World Cup Trivia & Almost Interesting Facts

[eusebio13]

[eusebio13]

[eusebio13]

[eusebio13]

[eusebio13]

[eusebio13]

Paolo Maldini 23 matches in World Cup finals for Italy from 9 June 1990 to 18 June 2002 is a record for total games

[eusebio13]

Diego Maradona's 16 matches as captain of Argentina in World Cups is a record

[eusebio13]

Most World Cup matches played by a goalkeeper without conceding a goal is 10 matches by Peter Shilton of England from 1982 to 1990.

[eusebio13]

Most World Cup matches by a player as substitute in the same finals was 6 matches, by Poland's Leslaw Cmikiewiez in 1974.

[eusebio13]

Carlos Queiroz announces Portugal’s twenty-four for South Africa
Quim, Patricio and Moutinho miss out
Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has announced the squad that will represent the Seleccao at the World Cup. Queiroz named a 24-man squad to cover for the eventuality of Pepe not being declared fit to take part in the tournament.

The biggest surprise is perhaps in relation to the back-up goalkeepers. Benfica’s championship winning number one, Quim, and Sporting’s Rui Patricio both miss out as Beto and Daniel Fernandes make the plane to South Africa.

Joao Moutinho will also feel unlucky not to be on the list having been selected in the squad for every one of Portugal’s 12 World Cup qualifying matches, albeit without seeing much action on the pitch.

The names of centre-backs Ricardo Costa and Jose Castro will also surprise many, although one of these two players will make way for Pepe should the Real Madrid man prove he has fully recovered from his cruciate knee ligament injury in the training camp to take place at Covilha.

FC Porto is the most represented club in the squad, contributing four players, with Chelsea and Sporting each providing three.


Portugal’s World Cup squad*:

Goalkeepers: Eduardo (Braga), Beto (FC Porto) Daniel Fernandes (Iraklis)

Defenders: Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Miguel (Valencia), Fabio Coentrao (Benfica), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Ricardo Costa (Lille), Rolando (FC Porto), Pepe (Real Madrid), Duda (Malaga) Ze Castro (Deportivo)

Midfielders: Tiago (Atletico Madrid), Deco (Chelsea), Raul Meireles (FC Porto), Miguel Veloso (Sporting), Pedro Mendes (Sporting), Danny (Zenit St Peterburg)

Wingers/Forwards: Simao Sabrosa (Atletico Madrid), Nani (Manchester United), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Liedson (Sporting), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen)

www.portugoal.net/index.php/more-portugal-news/10292-queiroz-announces-world-cup-squad?

[eusebio13]

And just for neatness I've put it in here too

England's 30-man provisional squad for the World Cup finals:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green.

Defenders: Leighton Baines, Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Forwards: Darren Bent, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney.

[eusebio13]

Brazil and Sweden have played the most games against each other in finals. Seven times in total 1938, 1950, 1958, 1978, 1990 & 1994 (2 times).

[eusebio13]

Most consecutive draws in World Cup finals is 5 by Belgium from 13/6/98 to 10/6/02.

[eusebio13]

Most consecutive matches by a country without conceding a goal is 5 matches by Italy in 1990.

[eusebio13]

18% of all World Cup games end 1-0 (128 matches) making it the most common result

[eusebio13]

On 5 occasions countries have met twice in the same finals

In 1954, West Germany & Hungary met in the First Round & the Final.
In 1962, Brazil & Czechoslovakia met in the First Round & the Final.
In 1982, Italy & Poland met in the First Round & the Semi-Finals.
In 1994, Brazil & Sweden met in the First Round & the Semi-Finals.
In 2002, Brazil and Turkey met in the First Round & the Semi-Finals.

By coincidence, one of the teams in each case was the eventual champion.

[eusebio13]

Both Pele of Brazil and Uwe Seeler of West Germany have scored in the finals of 1958, 1962, 1966 & 1970.

[eusebio13]

Luxembourg has participated in each qualifying competition but never qualified for any finals. From 1934 to 2009, Luxembourg played 114 qualifying matches and lost 107, scoring 54 goals and conceding 381. The only three teams that Luxembourg had defeated were Portugal (4-2 on 8/10/61), Turkey (2-0 on 22/10/72) and Switzerland (2-1 at Zurich on 10/9/08).

[eusebio13]

The term 'group of death' was used by the Mexican press to describe Group 3 of WC 1970, which consisted of England (reigning champions), Brazil (champions in 1958 & 1962), Czechoslovakia (finalists 1962) and Rumania. As a result, Rumania & Czechoslovakia 'died' in the first round while Brazil won all the matches and became champions.

[eusebio13]

When Zaire qualified for the 1974 finals, the Zairean president promised each player a house, a car and free holidays. All these offers were withdrawn when Zaire lost all three matches, scored no goal and conceded 14.

