Random World Cup Facts

Yes,in 2002,when South Africa played Slovenia in the group stages.Srecko(sp?) Katanec was sent to the stands during the match...South Africa won the match 1-0 and eliminated Slovenia after just 2 matches played(They lost to Spain in their first match).

 

Italy (1968, 1934) and France (1984, 1998), are the only two nations to have won both the Euro and World Cup as hosts

 

And the Czechs are the only country to have made the Final in both, despite never hosting either one.

 

No african team have ever won a knockout match in regulation

 

Hmm... that's got me thinking then... does that mean the only times that a non-Conmebol or UEFA team has won a knockout game in regulation time are USA 2-0 Mexico 2002 and Mexico 2-0 Bulgaria 1986? Can't think of any others... although I think Cuba beat Romania 2-1 in 1938, but it was a replay after the original game so does that count? I don't think any Asian team has ever won a knockout match in regulation time either, as both of South Korea's victories came via extra time and penalties in 2002...

 

everything you said there is correct

 

This is from 2005, so let me try to update it:

SPAIN currently hold the record for most consecutive qualifications, their streak runs from 1986 to the present, 8 times including 2014. They participated in 1982 as hosts and did not have to qualify, they won the world cup in 2010 but the world champion no longer gets an automatic qualification, so they had to go through qualifying. It seems likely that spain will hold this record for some time as I doubt they will fail to qualify for a wc or host one in the foreseeable future. They tried to bid for wc 2018 but lost to russia.

Second place is held jointly by Mexico (who were banned from 1990), Italy (Hosts in 1990) and Argentina (def. champs in 1990) running from 1994-present

Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, South Korea have all participated in all world cups since 1986 at least, but have at least once been given automatic qualification due to hosting or being defending champions

 

Most consecutive world cup finals participation by federation-

CONMEBOL - 20, Brazil (1930-2014)
UEFA - 16, Germany (1954-2014)
AFC - 8, South Korea (1986 - 2014)
CONCACAF - 7, USA (1990-2014)
CAF - 4, Cameroon (1990-2002) (Ghana and Ivory Coast hold the active record with 3 each)
Oceania - 1, held jointly by New Zealand (1982, 2010) and former member Australia (1974, 2006)

 

It is a well known fact that The Jules Rimet Trophy (the origonal world cup trophy from 1930-1070) was permanently award to Brazil for being the first team to win it three times.

The current World Cup Trophy (1974-Present) has to this day not been won three teams by a single team. France and Spain have each won it once and Brazil, Argentina, Italy and Germany have each won it twice.

Should 2014 World Cup Hosts Brazil be crowned champions, they will be both the first (and only) team to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy three times AND the first team to lift the current World Cup Trophy three times

Note that current FIFA regulations state that unlike the Jules Rimet, this trophy cannot be won outright

 

The Brazilian who designed the famous Brazilian uniform of yellow shirts/green trim/blue shorts/white socks actually supports Uruguay

very interesting video about him

 

Uruguay have not defeated a European or South American opponent at the world cup since 1970 when they defeated The Soviet Union

 

Gabriel Batistuta is the only person to score hat-tricks in two World Cups (94 & 98). He has another unique record of scoring hat-tricks, both were achieved on 21 June of the year, against World Cup finals debutants (Greece and Jamaica), and each time the third goal was a penalty.

 

Miroslav Klose is going to make his 4th World Cup and possibly going to surpass the record of most goals scored in world cup in all times. He has 14 goals just need two to pass Ronaldo's record of 15.

http://sports.ndtv.com/football/new...o-break-ronaldos-record-in-his-last-world-cup

 

Ironic that a Brazilian broke a German's record of goals scored at the World Cup in Germany (Ronaldo surpassed Gerd Muller) and a German will beat a Brazilian's record of goals scored at the World Cup in Brazil (Miroslav Klose if he surpasses Ronaldo

 

Just heard this on Men In Blazers. Apparently, no member of Group F (or the analogous group 6) has never gone on to win the World Cup. Neither has Group G but they've only been around the last 4 tournaments.

 

That is a big IF. And thus not a fact just yet....

 

Currently Italy is the only UEFA-affiliated member nation that lost to the AFC counterparts multiple times at the FIFA World Cup. ('66 Korea DPR, '02 Korea Republic).

Other UEFA member nations that lost to the AFC oppositions at the FIFA World Cups are: '94 Belgium (Saudi Arabia), '02 Poland (Korea Republic), '02 Russia (Japan), '02 Portugal (Korea Republic), '10 Greece (Korea Republic), '10 Serbia (Australia) and '10 Denmark (Japan).

 

CONMEBOL and OFC have never lost to AFC at the FIFA World Cup finals.

