Random World Cup Facts

That could be felt in watching the games. Not sure it evolves the right way.

Many teams are allowed to play it really tough this time which isn't necessarily a good thing for the flow of the game. The increase in penalties is clearly a consequence of VAR. Let's hope this will get adjusted.

 

Costa Rica 0-1 Serbia




There have already been as many direct free kick goals scored in 2018 (Golovín, Cristiano, Kolarov) that there were in Brazil four years ago (Dzemaili, Messi, David Luiz).

World Cup matches that ended 1-0, only goal was direct free kick.
1930: Argentina 1-0 France (Monti)
1974: Brazil 1-0 East Germany (Rivelino)
1982: France 1-0 Austria (Genghini)
1986: Germany 1-0 Morocco (Matthäus)
1998: Yugoslavia 1-0 Iran (Mihajlovic)
2006: England 1-0 Ecuador (Beckham)
2018: Serbia 1-0 Costa Rica (Kolarov)

 

Germany 0-1 Mexico



The last time Germany conceded the first goal and came back to win: 1998 v Mexico (2-1)

Germany's record when behind at halftime: won 4, drawn 4, lost 9
Their last victory was on 30 June 1974 v Sweden (1-2 halftime, 4-2 result)

Oldest outfield (non-goalkeepers) players to play a World Cup match.
42-039 Roger Milla (1994, Cameroon v Russia)
39-260 Angel Labruna (1958, Argentina v Czechoslovakia)
39-145 Stanley Matthews (1954, England v Uruguay)
39-124 Rafael Márquez (2018, Mexico v Germany)

Most World Cup tournaments played.
Antonio Carbajal (Mexico) 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966
Lothar Mathäus (Germany) 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998
Rafael Márquez (Mexico) 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018
(Gigi Buffon was in five squads but only played in four tournaments.)

Opening match of defending World Cup champions since Jules Rimet trophy was won outright.
1974: Brazil 0-0 Yugoslavia
1978: West Germany 0-0 Poland
1982: Argentina 0-1 Belgium
1986: Italy 1-1 Bulgaria
1990: Argentina 0-1 Cameroon
1994: Germany 1-0 Bolivia
1998: Brazil 2-1 Scotland
2002: France 0-1 Senegal
2006: Brazil 1-0 Croatia
2010: Italy 1-1 Paraguay
2014: Spain 1-5 Netherlands
2018: Germany 0-1 Mexico

Mexico against defending World Cup champions.
1962: 0-2 v Brazil
1978: 0-6 v West Germany
2018: 1-0 v Germany

Goalkeepers who have kept clean sheets in a World Cup match against both Brazil and Germany.
Jan Tomaszewski (Poland): 1974 v Brazil, 1978 v West Germany
Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico): 2014 v Brazil, 2018 v Germany

 

Now that's a great fact

 

It's a fun story, but not really true, apparently.

"Nowhere in any of the discussions at the time was the barefoot issue. It might certainly have been something that would have annoyed the Indian team, but it did not appear as though it was the main reason for the team refusing to travel to Brazil. It seems much more likely that the Indian football officials just did not think that the World Cup was a big enough of a deal to warrant sending their players halfway across the world."

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/spo...e-they-were-not-allowed-to-play-barefoot.html

 

Brazil 1-1 Switzerland



This is the first ever World Cup where Argentina, Germany and Brazil all failed to win their opening match.

World Cups where Brazil failed to win their opening match.
1930: 1-2 Yugoslavia
1934: 1-3 Spain
1974: 0-0 Yugoslavia
1978: 1-1 Sweden
2018: 1-1 Switzerland

Teams that Brazil have played at least twice in the World Cup and have yet to defeat.
Hungary (2-4 in 1954, 1-3 in 1966)
Portugal (1-3 in 1966, 0-0 in 2010)
Switzerland (2-2 in 1950, 1-1 in 2018)

 

Sweden 1-0 Korea Republic



This is Sweden's first victory in their opening World Cup match since 1958 when the defeated Mexico 3-0 as tournament hosts.
1958: 3-0 v Mexico
1970: 0-1 v Italy
1974: 0-0 v Bulgaria
1978: 1-1 v Brazil
1990: 1-2 v Brazil
1994: 2-2 v Cameroon
2002: 1-1 v England
2006: 0-0 v Trinidad and Tobago
2018: 1-0 v South Korea

South Korea's record when they co-hosted the World Cup in 2002: won 3, drawn 2, lost 2
Their record in their remaining 25 World Cup matches: won 2, drawn 7, lost 16

 

Belgium 3-0 Panama



Hernán Darío Gómez becomes the first ever coach to qualify three different countries to a World Cup and continue coaching those same teams at the tournament finals.
1998 Colombia
2002 Ecuador
2018 Panama

Panama's starting lineup includes more players (1, José Luis Rodríguez of Gent) that play in the Belgian league than Belgium's starting eleven (0).

