10 Incredible Facts About The FIFA World Cup

84 years of Football World Cup and 80 Points Trivia

The first Fifa World Cup was played in 1930 in Uruguay, where the winning home squad were awarded the Victory trophy. The 1950 Fifa World Cup had no official final match.

1. The first Fifa World Cup trophy, awarded to Uruguay at the inaugural 1930 tournament, was a cup emblazoned with the female figure of winged victory. In 1946 it was renamed the Jules Rimet Trophy, in honour of the Fifa president of the time. In 1970 the trophy was permanently awarded to Brazil after that team’s then-record third victory in the Fifa World Cup. But it was later stolen, and never seen again. The winged trophy had been a victim of crime before. In 1966 it was stolen from an exhibition before the Fifa World Cup in England. Luckily, it was returned after a small dog called Pickles found it buried under a bush.

2. Today’s Fifa World Cup trophy was first awarded in 1974 to tournament winners Germany. After fifty-three submissions from sculptors in seven countries, Italian artist Silvio Gazzaniga’s design was chosen for the new trophy, which features two human figures holding up the globe of the world. Made of 18-carat gold, the trophy is 36.8cm high and weighs 6.175kg. The base has space for 17 winner inscriptions, enough space to last until the 2038 Fifa World Cup. The solid-gold trophy is a challenge cup that remains in the permanent possession of Fifa. The winning association receives a gold-plated replica that it is allowed to keep until the next tournament.

3. Three stadiums hosted the inaugural 1930 Fifa World Cup, including the purpose-built Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay. Seventeen stadiums in 14 cities hosted Spain’s 1982 tournament, the largest number of stadiums in any World Cup.. In 2002 co-hosts South Korea and Japan each provided 10 stadiums in 10 cities. In 2010 South Africa’s primary city of Johannesburg will host games in two stadiums. Only five other World Cup hosts have had two stadiums on one city: Guadalajara, Mexico City, Monterrey, Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, Buenos Aires, London and Paris.

4. Twelve countries, including South Africa in 2010, have been one-time Fifa World Cup hosts. Four countries - Mexico, Italy, France and Germany - have hosted it twice. Ten competitions have been held in Europe, seven in the Americas and one in Asia. In 2010, one in Africa will join the statistics.

5. A total of 23 cities have hosted the World Cup two times − eight in Germany, seven in Italy and four each in Mexico and France.

6. Today’s World Cup format has been in place since 1986. In 1974, 1978 and 1982 the tournament had 24 competing teams, and an additional group stage in the second phase. The knockout system after the group stage (quarter-finals) was used from 1954 to 1970. In 1998 the tournament was expanded to 32 competing teams.

7. The legendary 1950 World Cup in Brazil was the only tournament won without an official final match. Instead, the winners of four preliminary pools qualified for a final pool. Results in this group of four effectively turned the match between Brazil and Uruguay (1-2) into the final, as only these two teams were still in with a chance of winning the tournament on the final day. In a match watched by a record crowd, the Brazilian team made a tragic loss, with suicides in the huge home stadium immediately after the result.

8. The earliest ever kick-off time was 11h35 in 1994, in a tournament hosted in the USA, in a Switzerland-USA first-round match. The latest kick off time is 21h00: more than 100 Fifa World Cup matches have started at this time. Most 2010 Fifa World Cup matches start at either 16h00 or 20h30.

9. The first official substitution was made in the inaugural match of the 1970 Mexico World Cup between the host team and the USSR. Coach Kachalin decided at halftime to substitute Viktor Serebryanikov with Anatoli Puzach.

10. Red and yellow cards were only introduced in 1970, although cautions and dismissals were previously listed in reports. The first player to be sent off was Peru’s Placido Galindo in the match against Romania in 1930.

11. Twelve yellow and four indirect red cards were totted up between the Netherlands and Portugul in a 2006 Round of 16 match. In contrast, not one player was sent off in the 1950 and 1970 Fifa World Cup.

12. Shirt numbers were used for the first time at the World Cup in 1954. A look at which number has produced the most goals at the 13 tournaments played since then reveals a clear picture: number 9 (235 goals), number 10 (213), number 11 (182), number 7 (128), number 8 (127),. Shirt names were first used in 1994.

13. The shirt number 23 appeared officially for the first time at the 2002 Fifa World Cup when teams were allowed a 23-player squad. But in the 1962 tournament, shirt number 23 was given an unofficial debut by Uruguay’s Guillermo Escalada, because superstition removed the number 13 from the Uruguay squad. In 1998, shirt 23 made an appearance for less supernatural reasons in the South African squad when reaserve goalkeeper Gopane replaced Evans (number 22) because of an injury.

14. The 1994 Fifa World Cup in the USA had an unusual number of competition changes:
• three points for a win instead of two
• introduction of a fourth official to support the referees trio
• the first ever indoor match was hosted at the Detroit Pontiac Silverdome
• all roster players could be seated on the bench and considered as potential substitutes

15. To date, the host country has always made it through the group stage to qualify for the second round.

16. Italy’s first round defeat by Sweden in 1950 was the first time that any defending champion lost a game at the Fifa World Cup finals. But no defending champion has ever fared so badly as France in 2002. Not only did they fail to pass the opening round but they also became the first champion not to win at least one game or score a single goal.

17. Some 31-million fans have attended the 708 World Cup matches played since 1930, an average of 44 000 people per game.

18. Despite the sizes of the Maracana Stadium and Azteca Stadium, the 1994 Fifa World Cup USA still set an attendance record. A total of 3 587 538 spectators watched the 52 matches, an average of more than 68 991 per game.

19. More than 100 000 spectators have been recorded at 17 matches in either Rio de Janeiro or Mexico City. The all-time record was at the Maracana Stadium in 1950, when 173 850 fans witnessed the surprise defeat of Brazil and triumph of Uruguay.

20. Football was first televised by the BBC in 1938 for the FA Cup final. The first Fifa World Cup was filmed in Switzerland in 1954. The revolutionary breakthroughs of the 1960s, including the introduction of action replay and communications satellites, meant that the 1970 World Cup in Mexico became the first to be seen live and globally.

