (32)
DF - Martin Demichelis (33)
DF - Hugo Campagnaro (33)
MF - Maxi Rodriguez (33)
FW - Rodrigo Palacio (32)

Bosnia and Herzegovina
GK - Asmir Avdukić (33)
DF - Emir Spahić (33)
MF - Zvjezdan Misimović (32)

Iran
GK - Rahman Ahmadi (33)
DF - Jalal Hosseini (32)
DF - Amir Hossein Sadeghi (32)
MF - Javad Nekounam (33)

Nigeria
DF - Joseph Yobo (33)
FW - Shola Ameobi (32)
FW - Peter Odemwingie (32)


GROUP G

Germany
GK - Roman Weidenfeller (33)
FW - Miroslav Klose (36)

Ghana
NONE

Portugal
GK - Beto (32)
DF - Bruno Alves (32)
DF - Ricardo Costa (33)

United States
GK - Tim Howard (35)
GK - Nick Rimando (34)
DF - DaMarcus Beasley (32)
MF - Jermaine Jones (32)
MF - Brad Davis (32)
MF - Kyle Beckerman (32)



GROUP H

Algeria
NONE

Belgium
DF - Daniel Van Buyten (36)

Russia
GK - Sergey Ryzhikov (33)
DF - Sergei Ignashevich (34)
MF - Roman Shirokov (32)

South Korea
DF - Kwak Tae-Hwi (32)




OLDEST GK
Faryd Mondragón (Colombia: 42)

OLDEST DF
Mario Yepes (Colombia: 38)

OLDEST MF
Giorgos Karagounis (Greece: 37)

OLDEST FW
Didier Drogba (Cote d'Ivoire: 36)


TOP 5 OLDEST AVERAGE TEAM AGE
28.4 - Argentina
28.2 - Portugal
28.0 - Uruguay
28.0 - Spain
27.9 - Iran

All-Time Asian World Cup Wins

AFRICA
Japan - Cameroon (1:0, 2010)
Japan - Tunisia (2:0, 2002)
Saudi Arabia - Morocco (2:1, 1994)
South Korea - Togo (2:1, 2006)

CONCACAF
Iran - USA (2:1, 1998)

EUROPE
Australia - Serbia (2:1, 2010)
Japan - Denmark (3:1, 2010)
Japan - Russia (1:0, 2002)
North Korea - Italy (1:0, 1966)
Saudi Arabia - Belgium (1:0, 1994)
South Korea - Greece (2:0, 2010)
South Korea - Italy (2:1, 2002)
South Korea - Poland (2:0, 2002)
South Korea - Portugal (1:0, 2002)

SOUTH AMERICA
None

All-Time CONCACAF World Cup Wins

AFRICA
USA - Algeria (1:0, 2010)

ASIA
Costa Rica - China (2:0, 2002)
Mexico - Iran (3:1, 2006)
Mexico - Iraq (1:0, 1986)
Jamaica - Japan (2:1, 1998)
Mexico - South Korea (3:1, 1998)

CONCACAF
USA - Mexico (2:0, 2002)

EUROPE
Costa Rica - Scotland (1:0, 1990)
Costa Rica - Sweden (2:1, 1990)
Cuba - Romania (2:1, 1938)
Mexico - Belgium (2:1, 1986)
Mexico - Belgium (1:0, 1970)
Mexico - Bulgaria (2:0, 1986)
Mexico - Croatia (1:0, 2002)
Mexico - Czechoslovakia (3:1, 1962)
Mexico - France (2:0, 2010)
Mexico - Republic of Ireland (2:1, 1994)
USA - Belgium (3:0, 1930)
USA - England (1:0, 1950)
USA - Portugal (3:2, 2002)

SOUTH AMERICA
Mexico - Ecuador (2:1, 2002)
USA - Colombia (2:1, 1994)
USA - Paraguay (3:0, 1930)

All-Time African World Cup Wins

All-time World Cup wins by African nations.

ASIA
Cameroon - Saudi Arabia (1:0, 2002)
Cote d'Ivoire - North Korea (3:0, 2010)

CONCACAF
Ghana - USA (2:1, 2006)
Ghana - USA (2:1, 2010)
Tunisia - Mexico (3:1, 1978)

EUROPE
Algeria - Germany (2:1, 1982)
Cameroon - Romania (2:1, 1990)
Cote d'Ivoire - Serbia & Montenegro (3:2, 2006)
Ghana - Czech Republic (2:0, 2006)
Ghana - Serbia (1:0, 2010)
Morocco - Portugal (3:1, 1986)
Morocco - Scotland (3:0, 1998)
Nigeria - Bulgaria (3:0, 1994)
Nigeria - Bulgaria (1:0, 1998)
Nigeria - Greece (2:0, 1994)
Nigeria - Spain (3:2, 1998)
Senegal - France (1:0, 2002)
Senegal - Sweden (2:1, 2002)
South Africa - France (2:1, 2010)
South Africa - Slovenia (1:0, 2002)