 

Landon Donovan would have been the most capped player at Brazil2014 ... most likely Iker Casillas will be that player.

 

Casillas still has a shot to play at Russia 2018.

 

Only looking at Brazil2014.

 

World Cup Campaign length records: 27, 4, 1, 0:

27-
Uruguay hold the record for most world cup games played in a single campaign (which includes both qualifiers and matches at the finals) with 27 in 2010. They played 18 matches in CONMEBOL qualification (2 each against all 9 CONMEBOL opponents) plus 2 intercontinental playoff matches against Costa Rica for a total of 20 qualifiers. In the finals, they won their group and advanced to the semifinals where they were eliminated by the Netherlands, the third place consolation game against Germany was their 7th game of the finals and their record setting 27th game overall in the campaign.

This is a record which cannot be broken in 2014. The team with the most qualification matches played, Panama, failed to qualify after 20 matches. Of the teams that did qualify, Uruguay and Mexico played the most qualifiers, 1 each, and can only reach maximum total of 25 for the campaign. Uruguay went through the same route of qualifying as their record setting 2010 campaign (CONMEBOL+intercontinental) but because Brazil as hosts did not take part in CONMEBOL qualifying, they ended up playing a total of 2 games less.

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4-
The record for fewest games played in a campaign by the world cup champion is also held, albeit jointly, by Uruguay:

In the 1930 world cup, the only one to not feature a qualifying competition of any kind, saw hosts Uruguay lift the cup after only 4 games. The lack of European sides willing to make the journey meant Uruguay had only 2 opponents in their first round group, plus a semifinal and final.

In the 1938 world cup, Defending champions Italy were given automatic qualification and won the world cup after 4 knockout games.

For the 1950 World cup, Uruguay qualified automatically after Ecuador and Peru withdrew from the qualifying competition. Austria had withdrawn for their qualifiers against Turkey, giving the Turks automatic qualification to the world cup, but they withdrew; so FIFA offered the spot to Portugal, who also withdraw, thus leaving the world cup draw 1 team short and Uruguay was drawn into a group with just 2 opponents: Bolivia and France, however, France, who had been granted qualification after the withdrawal of Scotland, also withdrew. As a result Uruguay's first game in the 1950 campaign was their only match of the group stage, a heavy victory over Bolivia, They subsequently played the 3 games of the final group stage where they famously defeated Brazil in the 'Maracanazo' and won the world cup after just 4 games for the second time.

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1-
As for the record of fewest games played in a campaign (I'm only going to look at teams that played in the world cup finals itself), the record of 1 game is held jointly by several teams:

Brazil and Argentina both qualified automatically for World Cup 1934 after Peru and Chile withdrew. Both sides were knocked out in the first game by european opposition.

Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) qualified automatically for the world cup of 1938 after Japan withdrew, they were knocked out in their first game by Hungary

Bolivia qualified automatically for world cup 1950 after Argentina's withdrawal. As mentioned in the above section, the subsequent withdrawals of Austria, Turkey, Portugal, Scotland, and France, meant that Bolivia was left with a single Group stage opponent, Uruguay, who hammered them 8-0 and knocked them out after their first and only game of the campaign.

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0-
Another interesting record is held by India. India qualified automatically for the 1950 world cup after the withdrawals of Burma, The Philippians, and Indonesia. India was entered into the world cup draw and was drawn into group 3 with Sweden, Italy and Paraguay. However, India ultimately withdrew themselves. This remains the only case of a team participating in the world cup finals draw but not playing a single match in the campaign.

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Wow i must be really bored, has Brazil '14 started yet?

 

I once have posted it, but is so strange that i want to revoke it.

there is an very interesting odd when it comes to world cup winners:

since the introduction of round of 16 matches (1986) the following rule applies on 3 out of 5 world champions.

Brazil (1994), Italy (2006) and Spain (2010) all won their titles 4 years after they went out in the round of 16 match and 8 years after they went out in the quarter finals in a penalty shoot-out.

Whenever this sequence occured, the team living through it became world champion - if it had a chance to.
In 1994 the only loser by penalties in the quarter finals romania did also lose in the round of 1998 but wasn`t simply qualified in 2002 to grip the title. In 1990 the only loser by penalies in the quarter finals had been yugoslavia, excluded from the 1994 World Cup.

As there is no other team in Brazil 2014, that has lost in the round of 16 four years before and in a quarter final in penalty 8 years before except ENGLAND, they are a secure bet since being qualified.

 

There is one other connection. Brazil (1986), Italy (1998) and Spain (2006) all went out to France, either in the quarters (Brazil and Italy) or in the 2nd round (Spain). England? No, they fell to Portugal in 2006, and Germany in 2010.