21. Today the Fifa World Cup is by far the biggest TV sports event in the world. In 2006, a cumulated audience of more than 26-billion viewers was recorded for the 64 matches. There were fewer than 5-billion viewers of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

22. Fifa’s first marketing programme was launched at the 1982 Fifa World Cup. Two of Fifa’s partners from then are still on board: adidas and Coca-Cola. Their relationship with Fifa dates back to the 1970s.

23. Telstar was the first official Fifa World Cup match ball. It was introduced in 1970 in Mexico, the first tournament ever to be broadcast live on television, as Telstars’ 32 black-and-white panels were more visible on black-and-white televisions. Telstar was used again in 1974. Match balls since then include Tango (1978, 1982), Azteca (1986), Etrusco (1990), Questra (1994), Tricolore (1998), Fevernova (2002), Teamgeist (2006), Jabulani (2010).

24. The first World Cup Mascot was introduced in 1966. “Willie“ was a British lion wearing a Union Jack flag jersey sporting the words "WORLD CUP". The following three tournaments each had boys as mascots: Juanito (Mexico 1970); Tip & Tap (Germany 1974) and Gauchito (Argentina 1978). Spain’s mascot in 1982 was Naranjito, an orange wearing the Spain’s team kit. Pique, the jalapeño pepper with a moustache and wearing a sombrero was Mexico’s mascot in 1986. Italy 1990 saw the first inanimate mascot called Ciao, a stick figure player with a football for a head and an Italian tricolore body. Since then there have always been animals: Striker, the dog, (USA 1994), Footix, the chicken, (France 1998), Goleo, the lion, (Germany 2006) and finally Zakumi, the South African leopard, (2010). The exception was Korea and Japan in 2002 where the mascots were Ato, Kaz and Nik, three futuristic, computer-generated creatures.

25. Including 2010 a total of 76 teams will have taken part in the World Cup finals. This includes teams who either no longer exist or have undergone a transformation. When the World Cup was expanded to 24 teams, five countries qualified for the finals for the first time. Since then, there have always been three or four new teams, six in 2006. The 2010 Fifa World Cup will be an exception to the trend as Slovakia will be the only debutant.

26. Italy’s 2006 victory meant that the two football continents, South America and Europe, were drawn 9-9 in the Fifa World Cup scoreboard. Brazil has won five of South America’s titles with Argentina and Uruguay on two wins each. Europe’s winning associations are Italy with four titles, Germany with three and England and France one each.

27. The most successful teams are those which have been in the Fifa World Cup the highest number of times: Brazil (19 World Cups), Italy and Germany (17) and Argentina (15).

28. Brazil is the most prolific team in World Cup history in terms of goals scored - 201 followed by Germany (190), Italy (122) and Argentina (113). Aside from goalscoring, Brazil’s World Cup track record is impressive:19 tournaments, 5 titles, 92 games, 64 victories and 2.2 points per game.

29. Only Brazil has been able to win the World Cup outside of its own continent, first in Sweden in 1958 and then again in Korea/Japan in 2002. No European team has ever won the World Cup on a different continent.

30. Six out of 75 former participating countries have never scored a goal in the history of the World Cup: Greece, the Dutch East Indies, Zaire, Canada, China Trinidad and Tobago. Greece, who failed to score at USA 1994, is the only team with a chance to change this record in South Africa 2010.

31. With regard to African World Cup history Egypt was the first of Africa’s teams to appear in the Fifa World Cup. This was in 1934 when they played just one match against Hungary and were eliminated. Morocco was the next African participant in 1970. The first continental win was in 1978 when Tunisia beat Mexico 3-1. In 1982 Cameroon was the first African team to be eliminated undefeated after three draws in 1982. In 1986 Morocco became the first African team to qualify to the second stage in 1986.

32. The Fifa Statutes recognise the four British associations as separate members. But all four − England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – have qualified for the World Cup only once, in 1958, when they were spread elegantly across all four groups. Wales and Northern Ireland made it as far as the quarter-finals, with England and Scotland missing out. Wales were eventually eliminated by Pelé’s first World Cup goal, while Northern Ireland conceded four against France, including two by Just Fontaine.

33. Two times champions Uruguay play with four stars on their shirts: two for the World Cup wins of 1930 and 1950 and the other two in commemoration of the two Olympic triumphs of the 1920s. This shows the importance attached to the 1924 and 1928 Olympic Games Football Tournaments both of which were great successes and encouraged Fifa to launch the Fifa World Cup in 1930.

34. The Republic of Ireland have proved very economical, accumulating 14 points from just ten goals in 13 matches at three different World Cups (1.4 points per goal). Only Croatia (1.33 points per goal) and Cameroon (1.26) can compete in this respect. England and Italy, in comparison, both have the best ratio (1.23) out of all of the world champion teams.

35. Although many countries have been eliminated from the World Cup without being beaten in a match Switzerland’s record is hard to beat. In 2006 Jakob "Köbi" Kuhn’s team had three clean sheets in the group stage, however, returned home after playing the Round of 16 match against Ukraine when they were knocked out in a penalty shoot-out after a goalless draw.

36. The five most frequent outcomes in international football account for 60% of all World Cup results:
• every third World Cup game has ended 1-0 (18%) or 2-1 (14%)
• 11% of games have ended 2-0
• another 10% of games have ended 1-1.
• 8% of all matches played to date have ended 0-0.

37. Ten World Cup match fixtures have been played at least five times. Sweden-Brazil tops this list with 7 games. Conversely, matches the world is still waiting to see include England-Serbia, France-Netherlands and Spain-Portugal.

38. Austria’s 7-5 win over Switzerland in 1954 still tops the list of highest-scoring matches.

39. The three biggest victories have been matches with a margin of 9 goals. In 1954 Puskas & Co. defeated debutants Korea Republic 9-0. In 1974 Yugoslavia also triumphed over Zaire with a 9-0 win. In 1982 it was Hungary again who subjected El Salvador to a similar fate by beating them 10-1.

40. Two teams have scored five goals in a game and yet failed to win. In 1938, Poland lost 6-5 to Brazil despite the match finishing 4-4 at the end of normal time. In 1954 Switzerland were defeated 7-5 by Austria after leading 3-0 after nineteen minutes before a flood of goals overwhelmed Swiss goalkeeper, Eugene Parlier.

41. To date twenty matches have been decided by penalty shoot-out, the first in 1982, when Germany FR beat France in the semi-finals and the last in 2006 when Italy beat France 5-3 in the final. Germany, France, Argentina and Italy have all played four World Cup penalty shoot out matches. Germany, however, were the only team to have won all four.