SOUTH AMERICA
Algeria - Chile (3:2, 1982)
Cameroon - Argentina (1:0, 1990)
Cameroon - Colombia (2:1, 1990)

All-time FIFA World Cup Rankings

The all-time FIFA World Cup Rankings (based on results in previous WC appearances) of the 32 teams participating in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

All-time FIFA World Cup Rankings

1 - Brazil
2 - Germany
3 - Italy
4 - Argentina
5 - England

6 - Spain
7 - France
8 - Netherlands
9 - Uruguay
12 - Russia

14 - Mexico
18 - Portugal
19 - Belgium
20 - Chile
21 - Switzerland

25 - USA
26 - South Korea
27 - Croatia
28 - Cameroon
32 - Japan

34 - Ghana
37 - Nigeria
38 - Colombia
40 - Costa Rica
42 - Ecuador

44 - Australia
47 - Algeria
50 - Cote d'Ivoire
53 - Iran
59 - Honduras

61 - Greece
n/a - Bosnia and Herzegovina



Teams in the All-Time top 30 not participating in the 2014 World Cup:

10 - Sweden
11 - Serbia
13 - Poland
15 - Hungary
16 - Czech Republic
17 - Austria
22 - Paraguay
23 - Romania
24 - Denmark
29 - Scotland
30 - Bulgaria

Nations in Qualifying Position for Brazil 2014

There's still a long way to go before the final field is set for Brazil 2014 but this is a list of nations that are currently in "qualifying position" at this early stage of final round World Cup qualifying.

CONCACAF (3.5 teams qualify)
USA (33)
Panama (41)
Costa Rica (53)
Honduras (49) (Intercontinental Playoff with Oceania)

AFRICA (5 teams qualify: 5 home-and-away series)
Cote d'Ivoire (13)

Nigeria (30)

Algeria (34)

Zambia (36)

Tunisia (44)
Egypt (75)
Cameroon (79)
Senegal (82)
Congo (101)
Ethiopia (112)

ASIA (4.5 teams qualify)
Japan (26)

South Korea (47)

Uzbekistan (59)
Jordan (90)

Australia (39) (Playoff - then Intercontinental Playoff with South America)
Iran (57) (Playoff - then Intercontinental Playoff with South America)

EUROPE (13 teams qualify)
Spain (1)
Germany (2)

Italy (5)

Netherlands (8)

Russia (10)

Switzerland (14)

Belgium (19)
Bosnia-Herzegovina (23)
Montenegro (28)

Playoff Positions (The 8 best group runners-up will play Round 2 in 4 home-and-away series)
England (4)
Croatia (9)
Greece (12)
France (17)

Hungary (32)

Bulgaria (46)
Albania (64)
Israel (74)

OCEANIA
New Zealand (88) (Intercontinental Playoff with CONCACAF)

SOUTH AMERICA (Brazil + 4.5 teams qualify)
Brazil (18) (Automatic Qualification Home Nation)

Argentina (3)
Colombia (6)
Ecuador (11)
Chile (22)

Venezuela (43) (Intercontinental Playoff with Asia)

USMNT: Final Round WCQ Openers 1997-2009

USA Men's National Team results in the opening game of the final round of World Cup Qualifiers from 1997-2009


3/2/1997 - Jamaica (D)
Location: Kingston, Jamaica
0-0

2/28/2001 - Mexico (W)
Location: Columbus, Ohio
2-0

USA Goals: Josh Wolff, Earnie Stewart

2/9/2005 - Trinidad and Tobago (W)
Location: Port of Spain, Trinidad
2-1

USA Goals: Eddie Johnson, Eddie Lewis

2/11/2009 - Mexico (W)
Location: Columbus, Ohio
2-0

USA Goals: Michael Bradley (2)

Unbeaten at the World Cup

World Cup nations that have finished the tournament without a loss.  World Cup Winners in Red.

2010
New Zealand

2006
Italy

2002
Brazil

1998
France
Belgium

1994
Brazil

1990
West Germany

1986
Argentina

1982
Cameroon
Italy
England

1978
None

1974
Scotland

1970
Brazil

1966
England

1962
Brazil

1958
Brazil
England

1954
West Germany

1950
Uruguay

1938
Italy

1934
Italy

1930
Uruguay

All-Time World Cup Points per Game

The average points per game by nations who have played a minimum of 25 World Cup games in their history.