[eusebio13]

Danish midfielder Soren Lerby was replaced during a qualifying match against Ireland on 13/11/85 to catch a flight. Lerby left in the 58th minute, and took a private jet to fly back to Germany to play, as a substitute, for his club Bayern Munich in a cup match on the same day. On that busy day, his country won 4-1 in Dublin while his club drew 1-1 in Bochum.

[eusebio13]

Brazil squad: Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Doni (AS Roma), Gomes (Tottenham Hotspur)

Defenders: Maicon (Inter Milan), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Michel Bastos (Olympique Lyon), Gilberto (Cruzeiro), Lucio (Inter Milan), Juan (AS Roma), Luisao (Benfica), Thiago Silva (AC Milan)

Midfielders: Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Felipe Melo (Fiorentina), Ramires (Benfica), Elano (Galatasaray), Kaka (Real Madrid), Julio Baptista (Roma), Kleberson (Flamengo), Josue (VfL Wolfsburg).

Forwards: Robinho (Santos), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Nilmar (Villarreal), Grafite (VfL Wolfsburg).

[eusebio13]

Argentina squad: Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar), Mariano Andujar (Catania), Diego Pozo (Colon)
Defenders: Nicolas Burdisso (Inter Milan), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich), Walter Samuel (Inter Milan), Gabriel Heinze (Olympique Marseille), Nicolas Otamendi (Velez Sarsfield), Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle), Juan Manuel Insaurralde (Newell's Old Boys), Clemente Rodriguez (Estudiantes), Ariel Garce (Colon)
Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Sebastian Blanco (Lanus), Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes), Jesus Datolo (Olympiacos), Jose Sosa (Estudiantes), Maximiliano Rodriguez (Liverpool), Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina), Juan Mercier (Argentinos Juniors), Angel Di Maria (Benfica), Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle), Javier Pastore (Palermo)
Forwards: Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Diego Milito (Inter Milan), Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors), Carlos Tevez (Manchester City), Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Napoli).

[eusebio13]

France squad:
Goalkeepers: Hugo Lloris (Olympique Lyon), Steve Mandanda(Olympique Marseille), Cedric Carrasso (Girondins Bordeaux), Mickael Landreau (Lille)
Defenders: Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), William Gallas (Arsenal), Eric Abidal (Barcelona), Rod Fanni (Stade Rennes), Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla), Adil Rami (Lille), Marc Planus (Girondins Bordeaux), Gael Clichy(Arsenal), Anthony Reveillere (Olympique Lyon)
Midfielders: Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Alou Diarra(Girondins Bordeaux), Jeremy Toulalan (Olympique Lyon), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Yoann Gourcuff (Girondins Bordeaux), Abou Diaby (Arsenal), Yann M'Vila (Stade Rennes)
Forwards: Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Toulouse), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Sidney Govou (Olympique Lyon), Djibril Cisse (Panathinaikos), Hatem Ben Arfa (Olympique Marseille), Mathieu Valbuena (Olympique Marseille), Jimmy Briand (Stade Rennes)

[eusebio13]

Spain Squad

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), David De Gea (Atletico de Madrid), Diego Lopez (Villareal), Jose Manuel 'Pepe' Reina (Liverpool), Victor Valdes (Barcelona).
Defenders: Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Cesar Azpilicueta (Osasuna), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).
Midfielders: Xabier Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Javier Martinez (Athletic Bilbao), Marcos Senna (Villarreal), David Silva (Valencia), Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona).
Forwards: Santiago Cazorla (Villarreal), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia), Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona), Daniel Guiza (Fenerbache), Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), David Villa (Valencia).

[eusebio13]

Serbia's provisional World Cup squad:
Goalkeepers: Vladimir Stojkovic (Wigan), Zeljko Brkic (Vojvodina Novi Sad), Bojan Isailovic (Cukaricki Belgrade), Andjelko Djuricic (Leiria).
Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea), Antonio Rukavina(Munich 1860), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund), Aleksandar Lukovic (Udinese), Ivan Obradovic (Saragossa), Aleksandar Kolarov (Lazio).
Midfielders: Dejan Stankovic (Inter Milan), Nenad Milijas(Wolverhampton), Miloss Krasic (CSKA Moscow), Milan Jovanovic (Standard Liege), Milos Ninkovic (Dynamo Kiev), Zdravko Kuzmanovic (Stuttgart), Zoran Tosic (Cologne), Miralem Sulejmani (Ajax), Gojko Kacar (Hertha Berlin), Nemanja Matic (Chelsea), Radosav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade).
Forwards: Nikola Zigic (Valencia), Marko Pantelic (Ajax), Danko Lazovic (Zenith), Dragan Mrdja (Vojvodina), Dejan Lekic (Red Star Belgrade).