42. A world champion team has only lost a tournament match on three occasions but still go on to win the final. Germany FR were defeated by Hungary 8-3 who they then beat in the 1954 final. Before Germany FR’s 1974 victory they lost the “derby” against the German DR 1-0. Four years later eventual champion Argentina was beaten by Italy 1-0.

43. 2,063 goals have been scored in the 708 matches that have been played so far - an average of nearly three goals per game. The 1954 tournament in Switzerland had the greatest average of goals scored - 5.4 per match. This is compared to 2.2 goals per match - the lowest ever - in Italia ‘90.

44. In 1954, Hungary scored a total of 27 goals in five matches, an average of 5.4 per game – clearly the best goal record ever.

45. In 2002, Turkey’s Hakan Sukur scored the fastest ever World Cup goal after just eleven seconds in the third-place play-off against host nation Korea Republic.

46. All in all, 154 goals have been scored from the penalty spot (7.5% of World Cup goals), and 34 have been own goals (1.6%).

47. A total of 47 hat tricks have been scored in the history of the World Cup. Kocsis (1954), Fontaine (1958), Müller (1970) and Batistuta (1994/1998) are the only players to have done this twice. Batistuta has even done it at two different tournaments.

48. The fastest World Cup hat trick was scored by Hungary’s Laszlo Kiss against El Salvador in 1982. It took him just seven minutes, three fewer than Batistuta against Jamaica in 1998.

49. When it comes to own goals, Ernie Brandts’ 1978 goal remains unmatched. The Dutchman initially had Italy dreaming of the final when he put through his own goal against the Azzurri, but he then scored the equaliser to put his side on the road to victory, which ultimately led to the final.

50. Only once in the history of the Fifa World Cup have two own goals been scored in the same match. It happened during the USA’s 2002 group stage meeting with Portugal. Jorge Costa was the first to score in his own net, putting the US 2-0 up. Later, with the score at 3-1 and 19 minutes still left to play, Jeff Agoos then accidentally gave a goal back to the Portuguese. Fortunately for Agoos, the Americans held on to book their place in the Round of 16 at Portugal’s expense.

51. The current Fifa World Cup goal total is 2,063. The last milestone scorer was Sweden’s Allback in 2006 and before then famous names have included Gerd Müller (800, 1970), Rob Rensenbrink (1,000, 1978), Jean-Pierre Papin (1,200, 1986), Gary Lineker (1,300, 1986) and Christian Vieri (1,900, 2002).

52. Only Fontaine (1958) and Jairzinho (1970) have scored in all six matches played by their teams. Jairzinho won the World Cup with Brazil, while Fontaine’s goals carried France to the semi-finals. In 1990, Italy’s short lived hero Salvatore “Toto” Schillaci only narrowly failed to join the elite list of World Cup goalscorers: he scored in six out of seven games but failed to find the net in the second.

53. A record number of ten different players were on the scoreboard for France in 1982 and Italy in 2006.

54. 6,352 players have so far featured in World Cup squads, a quarter (1,545) of whom were never on the field.

55. Players with the most tournament appearances are Mexico’s goalkeeping legend Antonio Carbajal (1950-66) and Germany’s Lothar Matthäus (1982-98), both having played five World Cups each. In terms of playing time, Italy’s Paolo Maldinis’ 2,217 minutes in 23 matches at four World Cups, is ahead of Matthäus, whose 25 matches in five World Cups remains unsurpassed.

56. Pelé is the only player with three World Cup wins to his name (1958, 1962 and 1970), although in 1962 he did miss most of the games through injury, including the final. His compatriot team member Cafu is the only player to have played in three consecutive finals (1994-2002).

57. Brazil’s Ronaldo is not only the best ever scorer with 15 goals but also the player who has scored in the most number of matches, 11. He is followed by Germany’s Jürgen Klinsmann who scored his 11 goals in 10 different matches.The record for a single tournament is held by Frenchman Just Fontaine who incredibly scored 13 times in 1958. Kocsis has the best goal score average with 11 goals in five games.

58. The best scorer of a tournament has only four times been a player from a World Champion team. Brazil’s Garrincha and Vava were first in 1962 along with four other players, followed by Argentina’s Mario Kempes in 1978, Italy’s Paolo Rossi in 1982 and another Brazlian, Ronaldo, in 2002.

59. Russia’s Oleg Salenko scored five goals in the 6-1 winning match against Cameroon in 1994 - the most goals ever scored at a single World Cup match. The list of those who have scored four in a game is also short and comprises a number of players who rank at the very top of the all-time goal scorer list (Wilimowski/Poland, Ademir/Brazil, Kocsis/Hungary, Fontaine/France, Eusebio/Portugal and Butragueño/Spain).

60. Although Alfredo Di Stefano is regarded by many as one of the greatest players of all time he never actually played in a Fifa World Cup. He travelled to Chile with the Spanish team in 1962 but a last-minute injury meant that he did not play. Hungarian, Ladislao Kubala, had the same destiny in 1962 and only appeared in a World Cup later in 1978 as Spain’s coach. Other great players that were unfortunate to miss a World Cup because of failure to qualify are George Best (Northern Ireland), Allan Simonsen (Denmark), Liam Brady (Rep. of Ireland), Eric Cantona (France), Abedi Pelé (Ghana), George Weah (Liberia) and Ryan Giggs (Wales).

61. Only two players have won a Fifa World Cup as both player and coach: Mario Zagallo as player for Brazil (1958/62) who he then coached to victory in 1970. Franz Beckenbauer achieved the same feat in 1974 and 1990. The “Kaiser” also featured on the losing side for Germany FR in the 1966 and 1986 finals as a player and coach respectively. Milorad Arsenijevic, was the first person ever to have had both roles – as player for Yugoslavia in 1930 and later as coach in 1950.

62. Only four out of 50 players have scored in two finals: Brazil’s Vava (1958/62) and Pelé (1958/70), Paul Breitner of Germany FR (1974/82) and Zidane of France (1998/06).