PPG - Nation (Games Played)

2.23 - Brazil (97)
2.01 - Germany (99)
1.91 - Italy (80)
1.77 - Argentina (70)
1.77 - Netherlands (43)
1.71 - Spain (56)
1.64 - England (59)
1.61 - Poland (31)
1.59 - France (54)
1.54 - Russia (37)
1.50 - Hungary (32)
1.40 - Uruguay (47)
1.38 - Austria (29)
1.37 - Serbia (Yugoslavia) (43)
1.33 - Sweden (46)
1.24 - Slovakia/Czech Republic (34/33)
1.15 - Paraguay (27)
1.14 - Chile (29)
1.14 - Switzerland (29)
1.08 - Belgium (36)
1.00 - Mexico (49)
0.90 - USA (29)
0.82 - South Korea (28)
0.65 - Bulgaria (26)

2010 World Cup: Top Players by Game

This is a list of players who had a Castrol Index rating of 9.00 or higher in a single game at the 2010 World Cup.


Group Stages


Korea Republic v Greece
9.15 - Jung Sung Ryong (Korea Republic: GK)
9.12 - Lee Jung Soo (Korea Republic: DF)
9.06 - Park Ji Sung (Korea Republic: MF)

Argentina v Nigeria
9.51 - Gabriel Heinze (Argentina: DF)
9.06 - Martin Demichelis (Argentina: DF)

Germany v Australia
9.22 - Manuel Neuer (Germany: GK)

Netherlands v Denmark
9.20 - Gregory Van der Wiel (Netherlands: DF)

Italy v Paraguay
9.20 - Antolin Alcaraz (Paraguay: DF)

Honduras v Chile
9.33 - Waldo Ponce (Chile: DF)
9.20 - Gary Medel (Chile: DF)

Argentina v Korea Republic
9.55 - Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina: FW)

Greece v Nigeria
9.19 - Vasileios Torosidis (Greece: DF)

Ghana v Australia
9.20 - John Pantsil (Ghana: DF)

Italy v New Zealand
9.01 - Giorgio Chiellini (Italy: DF)

Portugal v Korea DPR
9.12 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal: FW)

Chile v Switzerland
9.43 - Gary Medel (Chile: DF)
9.20 - Gonzalo Jara (Chile: DF)
9.04 - Carlos Carmona (Chile: MF)

Mexico v Uruguay
9.05 - Diego Lugano (Uruguay: DF)

Greece v Argentina
9.35 - Martin Demichelis (Argnetina: DF)

USA v Algeria
9.15 - Rais M Bolhi (Algeria: GK)
9.14 - Landon Donovan (USA: MF)

Ghana v Germany
9.72 - Philipp Lahm (Germany: DF)

Paraguay v New Zealand
9.17 - Mark Paston (New Zealand: GK)

Korea DPR v Cote d'Ivoire
9.21 - Boubacar Barry (Cote d'Ivoire: GK)


Knockout Stages

USA v Ghana
9.16 - Kwadwo Asamoah (Ghana: MF)
9.13 - Steve Cherundolo (USA: DF)
9.02 - Asamoah Gyan (Ghana: FW)

Germany v England
9.40 - Miroslav Klose (Germany: FW)
9.15 - Steven Gerrard (England: MF)

Netherlands v Slovakia
9.45 - Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands: MF)

Brazil v Chile
9.36 - Juan (Brazil: DF)

Paraguay v Japan
9.52 - Paulo Da Silva (Paraguay: DF)
9.45 - Eiji Kawashima (Japan: GK)
9.39 - Claudio Morel (Paraguay: DF)
9.32 - Antolin Alcaraz (Paraguay: DF)

Spain v Portugal
9.45 - Sergio Ramos (Spain: DF)
9.44 - David Villa (Spain: FW)
9.15 - Joan Capdevila (Spain: DF)

Netherlands v Brazil
9.50 - Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands: MF)
9.28 - Robinho (Brazil: FW)

Uruguay v Ghana
9.65 - Luis Suarez (Uruguay: FW)
9.19 - John Pantsil (Ghana: DF)
9.13 - Kwadwo Asamoah (Ghana: MF)

Argentina v Germany
9.64 - Miroslav Klose (Germany: FW)
9.54 - Arne Friedrich (Germany: DF)
9.11 - Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany: MF)
9.07 - Thomas Mueller (Germany: MF)

Paraguay v Spain
9.51 - Iker Casilla (Spain: GK)
9.08 - David Villa (Spain: FW)

