Which domestic league do you think will have the biggest percentage of players in the World Cup next year? I'm guessing England then Italy, after that Germany and Spain probably close to even then ??? What does everyone else think?
Here are the stats from the 2002 official FIFA rosters: Top 10, by country, all divisions Code: England 101 13.7% Italy 76 10.3% Germany 59 8.0% Spain 58 7.9% France 56 7.6% Belgium 25 3.4% Japan 25 3.4% Mexico 25 3.4% Saudi Arabia 23 3.1% China 22 3.0% Top 5, by club Code: Internazionale FC, Italy, Serie A 13 Arsenal FC, England, Premier League 11 AS Roma, Italy, Serie A 11 Bayer 04, Germany, 1. Bundesliga 11 AC Milan, Italy, Serie A 10 FC Bayern, Germany, 1. Bundesliga 10 Man. United FC, England, Premier League 10 Real Madrid CF, Spain, Primera Division 10 I agree with the previous posts, England will probably be the main source again, although probably by a closer margin (since neither Ireland or Scotland, among others, will be in the tournament). Italy should be second again. Germany, Spain and France were pretty even in 2002 as shown above. They should follow Italy on the list again. With their return, Netherlands might be next on the list this time, maybe with with 30-40 players. I believe the deadline for coaches for naming their squads is not officially set yet, but it should be around 1 month from the start of the competition. Once all NTs submit their list, we will know the exact numbers.
France should drop in 2006 because Senegal sent an all France-based team in 2002. Toga or any other country wont be able to make up the 22 players lost by the French league this time around. The French league will likely to have between 30 and 40 players in the WC Finals. Since Van Basten is likely to bring a heavily domestic-based team. The Dutch league would be close to the Fench league. In 2002, the number of Dutch-based players are not even on your list. I doubt the addition of 16 or so players would put them higher than 50 something players from La Liga and Bundesliga.
You might be right on the French league, but I was under the impression that Ivory Coast and Togo have quite a few players in France. BTW Dutch leagues had 18 WC players in 2002.
I am unfamiliar with both teams, but I got the impression that less than 50% of the two teams are French-based. So I doubt they will make up the 22 players lost by Senegal. Perhaps, it will be closer to the 2002 number than I thought. I actually forgot about Ivory Coast when I made the previous statement. If the Dutch league has 18 WC players in 2002, they probably would have around 40 players in 2006. It will depend on Van Basten's selection. Perhaps, it will be the biggest question mark leading up to the WC Finals. Will he bring back some of the name players playing aboard? The top five is likely to remian the same. The race will be for Third-place between Bundesliga and La Liga.
I was looking at the Ivory Coast and Toga player pool. I estimated around 18 of them played in France.
Scotland didn't qualify in 2002 either so Ireland is the only country that could hurt England's total. And when you factor in T & T and Australia it's probable that England will have even more players in 2006.
It is possible, but I began to see that the number will remain similiar. T&T and Australia will make up close to the loss of Ireland. Japan and Korea who combined only had 1 England-based players in 2002, but would have as many as 4 in 2006, barring injuries. I now think the list on the top 6 will stay close to 2002, except Holland will replace Belgium.