63. Not many players have won an Olympic football tournament and a World Cup. Ten Uruguayans and three Italians, however, managed this feat during the first three World Cups in the 1930s and the Olympic Football Tournaments of 1924, 1928 and 1936. In 1954 Puskás and Kocsis were part of the Hungarian team who had previously won the 1952 Olympic title. The “Miracle of Berne,” however, prevented them from also securing a World Cup victory.

64. Six players have so far achieved the rare feat of both scoring and being sent off in the same game. Amongst these players are Brazil’s Garrincha in 1962 and Ronaldinho in 2002. The last player to do so was Zinedine Zidane at the 2006 final against Italy. After just seven minutes he scored the opening goal by penalty but he was nevertheless sent off later during the second period of extra time.

65. Seven players have played at least one World Cup match for two different nations: Monti and Demaria (ARG 1930 - ITA 1934), Santamaria (URU 1954 - ESP 1962), Puskás (HUN 1954 - ESP 1962), Altafini (BRA 1958-ITA 1962), Jarni and Prosinecki (YUG 1990-CRO 1998/2002). Prosinecki is the only person to have scored goals for two national teams: 1990 against the United Arab Emirates and 1998 to Jamaica.

66. Italy’s Gianluca Pagliuca is the only goalkeeper ever to have been sent off. After 21 minutes in a match against Norway he was given a red card by German referee, Krug. Nevertheless, Italy still won 1-0.

67. When Cameroon’s Roger Milla scored a consolation goal for the Indomitable Lions in a 6-1 trouncing by Russia in 1994, he became the oldest goalscorer in World Cup history at 42 years and 39 days. Pelé was almost a quarter of a century younger (17 years, 239 days) when he claimed his first World Cup goal against Wales in 1958.

68. At 17 years and 41 days, Northern Ireland’s Norman Whiteside became the youngest World Cup player of all time when he took to the field against Yugoslavia in 1982. Cameroon legend Roger Milla was almost exactly 25 years older (42 years, 39 days) when he made his last appearance in 1994.

69. Marcelo Trobbiani's Fifa World Cup career was the shortest in the history of the Fifa World Cup at just one minute long, but what a minute to experience! He was an 89th minute substitute for Argentina in their 3-2 win over Germany FR in the 1986 Fifa World Cup final. Trobbiani is one of eight players to have only played for one minute of a Fifa World Cup.

70. England’s Peter Shilton kept a clean sheet in ten different matches between 1982 and 1990. Fabien Barthez from France managed the same feat from 1998 to 2006.

71. “Super-sub.” Brazilian Denilson can be considered the most successful substitute in World Cup history, having come on as a replacement 11 times in 1998 and 2002, including both finals.

72. A foreign coach has never managed a World Cup winning team.

73. Hungarian Joszef Nagy became the first coach to compete against his home association, when in 1938, he coached Sweden who lost 5-1 to Hungary in the semi-finals.

74. No list of famous coaches would be complete without certain names. Serbia’s Velibor “Bora” Milutinovic not only coached at five World Cups between 1986 and 2002 but he also did it with five different teams (Mexico, Costa Rica, USA, Nigeria and China PR). In 2010, Carlos Alberto Parreira will take on his sixth World Cup campaign and match Milutinovic’s list of five different teams – taking charge this time of the South African hosts, following earlier assignments with his native Brazil (twice), Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Josef “Sepp” Herberger (West Germany), his successor Helmut Schön, Walter Winterbottom (England), Lajos Baróti (Hungary) and Henri Michel (France, Morocco, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire) all coached at four different Fifa World Cups.

75. Five coaches have reached the final on two occasions: Pozzo (Italy, 1934/38), Schön (Germany FR 1966/74), Zagallo (Brazil 1970/98), Beckenbauer (Germany FR, 1986/90) and Bilardo (Argentina, 1986/90). Only Pozzo won both.

76. Guus Hiddink and Felipe Scolari are the only two coaches to have made it to the semi-finals with two different teams. Dutchman Hiddink did so with the Netherlands in 1998 and Korea Republic in 2002. Scolari’s record was with Brazil in 2002 and Portugal in 2006.

77. Helmut Schön coached Germany FR in 25 World Cup matches. He reached the final twice (1966, 1974) and the semi-final once (1970). The 1978 tournament was the only one to end in disappointment for the coach of the then World Cup holders.

78. The youngest World Cup coach of all time is Argentina’s Juan Jose Tramutola. In 1930, aged just 27 years and 8 months, he managed a team containing a number of players who were older than him. Conversely, Cesare Maldini, at 70, was old enough to have been the grandfather of many of his Paraguayan charges in 2002.

79. French referee, Joel Quiniou, officiated a record number of eight matches between 1986 and 1994. Benito Archundia (Mexico) and Horacio Elizondo (Argentina) however managed to officiate five matches in only one tournament, the 2006 FWC in Germany. Mexican referee, Arturo Brizio Carter, on the other hand holds the record for sending off seven players in the six matches that he officiated in 1994 and 1998.

80. Argentina’s Horacio Elizondo is the first referee to have officiated both an inaugural match as well as a final in a Fifa World Cup. In 2006 Elizondo refereed Germany-Costa Rica and Italy-France. In 1950 the Englishman George Reader directed the inaugural match Brazil-Mexico and also the last match of the final group Uruguay-Brazil but this one not technically considered as a final.

World Cup Trivia - 1930 - 2014

The first world cup soccer match kicked off on July 13th, 1930 with France beating Mexico 4 to 1 (more on Uruguay 1930)

There were a total of 13 teams in the first World Cup. Besides the host Uruguay, there were Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, France, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Romania, the United States and Yugoslavia.

Did you know that South American and European countries have won the World Cup 9 times and 10 times respectively. There has been no other continent which has produced a World Cup Champion.
SoccerballWorld Cup Winners (total number by country)
Brazil 5
Italy 4
Germany (West) 3
Uruguay 2
Argentina 2
England 1
France 1
Spain 1

Who says there is no such thing as home advantage? Out of the 19 World Cups so far, six have been won by the host country.

Bora Milutinovic coached in every tournament between 1986 and 2002 - but for different teams: Mexico, Costa Rica, USA, Nigeria and China.

Six teams have been unbeaten but not the champions in the same finals. Those unbeaten teams are: Scotland in 1974 (1 win, 2 draws), Brazil in 1978 (4 wins, 3 draws), England in 1982 (3 wins, 2 draws), Cameroon in 1982 (3 draws), Belgium in 1998 (3 draws) and New and New Zealand 2010 (3 draws).