Uruguay v Netherlands
9.19 - Joris Mathijsen (Netherlands: DF)
9.13 - Maximiliano Pereira (Uruguay: DF)
9.09 - Dirk Kuyt (Netherlands: FW)

Germany v Spain
9.70 - Carlos Puyol (Spain: DF)
9.03 - Iker Casillas (Spain: GK)

Uruguay v Germany
9.10 - Sami Khedira (Germany: MF)

Netherlands v Spain
9.65 - Sergio Ramos (Spain: DF)
9.60 - Joan Capdevila (Spain: DF)
9.36 - Iker Casillas (Spain: GK)
9.30 - Andres Iniesta (Spain: MF)
9.24 - Wesley Sneijder (Netherlands: MF)



How the Castrol Rankings Work (Link)

World Cup Goals by League Nations and Club Teams

All the goals from the 2010 World Cup organized by the nation and club teams that the goal scorers last made an appearance with.


Argentina (1)
1 - Martin Palermo - Boca Juniors

Australia (1)
1 - Shane Smeltz - Gold Coast United

Belgium (3)
1 - Zlatan Ljubijankič - KAA Gent
1 - Milan Jovanović - Standard Liege
1 - Antolín Alcaraz - Club Brugge

Brazil (2)
2 - Robinho - Santos

Chile (1)
1 - Rodrigo Millar - Colo-Colo

Denmark (1)
1 - Winston Reid - Midtjylland

Ecuador (1)
1 - Enrique Vera - LDU Quito

England (19)
2 - Carlos Tevez - Manchester City
2 - Lee Chung-Yong - Bolton Wanderers
1 - Dirk Kuyt - Liverpool
1 - Robin van Persie - Arsenal
1 - Nicklas Bendtner - Arsenal
1 - Steven Gerrard - Liverpool
1 - Tim Cahill - Everton
1 - Florent Malouda - Chelsea
1 - Salomon Kalou - Chelsea
1 - Jermain Defoe - Tottenham Hotspur
1 - Matthew Upson - West Ham United
1 - Didier Drogba - Chelsea
1 - Yakubu - Everton
1 - Robert Koren - West Bromwich Albion
1 - Park Ji-Sung - Manchester United
1 - Clint Dempsey - Fulham
1 - Kevin-Prince Boateng - Portsmouth

France (7)
3 - Asamoah Gyan - Rennes
1 - Valter Birsa - Auxerre
1 - Gelson Fernandes - Saint-Etienne
1 - Park Chu-Young - AS Monaco
1 - Gabriel Heinze - Marseille

Germany (21)
5 - Thomas Mueller - Bayern Munich
4 - Miroslav Klose - Bayern Munich
2 - Lukas Podolski - Köln
2 - Arjen Robben - Bayern Munich
1 - Mesut Özil - Werder Bremen
1 - Hugo Almeida - Werder Bremen
1 - Marcell Jansen - Hamburg
1 - Cacau - VfB Stuttgart
1 - Michael Bradley - Borussia Moenchengladbach
1 - Martín Demichelis - Bayern Munich
1 - Sami Khedira - VfB Stuttgart
1 - Arne Friedrich - Hertha BSC

Greece (2)
1 - Dimitris Salpigidis - Panathinaikos
1 - Vasilis Torosidis - Olympiacos

Italy (16)
5 - Wesley Sneijder - Inter Milan
2 - Samuel Eto'o - Inter Milan
1 - Daniele De Rossi - Roma
1 - Maicon - Inter Milan
1 - Edinson Cavani - Palermo
1 - Fabio Quagliarella - Napoli
1 - Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - AC Milan
1 - Sulley Muntari - Inter Milan
1 - Antonio Di Natale - Udinese
1 - Vincenzo Iaquinta - Juventus
1 - Juan - Roma

Japan (4)
2 - Lee Jung-Soo - Kashima Antlers
1 - Shinji Okazaki - Shimizu S-Pulse
1 - Yasuhito Endō - Gamba Osaka

Mexico (5)
2 - Javier Hernández - Chivas Guadalajara
1 - Cuauhtémoc Blanco - Veracruz
1 - Jean Beausejour - Club America
1 - Cristian Riveros - Cruz Azul

Netherlands (9)
3 - Luis Suarez - Ajax
2 - Brett Holman - AZ Alkmaar
1 - Dennis Rommedahl - Ajax
1 - Marko Pantelić - Ajax
1 - Jon Dahl Tomasson - Feyenoord
1 - Giovanni van Bronckhorst - Feyenoord

North Korea (1)
1 - Ji Yun-Nam - April 25

Portugal (4)
1 - Liédson - Sporting CP
1 - Raúl Meireles - FC Porto
1 - Álvaro Pereira - FC Porto
1 - Maxi Pereira - Benfica

