World Cup Trivia & Almost Interesting Facts

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Australia squad:
Goalkeepers: Mark Schwarzer (Fulham), Adam Federici (Reading), Brad Jones (Middlesbrough), Eugene Galekovic(Adelaide United)
Defenders: Lucas Neill (Galatasaray), Craig Moore(unattached), Scott Chipperfield (Basel), David Carney (Twente Enschede), Luke Wilkshire (Dynamo Moscow), Rhys Williams (Middlesbrough), Shane Lowry (Aston Villa), Mark Milligan (JEF United), Jade North (Tromso), Michael Beauchamp (Al-Jazira)
Midfielders: Tim Cahill (Everton), Mark Bresciano (Palermo) Vince Grella (Blackburn) Brett Emerton (Blackburn), Jason Culina (Gold Coast), Harry Kewell (Galatasaray), Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar), Carl Valeri (Sassuolo), Mile Jedinak(Antalyaspor), Richard Garcia (Hull), Nick Carle (Crystal Palace), Tommy Oar (Utrecht), Dario Vidosic (Nuremberg), James Holland (AZ Alkmaar)
Forwards: Josh Kennedy (Nagoya), Scott McDonald(Middlesbrough), Nikita Rukavytsya (Twente Enschede) Don Bradman

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Ivory Coast squad:
Goalkeepers: Vincent Angban (ASEC Abidjan), Boubacar Barry (Lokeren), Aristides Zogbo (Maccabi Netanya), Daniel Yeboah (ASEC Abidjan).
Defenders: Souleymane Bamba (Hibernian), Arthur Boka (VfB Stuttgart), Benjamin Brou Angoua (Valenciennes), Guy Demel (Hamburg SV), Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal), Abdoulaye Meite (West Bromwich Albion), Steve Gohouri (Wigan Athletic), Siaka Tiene (Valenciennes), Kolo Toure (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Emerse Fae (Nantes), Jean-Jacques Gosso Gosso (Monaco), Abdelkader Keita (Galatasaray), Emmanuel Kone (International Curtea Arges), Gervais Yao Kouassi (Lille), Christian Koffi Ndri (Sevilla), Cheik Ismael Tiote (Twente Enschede), Yaya Toure (Barcelona), Gilles Yapi Yapo (Young Boys Berne), Didier Zokora (Sevilla).
Forwards: Kanga Akale (Racing Lens), Aruna Dindane (Racing Lens), Seydou Doumbia (Young Boys Berne), Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea), Bakary Kone (Olympique Marseille).

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Cameroon squad:
Goalkeepers: Guy Roland N'Dy Assembe (Valenciennes), Idriss Carlos Kameni (Espanyol), Hamidou Souleymanou (Kayserispor), Patrick Tignyemb (Bloemfontein Celtic)
Defenders: Patrick Abouna (Astres Douala), Benoit Assou Ekotto (Tottenham Hotspur), Sebastien Bassong (Tottenham Hotspur), Gaetan Bong (Valenciennes), Aurelien Chedjou (Lille), Geremi (Ankaragucu), Boukar Makadji (Al Nahdha), Nicolas Nkoulou (Monaco), Rigobert Song (Trabzonspor)
Midfielders: Achille Emana (Real Betis), Enoh Eyong (Ajax Amsterdam), Jean Makoun (Olympique Lyon), Georges Mandjeck (Kaiserslautern), Joel Matip (Schalke 04), Patrick Mevoungou (Canon Yaounde), Marcel Ndjeng (Augsburg), Landry Nguemo (Celtic), Alexandre Song (Arsenal)
Forwards: Vincent Aboubakar (Coton Sport), Eric Choupo-Mating (Nuremburg), Paul Alo'o Efoulou (Nancy), Samuel Eto'o (Inter Milan), Mohamadou Idrissou (Freiburg), Dorge Kouemaha (Club Bruges), Achille Webo (Real Mallorca), Jacques Zoua (Basle)

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Uruguay squad: Fernando Muslera (Lazio), Juan-Guillermo Castillo (Cali), Martin Silva (Defensor Sporting); Diego Lugano (Fenerbahce), Diego Godin (Villarreal), Andres Scotti (Colo Colo), Jorge Fucile (Porto), Martin Caceres (Juventus), Mauricio Victorino (Universidad de Chile), Maximiliano Pereira (Benfica); Walter Gargano (Napoli), Egidio Arevalo-Rios (Penarol), Sebastian Eguren (AIK Stockholm), Diego Perez (Monaco), Alvaro Pereira (Porto), Alvaro Fernandez (Universidad de Chile), Jorge Rodriguez (River Plate), Alvaro Gonzalez (Nacional), Ignacio Gonzalez (Valencia), Nicolas Lodeiro (Ajax); Sebastian Fernandez (Banfield), Luis Suarez (Ajax), Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid), Sebastian Abreu (Botafogo), Edinson Cavani (Palermo), Jorge Martinez (Catania).