The only person to have played both the men's World Cup Football and World Cup Cricket is Viv Richards - playing for Antigua in football and West Indies in cricket. Australian Ellyse Perry has appeared in both the women's cricket (2009) and football World Cups (2011).

Cameroon's Roger Milla is the oldest player to have played at the World Cup - he was 42 years and 39 days old when he played his last match against Russia in 1994. Northern Ireland's Norman Whiteside is the youngest ever finals player, being just 17 years and 41 days when he took the field against Yugoslavia in 1982.

Shirt swapping was once officially prohibited in 1986 because FIFA did not want players to 'bare their chests' on the field.

The highest attendance at a World Cup match was 199,854 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janerio for the 1950 decider between Uraguay and Brazil.

In the 1950 finals, there was only a final pool to determine the winner, without a knock-out Final as has been held in other Finals series.

The most common surname of World Cup players is Gonzalez or Gonzales. The most common score in a World Cup finals match is 1-0.

Brazil are the only country to have appeared in every finals, 19 finals tournaments from 1930 to 2010. And they have automatically qualified for the 2014 tournament as hosts.

The 2010 World Cup is the first with no debutant associations, although two of the qualifiers (Slovakia and Serbia) have previously appeared only as parts of former competing nations.

No host country had ever been eliminated in the first round - until South Africa in 2010.

World Cup Trivia

• World Cup Winners (total number by country)
• Brazil 5 
• Italy 4 
• Germany (West) 3 
• Uruguay 2 
• Argentina 2 
• England 1 
• France 1

• Who says there is no such thing as home advantage? Out of the 19 World Cups so far, six have been won by the host country.
• Bora Milutinovic coached in every tournament between 1986 and 2002 - but for different teams: Mexico, Costa Rica, USA, Nigeria and China.
• No European team has won a World Cup played outside of Europe.
• Five teams have been unbeaten but not the champions in the same finals. Those unbeaten teams are: Scotland in 1974 (1 win, 2 draws), Brazil in 1978 (4 wins, 3 draws), England in 1982 (3 wins, 2 draws), Cameroon in 1982 (3 draws), Belgium in 1998 (3 draws).
• The only person to have played both World Cup Football and World Cup Cricket is Viv Richards - playing for Antigua in football and West Indies in cricket.
• Cameroon's Roger Milla is the oldest player to have played at the World Cup - he was 42 years and 39 days old when he played his last match against Russia in 1994. Northern Ireland's Norman Whiteside is the youngest ever finals player, being just 17 years and 41 days when he took the field against Yugoslavia in 1982.
• Shirt swapping was once officially prohibited in 1986 because FIFA did not want players to 'bare their chests' on the field.
• The highest attendance at a World Cup match was 199,854 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janerio for the 1950 decider between Uraguay and Brazil.
• In the 1950 finals, where there was only a final pool to determine the winner, without a knock-out Final as has been held in other Finals series.
• The most common surname of World Cup players is Gonzalez or Gonzales. The most common score in a World Cup finals match is 1-0.
• Brazil are the only country to have appeared in every finals, 19 finals tournaments from 1930 to 2010. And they have automatically qualified for the 2014 tournament as hosts.
• The 2010 World Cup is the first with no debutant associations, although two of the qualifiers (Slovakia and Serbia) have previously appeared only as parts of former competing nations.
• No host country had ever been eliminated in the first round - until South Africa in 2010.

World Cup 2010 - Highs and Lows

Highs


1. Paul the psychic octopus

Boasting the prolificacy of David Villa, the accuracy of a Gio van Bronckhorst 40-yarder and the sheer star quality of Diego Maradona, there is no doubt that Sea Life Oberhausen's Paul has captured the imagination over the past four weeks with his spookily accurate World Cup predictions. Born in Weymouth, Paul rivals Howard Webb as England's most successful (and undoubtedly most popular) participant at the finals having correctly predicted the result of all of Germany's games including the third-place play-off - a probability of 1 in 128.

But what is the key to his success in deciding which Perspex box to delve into for a tasty mussel? Stefan Porwoll, the Sea Life Aquarium manager, explains: "Paul is such a professional oracle he doesn't even care that hundreds of journalists are watching and commenting on every move he makes." With that kind of coolness under pressure and his highly-perceptive mind, it is no surprise that Paul is already being labelled the most famous water-dwelling being since Jaws.

2. The rise of the underdogs

France's dramatic implosion, Italy's ineffectual performances and England's rank ineptitude ensured this was not a World Cup for the historic European powers. In their stead we saw Ghana's romantic ride to the quarter-finals, Uruguay reaching the last four - through means foul or fair - and Slovakia sneaking out of the group stage. Even the South American royalty of Brazil and Argentina failed to reach the semi-finals, helping ensure that a new name will be etched onto the World Cup trophy on Sunday.

North Korea's 7-0 rout at the hands of Portugal aside, the less fancied countries also acquitted themselves creditably, perhaps most notably when the aforementioned Chollima performed valiantly in a 2-1 defeat to Brazil - a display that should have required no censorship on the part of state TV in Pyongyang. Japan and South Korea both reached the second round for the first time on foreign soil and special mention should go to New Zealand who, if Netherlands are defeated on Sunday, will be the only team to end the tournament unbeaten. The kings are dead, long live the kings?

3. Diego Maradona

El Diego came into the World Cup having incurred a FIFA ban for instructing journalists to, erm, pleasure him, and with a reputation for being a train wreck of a coach, ready to explode at any minute. But the Argentinean nation's faith was, for four glorious games, vindicated. The Albiceleste performed with real panache and hopes were raised that the man, the deity, who almost died in 2007 due to problems related to obesity and a lifestyle of excess would instead follow in the footsteps of Mario Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer in becoming the third man to win the World Cup as both player and coach.

Those dreams would disintegrate the first time Maradona was pitched against a decent team with a tactically-proficient coach, Joachim Low's Germany side winning 4-0 in the quarter-finals, but with his emotional outbursts on the touchlines, his unconventional training methods and oversubscribed press conferences, Maradona was the story of the tournament while Argentina remained in South Africa. Telling Pele to "go back to the museum" and warning opponents that to beat his "23 wild cats" they would have to "put all their beef on the grill" certainly helped.