Russia (3)
2 - Keisuke Honda - CSKA Moscow
1 - Mark González - CSKA Moscow

Slovakia (1)
1 - Kamil Kopúnek - Spartak Trnava

South Africa (3)
1 - Siphiwe Tshabalala - Kaizer Chiefs
1 - Bongani Khumalo - Supersport United
1 - Katlego Mphela - Mamelodi Sundowns

Spain (29)
5 - David Villa - Valencia
5 - Diego Forlan - Atletico Madrid
4 - Gonzalo Higuain - Real Madrid
3 - Luis Fabiano - Sevilla
2 - Tiago - Atletico Madrid
2 - Kalu Uche - Almería
2 - Andres Iniesta - Barcelona
1 - Yaya Touré - Barcelona
1 - Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid
1 - Rafael Marquez - Barcelona
1 - Romaric - Sevilla
1 - Simão - Atletico Madrid
1 - Carlos Puyol - Barcelona

Turkey (6)
4 - Robert Vittek - Ankaragücü
2 - Elano - Galatasaray

USA (3)
3 - Landon Donovan - LA Galaxy

World Cup: Distances Covered, Top Speeds, and Activity Stats

Stats through the first two games of the World Cup 2010 Group Stage.

PLAYERS

Distance Covered
15.42mi - 24.82km - Carl Valeri (Australia)
15.05mi - 24.22km - Gerardo Torrado (Mexico)
15.01mi - 24.16km - Sami Khedira (Germany)
14.81mi - 23.83km - Benjamin Huggel (Switzerland)
14.80mi - 23.81km - Michael Bradley (USA)

Distance Covered in Possession
6.89mi - 11.09km - Xabi Alonso (Spain)
6.83mi - 10.99km - Sami Khedira (Germany)
6.37mi - 10.25km - Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
6.25mi - 10.05km - Robinho (Brazil)
6.14mi - 9.88km - Riccardo Montolivo (Italy)

Distance Covered Not in Possession
7.80mi - 12.55km - An Yong Hak (North Korea)
7.58mi - 12.19km - Gokhan Inler (Switzerland)
7.50mi - 12.07km - Benjamin Huggel (Switzerland)
6.98mi - 11.23km - Carl Valeri (Australia)
6.94mi - 11.16km - Stephan Lichtsteiner (Switzerland)

High Activity Time (in Minutes)
20 - Carl Valeri (Australia)
18 - Luke Wilkshire (Australia)
18 - Gerardo Torrado (Mexico)
17 - Hassan Yebda (Algeria)
17 - Teko Modise (South Africa)
17 - An Yong Hak (North Korea)
17 - Gelson Fernandes (Switzerland)
17 - Raul Meireles (Portugal)
17 - Steven Pienaar (South Africa)

Medium Activity Time Minutes (15+)
16 - An Yong Hak (North Korea)
16 - Christian Poulsen (Denmark)
16 - Medhi Lacen (Algeria)
16 - Michael Bradley (USA)
15 - Carl Valeri (Australia)
15 - Sami Khedira (Germany)
15 - Hassan Yebda (Algeria)
15 - Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
15 - Daniele De Rossi (Italy)
15 - Pedro Mendes (Portugal)
15 - Gilberto Silva (Brazil)

Field Players with 115+ minutes of Low Activity Time (in Minutes)
116 - Juan (Brazil)
116 - Lionel Messi (Argentina)
116 - Jay DeMerit (USA)
116 - Oguchi Onyewu (USA)
115 - Martin Skrtel (Slovakia)
115 - Rafik Halliche (Algeria)
115 - Martin Demichelis (Argentina)
115 - Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Japan)
115 - Siaka Tiene (Ivory Coast)

Top Speed
19.62mph - 31.57km/h - Avraam Papadopoulos (Greece)
19.57mph - 31.50km/h - Konstantinos Katsouranis (Greece)
19.33mph - 31.10km/h - Victor Obinna (Nigeria)
19.22mph - 30.93km/h - Gonzalo Higuain (Argentina)
19.11mph - 30.75km/h - Felipe Melo (Brazil)
18.80mph - 30.26km/h - Dimitrios Salpingides (Greece)
18.72mph - 30.13km/h - Eric Choupo Moting (Cameroon)
18.72mph - 30.13km/h - Robbie Findley (USA)
18.72mph - 30.13km/h - Lukas Podolski (Germany)
18.72mph - 30.13km/h - Yuto Nagatomo (Japan)