Blas Pérez (Municipal) is the second player from the Guatemalan league to play in a World Cup match. (Mauricio Solís - Comunicaciones, 2006 Costa Rica)

Belgium players to score at multiple World Cups.
Erwin Vandenbergh (1982, 1986)
Jan Ceulemans (1986, 1990)
Enzo Scifo (1986, 1990)
Marc Degryse (1990, 1994)
Marc Wilmots (1998, 2002)
Dries Mertens (2014, 2018)
Romelu Lukaku (2014, 2018)

Belgium players to score a brace in a World Cup match.
1934 Bernard Voorhoof (v Germany)
1954 Leopold Anoul (v England)
1970 Wilfried Van Moer (v El Salvador)
1998 Marc Wilmots (v Mexico)
2018 Romelu Lukaku (v Panama)

The last team to lose by 3+ goals in their World Cup debut match was Ukraine 2006 (4-0 v Spain).
They advanced out of their group and reached the quarterfinals.

Every 20 years?
Teams that won their World Cup opening match 3-0 and went on to reach the Final.
1958 Brazil (3-0 v Austria)
1958 Sweden (3-0 v Mexico)
1978 Netherlands (3-0 v Iran)
1998 France (3-0 v South Africa)
2018 Belgium (3-0 v Panama) ???

 

Ha ha. Ian Darke admitted during the England-Tunisia match today that the Brits have been wrongly calling it the Mexican Wave all these years. I wonder if he read my post?

 

African and Asian teams haven't scored yet except penalties. Iran's winner was an own goal.

 

14 games into the tournament, Amine Harit is the only non-goalkeeper Man of the Match winner that didn't score a goal. It seems like they either go for the goalscorer or a keeper who has performed outstanding saves. Will we see MOTM winners for excellent playmaking or Cannavaro-esque displays in the future?

Goalscorers: 11/14 (78.57%)
Goalkeepers: 2/14 (14.28%)
Others: 1/14 (7.14%)

At the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the percentages looked like this:

Goalscorers: 41/64 (64%)
Goalkeepers: 12/64 (18.75%)
Others: 11/64 (17.18%)

2010 FIFA World Cup:

Goalscorers: 42/64 (65.6%)
Goalkeepers: 5/64 (7.81%)
Others: 17/64 (26.56%)

EDIT: Now that I think of it, not a single non-scoring defender got the MOTM award in 2014.

1. Giovani Dos Santos
2. Yaya Touré
3. Xherdan Shaqiri
4. John Obi Mikel
5. Kevin De Bruyne
6. Son Heung-min
7. Keisuke Honda
8. Eden Hazard
9. Arjen Robben x2
10. Leo Messi

In 2010, two non-scoring defenders won: Ashley Cole & Daniel Agger.

 

Tunisia 1-2 England



Earliest goalkeeper substitutions in a World Cup match.
8' Justo Villar off for Aldo Bobadilla (2006 Paraguay v England)
11' Nery Pumpido off for Sergio Goycochea (1990 Argentina v USSR)
16' Mouez Hassen off for Farouk Ben Mustapha (2018 Tunisia v England)
20' Nacerdine Drid off for Larbi El Hadi (1986 Algeria v Spain)

The 35th minute goal by Ferjani Sassi (who plays for Al-Nasr) is the first goal in this World Cup that was scored by a player who does not play for a European club.

8 penalties have been awarded in the first 13 matches of Russia 2018.
The eighth penalty of...
- Brazil 2014 was not awarded until the 25th match.
- South Africa 2010 was not awarded until the 35th match.
- Germany 2006 was not awarded until the 40th match.
The VAR effect

Harry Kane is the first player to score a brace for England in a World Cup match since Gary Lineker on 1 July 1990 (v Cameroon).

This is the first time in World Cup history that England has won a match with an injury time winner.

Players who scored a brace in a World Cup match with each goal scored against different goalkeepers.
Pelé, v Stere Adamache and Necula Răducanu (1970 Brazil v Romania)
Dusan Bajevic, v Kazadi Mwamba and Tubilandu Ndimbi (1974 Yugoslavia v Zaire)
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, v José Pilar Reyes and Pedro Soto (1978 West Germany v Mexico)
Ramón Calderé, v Nacerdine Drid and Larbi El Hadi (1986 Spain v Algeria)
Diego Forlán, v Itumeleng Khune and Moeneeb Josephs (2010 Uruguay v South Africa)
Harry Kane, v Mouez Hassen and Farouk Ben Mustapha (2018 England v Tunisia)

English players who scored a brace in their World Cup debut match.
Nat Lofthouse (1954 v Belgium)
Ivor Broadis (1954 v Belgium)
Bryan Robson (1982 v France)
Harry Kane (2018 v Tunisia)

 

Colombia 1-2 Japan



Earliest awarded penalties in World Cup history.
55 seconds : Hoeness (West Germany) fouls Cruyff (Netherlands), 1974
85 seconds : Thiago Silva (Brazil) fouls Robben (Netherlands), 2014
134 seconds : Nacho (Spain) fouls C. Ronaldo (Portugal), 2018
170 seconds : Carlos Sánchez (Colombia) hand ball on obvious goal scoring opportunity (v Japan), 2018

Earliest red cards in World Cup history.
0' 54" José Batista (1986, Uruguay v Scotland
2' 50" Carlos Sánchez (2018, Colombia v Japan)

Carlos Sánchez is the first ever Colombia player to receive a red card in a World Cup match. Until then Colombia had played the most World Cup matches (19) without having a player sent off.
The new record is now 18 matches currently held by... Japan.