4. Siphiwe Tshabalala's goal

In the build-up to the first World Cup to be held on African soil, it was feared that a poor South Africa side would embarrass the nation with some mediocre performances in Group A. But although Bafana Bafana did eventually become the first host nation to fail to reach the second round, a thunderbolt of a strike from Siphiwe Tshabalala in the opening game against Mexico set their supporters, and the tournament, alight.


Just like Philipp Lahm four years before him, and following an opening ceremony that featured a particularly memorable dung beetle, Tshabalala galvanised the home country with a wonderful effort as he struck the Jabulani firmly across goal and into the far corner. South Africa went on to draw 1-1 and then beat France, so although their tournament ended prematurely, Bafana Bafana still had fond memories to draw upon. Chief amongst them was the searing effort from the midfielder. "It was my first World Cup, the first in Africa (and) I scored the first goal," Tshabalala said. "This is the highlight of my career so far."

5. Unfounded fears

Reading some reports prior to the start of the tournament, you could have been forgiven for thinking that Sepp Blatter and FIFA had gifted the World Cup to a country in collapse, an active war zone. Such fear mongering was misguided. Though there have of course been isolated incidents of crime and disorganisation, despite Paris Hilton's best efforts the World Cup has largely steered clear of controversy and demonstrated that a country like South Africa does have the ability to host such a sporting spectacle.

Months and months of relentless cynicism from certain sections of the European press led FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke to exclaim in March: "Don't kill the World Cup before it starts. It's unfair and it's really sad." Four months on, and it is clear that the tournament has breathed life into Africa's standing on the global stage. FIFA must consider this a real success.


Lows


1. The scourge of simulation

The World Cup is supposed to be the four-yearly event in which football enchants the world, demonstrating just why it is beloved of billions across the globe. Sadly, certain events in South Africa threatened to provide ammunition to those who maintain footballers are nothing but a bunch of preening prima donnas. Perhaps the most notable, and most infuriating, was the reaction of Ivory Coast's Kader Keita as he threw himself to the floor after walking into Kaka, earning the Brazil playmaker a ridiculous red card. While Brazil were incensed, the mind immediately wandered back to 2002 in Ulsan and Rivaldo's deception to get Hakan Unsal sent off.

In 2010, Keita was far from the only offender. Swathes of players were sent sprawling to the turf, tenderly clutching their faces, as replays revealed the merest of brushes from an opponent's shoulder. Time and again, games witnessed more theatrical spills than Oliver Reed on a particularly unsteady night out. Let's name and shame a few: the Italy defence against New Zealand, Arturo Vidal getting Valon Behrami sent off and Switzerland's Steve von Bergen embarrassing himself in the same game were all notable examples of behaviour that must be eradictated.

2. FIFA's Black Sunday

As staunch opponents to the introduction of technology, FIFA's bigwigs must have been shifting uncomfortably in their executive seats, prawn sandwiches left uneaten, when two glaring mistakes from match officials left a black spot on the competition on June 27. Firstly, and most notably, Frank Lampard's shot clearly crossed the line against Germany, only for Uruguayan referee Jorge Larrionda to wave play on, sparking confusion in pubs across England. Replays confirmed the horrible truth, and surely moved the game a step closer to welcoming technology, rather than fearing it. However the suspicion remains that Sepp Blatter will continue to be the John Connor to Hawk-Eye's Skynet.

In the evening kick-off, Carlos Tevez then scored a blatantly offside goal as Argentina defeated Mexico 3-1. Somehow, the replay was broadcast live to the Soccer City crowd so referee Roberto Rosetti immediately knew his assistant had made a horrendous call. Aware of the grievous mistake but bound by the rules to ignore the evidence in front of his eyes, the Italian had no option but to ignore Mexico's pleas to disallow the goal. Not a great day for the governing body.

3. Vuvuzelas

We understand the argument that the vuvuzelas are part of South Africa culture and a legitimate way to express delight at a sporting occasion, but they are, in a word, annoying. Drowning out chants and songs from supporters inside the crowd, the constant drone from the dreaded horns came to infuriate television spectators as well. They were especially irritating when played in unison to create a pulsing sound; like having a particularly nasty migrane while sitting in a beehive.

After the opening game, South Africa goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune even had the cheek to complain that the vuvuzelas were not loud enough. Abu Dhabi officials had the right idea when issuing a fatwa against the instruments on Thursday. We now fear a vuvuzela influx in time for the new domestic season.

4. Empty seats

These were a constant source of frustration throughout the tournament. There really should be no excuse for failing to fill a stadium for a World Cup game, and we are talking semi-finals as well as Slovakia v New Zealand here. If there are tickets remaining, FIFA should have given them to local schoolchildren rather than letting them lie fallow.


FIFA will say there are mitigating circumstances, with the global recession playing a part, transport problems highlighted and no-shows in the corporate seats having a significant effect, but the failure to sell out games is a disappointing one. Games between Algeria and Slovenia, and Japan and Cameroon had in excess of 10,000 spare seats going - a fact that reflects badly on the organising committee and indeed the tournament.

5. The Jabulani

The advent of every major tournament sees goalkeepers complain about the state of the official ball, no doubt looking to get their excuses in early when a shot squirms under their body, but this year was different. Goalkeepers, outfield players and coaches all lined up to lambast the Jabulani. Brazil midfielder Felipe Melo described it as "horrible", Iker Casillas said it behaved like a "beach ball" and, perhaps most damning of all, USA 'keeper Marcus Hahnemann simply said: "Scientists came up with the atom bomb, doesn't mean we should have invented it."

And when play got underway, there was something not right about the much-discussed ball. The vast majority of long-range shots were awful, accurate free-kicks were few and far between and even cross-field passes looked a real effort at times. However, Fabio Capello's attempt to blame the Jabulani for Robert Green's inability to grasp Clint Dempsey's shot was fairly laughable.

Ten World Cup Teams Influenced By One Club

1950 Italy - The Tragedy Of Il Grande Torino

The most poignant and tragic inclusion on the list is that of the 1950 Italy team. The Azzurri performed well below their World Cup pedigree in Brazil, being eliminated at the first group stage, but circumstances beyond their control dictated that the side was to be weakened. Il Grande Torino had won four Serie A titles on the trot in the years preceding 1949 and were in the clear to do so again, and also provided as many as 10 national squad members. However, Torino perished in May 1949 in the Superga Air Disaster on their return home from a match in Portugal. As a result it was a depleted Nazionale that travelled to Brazil. 