TEAMS

Distance Covered
139.85mi - 225.06km - Mexico
138.76mi - 223.32km - Switzerland
136.69mi - 219.98km - England
136.54mi - 219.74km - Portugal
135.80mi - 218.55km - Japan
134.33mi - 216.18km - Australia
133.59mi - 215.00km - Germany
133.36mi - 214.63km - USA
133.22mi - 214.40km - South Africa
132.61mi - 213.42km - Italy

Distance Covered in Possession
60.60mi - 97.57km - Spain
58.75mi - 94.55km - Portugal
58.01mi - 93.35km - Germany
57.73mi - 92.90km - Italy
56.59mi - 91.08km - Brazil
56.51mi - 90.95km - Mexico
55.17mi - 88.79km - Netherlands
55.07mi - 88.63km - Chile
52.36mi - 84.26km - England
52.34mi - 84.23km - Cameroon

Distance Covered Not in Possession
69.65mi - 112.09km - Switzerland
64.41mi - 103.65km - North Korea
61.22mi - 98.52km - Japan
58.47mi - 94.09km - Honduras
57.83mi - 93.06km - Australia
57.81mi - 93.04km - South Africa
56.41mi - 90.79km - Denmark
56.24mi - 90.51km - South Korea
55.96mi - 90.06km - New Zealand
55.41mi - 89.17km - Uruguay

Top Speed
19.62mph - 31.57km/h - Greece
19.33mph - 31.10km/h - Nigeria
19.22mph - 30.93km/h - Argentina
19.11mph - 30.75km/h - Brazil
18.72mph - 30.13km/h - Cameroon
18.72mph - 30.13km/h - Germany
18.72mph - 30.13km/h - USA
18.72mph - 30.13km/h - Japan
18.65mph - 30.02km/h - Serbia
18.59mph - 29.92km/h - Italy



Stats compiled from FIFA.com

Non World Cup Nations Represented at WC2010

A map and list of World Cup 2010 players who were born in nations that did not make it to South Africa but still made the trip with their adopted national teams. If you include these 'foreign' players, there are 48 different nations represented at this year's World Cup (50 if you count Greenland and French Guiana, which are technically considered parts of Denmark and France respectively).


View Non-World Cup Nations Represented at WC2010 in a larger map

Albania
Sotiris Ninis (Greece)

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Marko Marin (Germany)
Neven Subotić (Serbia)
Elvedin Džinič (Slovenia)
Zlatko Dedič (Slovenia)

Canada
Daniel Fernandes (Portugal)

Cape Verde
Gelson Fernandes (Switzerland)

Croatia
Dario Vidošić (Australia)

Czech Republic
Loukas Vyntra (Greece)

DR Congo
Blaise Nkufo (Switzerland)
Steve Mandanda (France)

French Guiana
Florent Malouda (France)

Greenland
Jesper Grønkjær (Denmark)

Kosovo
Valon Behrami (Switzerland)
Albert Bunjaku (Switzerland)
Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland)

Poland
Piotr Trochowski (Germany)
Miroslav Klose (Germany)
Lukas Podolski (Germany)

Scotland
Stuart Holden (USA)

Senegal
Patrice Evra (France)

Suriname
Edson Braafheid (Netherlands)

Swaziland
Bongani Khumalo (South Africa)

Ukraine
Nikita Rukavytsya (Australia)

Uzbekistan
Peter Odemwingie (Nigeria)

Venezuela
Danny (Portugal)
Jorge Valdivia (Chile)

World Cup 2010 - Team Group Stage Travel Distances

South African Street Sign
Picture from An American in Pretoria Blog


I noticed a few days ago that the USA's group stage venues were all fairly close to each other and it made me wonder about the amount of travel some teams would have to do compared to others. This is a list of the distances covered in miles between the 3 venues that each nation will play at in their group stage games.

I came up with these numbers using driving directions on Google maps so as the bird flies the numbers would probably be a bit different. Also, I plugged in the cities in the order they'll be played in, so some teams that play in the same 3 cities will still have different mileage totals due to the different routes and direction of travel between the cities.

With that in mind, these mileage numbers are not necessarily precise, but still give a relatively good idea of the distances that will be traveled by each team between their 3 group stage games.