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Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolves)
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham)
Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Jose Torres (Pachuca)
Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki), Tiger Woods ( Toledo Tango)

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Italy squad:

Goalkeepers: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari), Salvatore Sirigu (Palermo)
Defenders: Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Mattia Cassani (Palermo), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Fabio Grosso (Juventus), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Gianluca Zambrotta (AC Milan)
Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Antonio Candreva (Juventus), Andrea Cossu (Cagliari), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Gennaro Gattuso (AC Milan), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Simone Pepe (Udinese), Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan)
Forwards: Marco Borriello (AC Milan), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria), Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal)

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The Swiss Miss Squad:

Goalkeepers: Diego Benaglio (Wolfsburg), Johnny Leoni (Zurich), Marco Woelfli (Young Boys).
Defenders: Stephan Lichtsteiner (Lazio), Stephane Grichting (Auxerre), Steve Von Bergen (Hertha Berlin), Philippe Senderos (Arsenal), Mario Eggimann (Hannover), Christoph Spycher (Eintracht Frankfurt), Reto Ziegler (Sampdoria).
Midfielders: Valon Behrami (West Ham), Gokhan Inler (Udinese), Benjamin Huggel (Basle), Gelson Fernandes (St. Etienne), Xherdan Shaqiri (Basel), Pirmin Schwegler (Eintracht Frankfurt), Tranquillo Barnetta (Bayer Leverkusen), Marco Padalino (Sampdoria).
Forwards: Alex Frei (Basle), Blaise Nkufo (Twente), Eren Derdiyok (Bayer Leverkusen), Hakan Yakin (Lucerne), Marco Streller (Basle).

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Greek Squad

Goalkeepers: Michalis Sifakis (Aris Salonika), Alexandros Tzorvas (Panathinaikos), Kostas Chalkias (PAOK Salonika).
Defenders: Giorgos Seitaridis (Panathinaikos), Loukas Vintra(Panathinaikos), Evangelos Moras (Bologna), Socrates Papastathopoulos (Genoa), Sotiris Kyrgiakos (Liverpool), Avraam Papadopoulos (Olympiakos), Vasilis Torosidis (Olympiakos), Nikos Spiropoulos (Panathinaikos), Stelios Malezas (PAOK Salonika), Giorgos Tzavellas (Panionios), Kostas Manolas (AEK Athens), Giorgos Galitsios (Olympiakos), Stergos Marinos (Panathinaikos).
Midfielders: Kostas Katsouranis (Panathinaikos), Alexandros Tziolis (Siena), Giorgos Karagounis (Panathinaikos), Sotiris Ninis (Panathinaikos), Christos Patsatzoglou (Omonia), Grigoris Makos (AEK Athens), Sakis Prittas (Aris Salonika), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (Panathinaikos).
Forwards: Angelos Charisteas (Nuremberg), Dimitris Salpigidis (Panathinaikos), Pantelis Kapetanos (Steaua Bucharest), Theofanis Gekas (Hertha Berlin), Giorgos Samaras (Celtic), Kostas Mitroglou (Olympiakos).

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Slovenia Squad

Goalkeepers: Samir Handanovic (Udinese), Jasmin Handanovic (Mantova), Aleksander Seliga (Sparta Rotterdam), Jan Koprivec (Maribor).
Defenders: Bojan Jokic (Chievo Verona), Marko Suler (Ghent), Bostjan Cesar (Grenoble), Branko Ilic (Lokomotiv Moscow), Matej Mavric (Koblenz), Dejan Kelhar (Cercle Brugge), Elvedin Dzinic (Maribor), Miso Brecko (Cologne), Aleksandar Rajcevic (Koper), Suad Filekovic (Maribor).
Midfielders: Andraz Kirm (Wisla Krakow), Andrej Komac (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Rene Krhin (Inter Milan), Mirnes Sisic (Giannina), Darjan Matic (Rapid Bucharest), Dare Vrsic (Koper), Dalibor Stevanovic (Vitesse Arnhem), Robert Koren (West Bromwich Albion), Aleksander Radosavljevic (Larissa), Valter Birsa (Auxerre).
Forwards: Milivoje Novakovic (Cologne), Zlatko Dedic (VfL Bochum), Zlatan Ljubijankic (Ghent), Nejc Pecnik (Nacional), Miran Burgic (AIK Solna), Tim Matavz (Groningen).