More direct free kick goals have been scored in the 2018 World Cup (4 - Golovín, Cristiano, Kolarov, Quintero) than in the entire 2014 tournament in Brazil (3).

Juan Quintero is the first ever Colombia player to score...
- a World Cup goal from a direct free kick.
- in two different World Cup tournaments (2014 v Ivory Coast, 2018 v Japan)

Of the 35 goals that have been scored at Russia 2018, 22 have been off set pieces (63%).

AFC v CONMEBOL in World Cup history.
AFC victories: 1
CONMEBOL victories: 15
Draws: 3

 

Poland 1-2 Senegal



This marks the fourth time in World Cup history that the first round of group stage matches did not feature a scoreless first half.
1958 (8 matches)
1994 (12)
2002 (16)
2018 (16)

Number of goals after first round of group stage in 32-team World Cup era.
1998 : 37
2002 : 46
2006 : 39
2010 : 25
2014 : 49
2018 : 39

Unbeaten teams in the 2018 World Cup, qualification + finals in Russia.
Belgium (10 victories, 1 draw)
Spain (9 victories, 2 draws)
England (9 victories, 2 draws)
Iran (13 victories, 6 draws)
Senegal (6 victories, 3 draws)
Russia (1 victory)

 

Great post!

 

Russia 3-1 Egypt



World Cup tournaments with the most own goals.
6 : 1998, 2002
5 : 2014, 2018 (after only 17 matches)

Most World Cup matches without ever winning.
9 Honduras
6 Bolivia, New Zealand, El Salvador, Egypt

Russia's eight goal total in their two games at the 2018 World Cup is equal to the tally that Spain scored overall in their 2010 tournament victory in seven games.

The record at Russia 2018 of the five coaches who were born in Argentina.
1 draw (Sampaoli)
5 defeats (Pizzi, Gareca, Pékerman, Cúper [x2])

 

Portugal 1-0 Morocco



Cristiano Ronaldo's goals at Russia 2018...
Scored right-footed, scored left-footed, scored with a header.
Scored from inside the six yard box, scored from outside the penalty area.
Scored a penalty, scored a direct free kick.
Scored at the beginning of a game, scored near the end of a game.
Scored the first goal of a game, scored the last goal of a game.

Players with most consecutive goals for their country in World Cup matches.
6 : Eusébio, Portugal in 1966
6 : Paolo Rossi, Italy in 1982
6 : Oleg Salenko, Russia in 1994
5 : Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal in 2014-2018

Players who have scored in the opening five minutes of two matches at the same World Cup.
Vavá (Brazil, 1958), 3' v USSR, 2' v France
Johan Neeskens (Netherlands, 1974), 5' v West Germany, 2' v Bulgaria
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, 2018), 4' v Spain, 4' v Morocco

Morocco are the first team to be officially eliminated from World Cup 2018.

 

Uruguay 1-0 Saudi Arabia



Luis Suarez is the first Uruguay player to score in three different World Cups.
3 in 2010
2 in 2014
1 in 2018

This is the third time Uruguay have won their opening two matches at a Woprld Cup.
1930 (Champions)
1954 (semi-finalists)
2018 (?)

Advanced to knockout rounds: Russia, Uruguay
Eliminated: Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia

 

Iran 0-1 Spain



Seyed Majid Hosseini (Iran) turned 22 years old today.
This marked the 49th occasion that a player played in a World Cup match on his birthday.
Record of the birthday boys: won 24, drawn 10, lost 15

2018 World Cup: 20 matches played, no goalless draws.
This is the longest stretch a World Cup has began without a goalless draw since 1954 when none of the 26 matches played finished 0-0.

Most consecutive matches in major tournaments without defeat. (No friendlies included)
29 Spain (2010-2013)
27 France (1994-1999)
26 Argentina (1945-1956)
24 Spain (1994-1997), Germany (1995-1998), Spain (2007-2009)
23 Iran (2015-2018) ... unbeaten run ends.

All three matches played today (20 June 2018) ended 1-0 with all three goals scored by players who play in La Liga with different clubs (Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Suárez, Diego Costa).

 

I must be missing something here. We had several 1st round games that featured scoreless first halves. Just off the top of my head, Egypt-Uruguay, Iran-Morocco, and Denmark-Peru.