All numbers are in miles


GROUP A
1513 - France - Cape Town, Polokwane, Bloemfontein
976 - Uruguay - Cape Town, Pretoria, Rustenburg
422 - Mexico - Johannesburg, Polokwane, Rustenburg
324 - South Africa - Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein

GROUP B
1017 - South Korea - Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Durban
863 - Greece - Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Polokwane
643 - Nigeria - Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Durban
201 - Argentina - Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Polowkane

GROUP C
1974 - Algeria - Polokwane, Cape Town, Pretoria
1354 - England - Rustenburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth
863 - Slovenia - Polokwane, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth
114 - USA - Rustenburg, Johannesburg, Pretoria

GROUP D
1581 - Serbia - Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit
1257 - Germany - Durban, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg
702 - Australia - Durban, Rustenburg, Nelspruit
141 - Ghana - Pretoria, Rustenburg, Johannesburg

GROUP E
1370 - Netherlands - Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town
1192 - Cameroon - Bloemfontein, Pretoria, Cape Town
826 - Japan - Bloemfontein, Durban, Rustenburg
109 - Denmark - Johannesburg, Pretoria, Rustenburg

GROUP F
1299 - Italy - Cape Town, Nelspruit, Johannesburg
1069 - Paraguay - Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Polokwane
560 - Slovakia - Rustenburg, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg
474 - New Zealand - Rustenburg, Nelspruit, Polokwane

GROUP G
1954 - North Korea - Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nelspruit
1483 - Portugal - Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Durban
878 - Cote d'Ivoire - Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Nelspruit
354 - Brazil - Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Durban

GROUP H
1580 - Chile - Nelspruit, Port Elizabeth, Pretoria
1004 - Switzerland - Durban, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein
461 - Honduras - Nelspruit, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein
391 - Spain - Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria


Teams with Most Group Stage Travel
1974 - Algeria
1954 - North Korea
1581 - Serbia
1580 - Chile
1513 - France

Teams with Least Group Stage Travel
109 - Denmark
114 - USA
141 - Ghana
201 - Argentina
324 - South Africa

World Cup 2010 - Group C Birthplace Maps

ENGLAND

View England World Cup Squad Birthplace Map in a larger map


USA

View USA World Cup Squad Birthplace Map in a larger map

ALGERIA

View Algeria World Cup Squad Birthplace Map in a larger map

SLOVENIA

View Slovenia Squad World Cup Birthplace Map in a larger map

Final FIFA Rankings of World Cup 2010 Teams

The final FIFA rankings before the 2010 World Cup begins came out yesterday. This is a list of the national team rankings by group and the average FIFA ranking of each group. It'll be interesting to see how close the rankings come to predicting the final group positions.

GROUP A - 31.25
9 - France
16 - Uruguay
17 - Mexico
83 - South Africa

GROUP B - 22.00
7 - Argentina
13 - Greece
21 - Nigeria
47 - Korea Republic

GROUP C - 19.25
8 - England
14 - United States
25 - Slovenia
30 - Algeria

GROUP D - 18.25
6 - Germany
15 - Serbia
20 - Australia
32 - Ghana

GROUP E - 26.00
4 - Netherlands
19 - Cameroon
36 - Denmark
45 - Japan

GROUP F - 37.00
5 - Italy
31 - Paraguay
34 - Slovakia
78 - New Zealand

GROUP G - 34.00
1 - Brazil
3 - Portugal
27 - Cote d'Ivoire
105 - Korea DPR

GROUP H - 20.50
2 - Spain
18 - Chile
24 - Switzerland
38 - Honduras

Videos: Nations with One World Cup Goal All-Time

Israel (goal at 2:28) v Sweden 1970 (Mordechai Spiegler)


El Salvador (goal at 1:40) v Hungary 1982 (Luis Ramírez Zapata)


Iraq v Belgium 1986 (Ahmed Radhi)


Bolivia (goal at 2:00) v Spain 1994 (Erwin Sanchez)


Togo v South Korea 2006 (Mohamed Kader Touré)


Angola (goal at 1:55) v Iran 2006 (Flavio)

Videos: World Cup Records

Oleg Salenko (Russia) scores a record 5 goals against Cameroon in the 1994 USA World Cup - also Oldest ever goalscorer 42 years and 39 days, Roger Milla (Cameroon) happened during this game


Geoff Hurst (England) scores the only hat trick in a World Cup Final (1966)


Hungary 10-1 El Salvador (1982)
Most Team Goals in a Game (10), Tied for largest margin of victory (9), Fastest hat trick by an individual 8 minutes, László Kiss (Hungary), scored at 69', 72', and 76'. -


11 seconds - Fastest goal from Kickoff - Hakan Şükür (Turkey v South Korea 2002)


Yugoslavia (9) v Zaire (0) 1974 - Tied Largest Margin of Victory (9)- Most individual goalscorers for one team, one match (7) (Bajević, Džajić, Šurjak, Katalinski, Bogićević, Oblak, Petković)


Only player to score for both teams in the same match
Ernie Brandts (Netherlands vs Italy 1978 – own goal in the 18th minute, goal in the 50th minute)


Fastest Red Card
56 seconds, José Batista - Uruguay vs Scotland, 1986.