1954 Hungary - Military Service

Hungary's Golden Squad of 1954 was based almost exclusively around Honved, a small club from the village of Kispest, now a suburb of the capital. The coach, Gusztav Sebes, was allegedly able to persuade the authorities that players should be allowed to play there instead of performing active military service. It proved to be the breeding ground for Sebes' idea to have a deep-lying forward - a tactical innovation that was a key contributor in their demolishing of the English. Goalkeeper Grosics, Jozsef Boszik, Sandor Kocsis, Ferenc Puskas and Zoltan Czibor all played at Honved. The Magic Magyars were ousted in the final against West Germany. 

1966 England - West Ham 4-2 West Germany

Any old school Hammers fan will tell you that West Ham, and not just England, won the 1966 World Cup. The east London side provided the captain and the goalscorers in the final against West Germany. Bobby Moore, Martin Peters and the hat-trick hero, Geoff Hurst, were all graduates of the world renowned Academy of Football between 1958 and 1959. They were key components in Sir Alf Ramsey's team, even though the latter duo were very much newcomers to the international scene, with less than 10 caps between them heading into the finals. 

1974 West Germany - Bayern Munich; The Joy Of Six

Bayern provided the backbone for West Germany's 1974 success with no fewer than six players from the club appearing in the final. Sepp Meier, Paul Breitner, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Mueller and Uli Hoeness all started for the Germans in their home city as they beat off the Dutch challenge. It was a golden era for that set of players, who won the European Cup and Bundesliga earlier that same season. Having six players from a single club in a final is still a World Cup record.


1982 Italy - ItaloJuve I

There is a saying in Italy that "a successful Juventus team makes a successful Italy team" and that was certainly true in 1982. The Bianconeri had just won yet another Scudetto to continue their dominance under Giovanni Trapattoni and provided six of the first choice starting XI of Italy's World Cup winners in Spain. Dino Zoff captained the Azzurri, hardman Claudio Gentile famously man marked Zico and Diego Maradona, libero Gaetano Scirea oozed class, midfielder Marco Tardelli performed the most famous World Cup celebration by scoring the second goal in the final, left back Antonio Cabrini had the looks, the brilliance to erase his penalty miss at 0-0 in the final, and of course striker Paolo Rossi was the ultimate hero after finishing the Mundial as top scorer with six goals in his final three games including an unforgettable hat-trick against Brazil and the opener in the final win over West Germany.

1986 Soviet Union - The Appliance Of Science Fails Lobanovsky

Valeri Lobanovsky was in charge of both USSR and Dynamo Kyiv at the time of the Mexico tournament and brought along no fewer than 12 of his club charges. The tactician received a lot of criticism for choosing his favourites from club level and as it transpired, the Soviet Union fared pretty poorly. Lobanovsky was renowned for his complex, methodical approach and stated that the non-Dynamo members of the squad were unable to produce his desired results. Igor Belanov's competiton was notable in that he scored a hat-trick in the second round defeat to Belgium and still ended up on the losing side. His club? Yes, you guessed it. 

1990 West Germany v Netherlands - The Milan Derby

One of the most fascinating club v club, country v country clashes in World Cup history occurred in San Siro in 1990. West Germany met Holland in the second round with a fascinating subplot. Inter's Andreas Brehme, Lothar Matthaeus and Juergen Klinsmann lined up for the Germans against Milan's Frank Rijkaard, Marco van Basten and Ruud Gullit. Goals from Brehme and Klinsmann helped decide a bad tempered tie between two of international football's greatest rivals. Rijkaard and Rudi Voeller saw red for fighting after only 20 minutes, with Rijkaard disgracing himself by aiming two wads of spit on his opponent's perm. 

2002 Germany - The Curse Of Neverkusen

The Werkself may not have supplied many German representatives in the squad as a whole but members of the Bayer side played a vital role for the Nationalmannschaft in the far east. With a former Leverkusen striker as coach, Voeller, the Germans lined up with Carsten Ramelow, Michael Ballack, Bernd Schneider and Oliver Neuville in key positions. That quartet, along with their club-mates had just come off a hugely bittersweet season after losing out on the Bundesliga title, the DFB Pokal and the Champions League at the final hurdle. There was more anguish in store as the Nationalelf lost in the final to Brazil.

2006 Italy - ItaloJuve II

The lead-up to the 2006 World Cup provided Italian football with some of its blackest days. Calciopoli engulfed the peninsula with Juventus among those clubs hardest hit with punishments. The Old Lady was sent down to Serie B for her part in the scandal but the Turin club still played a huge role in helping the Azzurri claim the world title. Gianluigi Buffon, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro, Mauro Camoranesi and Alessandro Del Piero all appeared in the final against France and another Juventino, David Trezeguet, missed the vital penalty kick for Les Bleus.

2010 Spain - Barcelona's Tiki-Tactics

This edition of the Spain squad sees a large chunk of the current Barcelona side transplanted into the red of the national team. Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Pedro Rodriguez and David Villa have all played an integral part in getting la Furia Roja to the final. Indeed, a non-Barcelona player has yet to score for Spain in these championships. This is all the more remarkable considering that Spain do not play with a Barca blueprint; Vicente Del Bosque has his own way of doing things with the players at his disposal. That is a testament to the adaptability of the Blaugrana representatives in his panel.

Spain vs Netherlands - Some interesting facts

• This will be the seventh all-European final and means that a European nation will win the tournament for a record 10th time.

• It will be the first final to not include one of Brazil, (West)Germany, Argentina or Italy

• Netherlands go into the final unbeaten and if they are victorious on Sunday, they will become only the fifth side to register a 100% record in WC finals so far, joining Uruguay in 1930, Italy in 1938, and Brazil in 1970 and 2002.

• The Dutch also had a 100% record in qualification for South Africa and could become only the second nation ever to win all their qualifiers and finals games, after Brazil achieved this feat in 1970.

• The Dutch are now unbeaten in 25 successive international matches and have conceded more than one goal in only one of their last 14 games in World Cup finals tournaments (1-2 v Croatia in the 1998 third-place play-off).