[eusebio13]

Slovakia Squad:
Jan Mucha (Legia Warsaw), Dusan Kuciak (Vaslui), Lubos Kamenar (Nantes), Dusan Pernis (Dundee United);
Peter Pekarik (Wolfsburg), Martin Petras (Cesena), Martin Skrtel (Liverpool), Lubomir Michalik (Leeds), Jan Durica (Hannover), Radoslav Zabavnik (Mainz), Marek Cech (West Brom), Tomas Lubocan (Zenit St Petersburg), Kornel Salate (Slovan Bratislava);
Kamil Kopunek (Spartak Trnava), Jan Kozak (Timisoara), Juraj Kucka (Sparta Prague), Miroslav Karhan (Mainz), Marek Sapara (Ankaragucu), Mario Pecalka (Zilina), Stanislav Sestak (Bochum), Marek Hamsik (Napoli), Vladimir Weiss (Manchester City), Miroslav Stoch (Chelsea), Dusan Svento (Salzburg), Zdeno Strba (Xanthi);
Erik Jendrisek (Schalke), Robert Vittek (Ankaragucu), Martin Jakubko (Saturn Moscow), Filip Holosko (Besiktas).

[eusebio13]

Mexico squad: Goalkeepers: Oscar Perez (Chiapas), Guillermo Ochoa (America), Luis Ernesto Michel (Guadalajara)
Defenders: Rafael Marquez (Barcelona), Ricardo Osorio (Stuttgart), Francisco Rodriguez, Carlos Salcido (both PSV Eindhoven), Hector Moreno (AZ Alkmaar), Paul Aguilar (Pachuca), Efrain Juarez (Pumas UNAM), Jonny Magallon (Guadalajara), Juan Carlos Valenzuela (America), Jorge Torres Nilo (Atlas), Adrian Aldrete (Morelia)
Midfielders: Andres Guardado (Deportivo La Coruna), Jonathan dos Santos (Barcelona), Gerardo Torrado (Cruz Azul), Israel Castro (Pumas UNAM), Giovani dos Santos (Galatasaray, on loan from Tottenham)
Forwards: Pablo Barrera (Pumas UNAM), Adolfo Bautista, Alberto Medina (both Guadalajara), Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Veracruz), Carlos Vela (Arsenal), Javier Hernandez (Manchester United), Guillermo Franco (West Ham).

[eusebio13]

Chile squad: Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad), Miguel Pinto (Universidad de Chile), Luis Marin (Union Espanola); Roberto Cereceda (Colo Colo), Pablo Contreras (PAOK), Ismael Fuentes (Universidad Catolica), Mauricio Isla (Udinese), Gary Medel (Boca Juniors), Gonzalo Jara (West Brom), Waldo Ponce (Universidad Catolica), Arturo Vidal (Bayer Leverkusen); Charles Aranguiz (Colo Colo), Carlos Carmona (Reggina), Marco Estrada (Universidad de Chile), Matias Fernandez (Sporting Lisbon), Gonzalo Fierro (Flamengo), Jose Pedro Fuenzalida (Colo Colo), Manuel Iturra (Universidad de Chile), Rodrigo Millar (Colo Colo), Pedro Morales (Dinamo Zagreb), Rodrigo Tello (Besiktas), Jorge Valdivia (Al-Ain), Jaime Valdes (Atalanta); Jean Beausejour (America), Mark Gonzalez (CSKA Moscow), Hector Mancilla (Toluca), Fabian Orellana (Xerez), Esteban Paredes (Colo Colo), Alexis Sanchez (Udinese), Humberto Suazo (Real Zaragoza)

[eusebio13]

Denmark squad:
Goalkeepers: Thomas Sorensen (Stoke City), Stephan Andersen (Brondby), Kim Christensen (IFK Gothenburg) Jesper Christiansen (FC Copenhagen).
Defenders: William Kvist (FC Copenhagen), Simon Kjaer (Palermo), Lars Jacobsen (Everton), Per Kroldup (Fiorentina), Daniel Agger (Liverpool), Patrick Mtigliga (Malaga), Simon Poulsen (AZ Alkmaar), Leon Jessen (Midtjylland), Anders Christensen (OB Odense).
Midfielders: Martin Jorgensen (AGF Aarhus), Christian Poulsen (Juventus), Jakob Poulsen (AGF Aarhus), Dennis Rommedahl (Ajax Amsterdam), Thomas Kahlenberg (VfL Wolfsburg), Thomas Enevoldsen (FC Groningen), Christian Eriksen (Ajax Amsterdam), Mikkel Beckmann (Randers), Mikkel Thygesen (Midtjylland), Michael Krohn-Dehli (Brondby IF), Daniel Jensen (Werder Bremen), Michael Silbernauer (FC Copenhagen), Jesper Gronkjaer (FC Copenhagen).
Forwards: Jon Dahl Tomasson (Feyenoord), Soren Larsen (Toulouse), Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal), Morten Rasmussen (Celtic).