Fewest goals, penalty shootout, one team
0, Switzerland 2006 vs Ukraine


Youngest goalscorer
17 years and 239 days, Pelé (Brazil, vs Wales, 1958)


Fastest goal by a substitute
16 seconds, Ebbe Sand (60th minute - Denmark, vs Nigeria, 1998)

Second Division Players on Preliminary World Cup Squads

A list of World Cup 2010 preliminary squad players that did not play in a top division league during the 2009/2010 season.

GROUP A

SOUTH AFRICA
Rowen Fernández (Arminia Bielefeld; Germany)

MEXICO
Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Veracruz; Mexico)

URUGUAY
NONE

FRANCE
NONE

GROUP B

ARGENTINA
Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle United; England)
Jonás Gutiérrez (Newcastle United; England)

NIGERIA
NONE

SOUTH KOREA
Kim Bo-Kyung (Oita Trinita; Japan)

GREECE
NONE

GROUP C

ENGLAND
NONE

UNITED STATES
Jay DeMerit (Watford; England)

ALGERIA
Carl Medjani (Ajaccio; France)
Rafik Saïfi (Istres; France)
Djamel Mesbah (Lecce; Italy)

SLOVENIA
Jasmin Handanovič (Mantova; Italy)
Matej Mavrič (TuS Koblenz; Germany)
Robert Koren (West Bromwich Albion; England)

GROUP D

GERMANY
NONE

AUSTRALIA
Brad Jones (Middlesbrough; England)
Rhys Williams (Middlesbrough; England)
Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough; England)
Adam Federici (Reading; England)
Nick Carle (Crystal Palace; England)
Dario Vidošić (MSV Duisburg; Germany)
Mark Milligan (JEF United; Japan)
Carl Valeri (Sassuolo; Italy)

SERBIA
Antonio Rukavina (1860 Munich; Germany)

GHANA
André Ayew (AC Arles-Avignon; France)

GROUP E

NETHERLANDS
NONE

DENMARK
Søren Larsen (MSV Duisburg; Germany)

JAPAN
NONE

CAMEROON
Marcel Ndjeng (FC Augsburg; Germany)
Geroges Mandjeck (Kaiserslautern; Germany)

GROUP F

ITALY
NONE

PARAGUAY
Denis Caniza (León; Mexico)

NEW ZEALAND
Tommy Smith (Ipswich Town; England)
Chris Killen (Middlesbrough; England)
Chris Wood (West Bromwich Albion; England)
Rory Fallon (Plymouth Argyle; England)
Jeremy Christie (Tampa Bay Rowdies; USA)

SLOVAKIA
Ľuboš Kamenár (Nantes; France)
Marek Čech (West Bromwich Albion; England)
Ľubomír Michalík (Leeds United; England.3)
Martin Petráš (Cesena; Italy)
Erik Jendrišek (Kaiserslautern; Germany)

GROUP G

BRAZIL
NONE

KOREA DPR
NONE

COTE D'IVOIRE
Abdoulaye Méïté (West Bromwich Albion; England)

PORTUGAL
NONE

GROUP H

SPAIN
NONE

SWITZERLAND
NONE

HONDURAS
Julio César de León (Torino; Italy)

CHILE
Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad; Spain)
Gonzalo Jara (West Bromwich Albion; England)
Carlos Carmona (Reggina; Italy)



Players that are on recently relegated teams are not included in this list. Only players who were on 2nd division sides during this past season are included.

Foreign-Born World Cup Winners

A list of Foreign-Born Players from World Cup winning nations since the first WC in 1930.

2006
Italy

Mauro Camoranesi
Tandil, Argentina

Simone Perrotta
Ashton-under-Lyne, England

1998
France

Patrick Vieira
Dakar, Senegal

Marcel Desailly
Accra, Ghana

Lilian Thuram
Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe (technically considered an overseas region of France)

Christian Karembeu
Lifou, New Caledonia (overseas territory of France)

1982
Italy

Claudio Gentile
Tripoli, Libya

1974
West Germany

Herbert Wimmer
Eupen, Belgium

1954
West Germany

Josef Posipal
Lugoj, Romania

Richard Herrmann
Katowice, Poland

1950
Uruguay

Ernesto Vidal
Buie d'Istria, Italy


1938
Italy

Michele Andreolo
Montevideo, Uruguay


1934
Italy

Attilio Demaria
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Enrique Guaita
Lucas González, Argentina

Anfilogino Guarisi
São Paulo, Brazil

Luis Monti
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Raimundo Orsi
Avellaneda, Argentina

Mario Varglien
Fiume, Austria-Hungary (modern day Rijeka, Croatia)


1930
Uruguay

Lorenzo Fernández
Redondela, Spain