• Spain are the first reigning European champions to participate in the World Cup final since West Germany in 1982 and are the 12th different side to reach a World Cup final.

• If Spain - who have seven goals - are to avoid becoming the lowest scoring winners of all time, they will need to net at least four. Italy (1938), England (1966) and Brazil (1994) all won the tournament with 11.

• Xavi has created 25 goalscoring chances in this tournament - eight more than any other player. He has made 560 passes at this tournament, completing 509 so far. Only Dunga (Brazil 1994) has completed more in a single World Cup tournament since 1966.

The seven biggest shocks in World Cup history at the knockout stage

Will the four eagerly anticipated FIFA World Cup 2010 quarter-finals produce any major shocks? The latter stages of previous tournaments have had their quota of surprising, occasionally stunning results, where for a variety of reasons fate defied form and the outcome was emphatically not as predicted. We recall some of the more memorable.

Uruguay beat Brazil, 1950

Oddly, no provision was made for a World Cup final in the first post-war tournament, yet results in the 'final pool' of six matches meant that the last game to be played was indeed the decider, and it provided both a classic thriller and a shock. 

Hosts Brazil were the overwhelming favourites to defeat Uruguay, having dismantled Sweden 7-1 and Spain 6-1 in their first two pool games. They were thought to be invincible by their own fans, and winning the cup at the still unfinished Maracana, where a world record crowd of 200,000 gathered to watch them be crowned champions, was not so much a formality as divine destiny. 

Over-confidence, perhaps, and a reliance on the flamboyance and attacking brio that had got them there, proved their undoing. Despite taking the lead early in the second half through Friaca, they found Uruguay to be determined and tactically astute opponents who refused to buckle. When Juan Alberto Schiaffino equalised, the Brazilians visibly deflated; when Alcides Ghiggia scored a second 10 minutes from time to win the trophy for the Uruguayans, the Brazilian nation was bereft.

Germany beat Hungary, 1954

The magnificent Hungarian side of the early '50s were also overwhelming favourites to win the trophy four years later, but with their inspirational captain Ferenc Puskas labouring under an injury sustained in an earlier match, they ultimately failed to fulfil expectations. 

Against West Germany in the final in Berne, the gamble of playing the unfit Puskas appeared to have worked when he put the Magyars ahead after six minutes. And when Zoltan Czibor added a second two minutes later, it looked all over. 

But the Germans were made of resolute stuff and mounted a stirring comeback. On 18 minutes they were level through goals from Max Morlock and then Helmut Rahn. Yet Hungary took control again with some breathtaking attacking play. But the Germans stood firm, and 15 minutes from time Rahn scored the winning goal.

Chile beat USSR, 1962

The shock of the quarter-finals in 1962 was hosts Chile's 2-1 victory over the formidable USSR. 

Chile, impoverished and recently devastated by earthquakes, had not been expected to progress far in the competition. 

But roared on and inspired by fanatical home support, the South Americans triumphed with two long-range efforts from Leonel Sanchez and Eladio Rojas, respectively - both of which the normally impressive Lev Yashin would have expected to save. 

Igor Chislenko scored one for the Soviets in-between the two Chilean goals, but it was not enough.

 Italy beat Brazil, 1982

Some regard the 1982 Brazilian side - of Socrates, Zico and Falcao - as their most exciting of all. Yet that richly endowed team were undone in the second round of group games, which took the place of quarter-finals in the Spain tournament. 

They beat Argentina decisively, a frustrated Diego Maradona being sent off for blatantly kicking Batista, then met Italy in the decider. 

The Italians had slumbered through the initial group stage with three draws, but now they came alive. 

In a marvellous match, Paolo Rossi suddenly and emphatically found his form, and back to his incisive self, scored twice - but each time Brazil came back to equalise with stunners from Socrates and Falcao. 

However, Rossi completed his hat-trick 16 minutes from time, and the best side in the tournament were out. Italy, though, maintained their improvement and went on to win the cup.

Bulgaria beat Germany, 1994

Germany were expected to be Italy's semi-final opponents in 1994, but in the heat at Giants Stadium, over 70,000 fans witnessed an upset as Bulgaria enjoyed their finest hour on the pitch. 

With Lothar Matthaus looking unhappy as a sweeper for Germany, the game ebbed and flowed until the Germans took the lead early in the second half. Yordan Letchkov tripped Juergen Klinsmann and when Matthaus duly scored the penalty, Germany looked set to progress. 

With less than 20 minutes to go, Andreas Moeller hit the post and Rudi Voeller converted the rebound; but the effort was ruled offside. And a couple of minutes after that Hristo Stoichkov was fouled by Guido Buchwald and blasted the free-kick into the net himself. 

Then, remarkably, Bulgaria took the lead 12 minutes from time. Letchkov soared above Thomas Hassler to head home an inviting right-wing cross and Germany were on their way back to Europe.

Croatia beat Germany, 1998

World Cup debutants Croatia were a revelation at France '98 and took Germany apart in the quarter-finals. 

It was a rough game, probably the aftermath of a Euro '96 quarter-final meeting that Germany had won 2-1. Christian Worns was sent off for fouling Davor Suker; Oliver Bierhoff was lucky to stay on for elbowing Soldo. 

But Robert Jarni gave Croatia the lead with a spectacular effort just before the break, and German manager Berti Vogts struggled to come up with the effective tactics or substitutions to change the pattern. 

Goran Vlaovic and then Davor Suker - with a superb individual goal - added two more for Croatia to complete a remarkable and emphatic 3-0 victory.

South Korea beat Spain, 2002

Having controversially beaten Italy in the second round, co-hosts South Korea proceeded to defeat Spain in the quarter-finals against all expectations, though again with controversy. 

In Gwangju, Spain were without the injured Raul, but were strong favourites nevertheless. They created chances but couldn't convert them. But when Ivan Helguera headed home Javier De Pedro's free kick on 48 minutes, it was mysteriously disallowed, Korea being awarded a free-kick instead. 

The game went to extra-time, when a linesman wrongly ruled that the ball had crossed the goal-line after Joaquin centred and before Fernando Morientes headed it into the net. 

Now it was penalties. Joaquin missed the decisive kick, though goalkeeper Lee Won-Jae was well off his line; and South Korea had triumphed 5-3 in the shoot-out.