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Honduras Squad

Goalkeepers: Ricardo Canales (Motagua), Noel Valladares (Olimpia), Donis Escober (Olimpia).
Defenders: Victor Bernardez (Anderlecht), Maynor Figueroa (Wigan), Oscar Garcia (Olimpia), Sergio Mendoza (Motagua), Emilio Izaguirre (Motagua), Johnny Palacios (Olimpia), Mauricio Sabillon (Hangzhou Luchen), Osman Chavez (Platense).
Midfielders: Edgard Alvarez (Bari), Julio Cesar de Leon (Torino), Roger Espinoza (Kansas City Wizards), Amado Guevara (Motagua), Ramon Nunez (Olimpia), Wilson Palacios (Tottenham Hotspur), Hendry Thomas (Wigan), Danilo Turcios (Olimpia).
Forwards: David Suazo (Genoa), Georgie Welcome (Motagua), Carlos Pavon (Real Espana), Walter Martinez (Marathon).

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news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8674375.stm

North Korea fans may miss out on watching World Cup

People in North Korea are unlikely to be able to watch World Cup matches, after South Korea said talks on providing a free TV feed had stalled.
South Korean broadcaster SBS said "strained inter-Korean ties" meant the talks had not progressed as planned.
Seoul is still investigating a blast which sank a warship off its coast in March. Many South Koreans believe the North was to blame for the explosion.
North Korea has qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1966.
In the last World Cup in 2006, SBS provided free recorded coverage of matches in Germany to football fans in North Korea.
But in a statement, the broadcaster said the terms for coverage of the coming tournament in South Africa had not been agreed.
"We had planned to move forward with the talks in earnest in April and May, but they didn't progress amid strained inter-Korean ties," said SBS in a statement.

The already tense relationship has worsened over the 26 March sinking of the Cheonan, with the loss of 46 lives, near the two countries' disputed maritime border.
Seoul has stopped short of accusing the North but has said it believes the vessel may have been struck by a torpedo.
"The most important factor to consider is public sentiment," an unnamed official at SBS told the AFP news agency.
"The sinking of the ship has worsened cross-border relations, which has halted talks on offering North Korea possible free World Cup broadcasts."
The South Korean government has not commented on the dispute, saying it would consider approving broadcasts to the North if SBS formally submitted a request to do so.
North Korea's team arrived in South Africa for the tournament last week. They will play Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast.

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Israel were required to play against Wales in qualifying from the Asian/African group in the 1958 World Cup for political reasons. All Israel's opponents refused to play. FIFA then decided that Israel had to play at least two matches in order to qualify for the finals. Wales were chosen among all the second-placed teams to play. Wales beat Israel in two play-off matches, and reached the finals for the first and only time.

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The Brazilian manager of 1954 (Zeze) and of 1962 (Aimore Moreira) were brothers

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Short-sighted Swiss centre-forward Poldi Kielholz had to wear spectacles when he played soccer. He scored three goals in two matches in the 1934 finals.

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World Cup Finals Records by Country 1930-2006

Rank Country No. of Finals Games Played Won Tied Lost Goals for Goals Ag. Goal Diff. Points (3/win)
1 Brazil 18 92 64 14 14 201 84 +117 206
2 Germany1 16 92 55 19 18 190 112 +78 184
3 Italy 16 77 44 19 14 122 69 +53 151
4 Argentina 14 65 33 13 19 113 74 +39 112
5 England 12 55 25 17 13 74 47 +27 92
6 France 12 51 25 10 16 95 64 +31 85
7 Spain 12 49 22 12 15 80 57 +23 78
8 Sweden 11 46 16 13 17 74 69 + 5 61
9 Netherlands 8 36 16 10 10 59 38 +21 58
10 Russia2 9 37 17 6 14 64 44 +20 57
11 Serbia & Montenegro3 10 40 16 8 16 62 56 + 6 56
12 Uruguay 10 40 15 10 15 65 57 + 8 55
13 Poland 7 31 15 5 11 44 40 + 4 50
14 Hungary 9 32 15 3 14 87 57 +30 48
15 Mexico 13 45 11 12 22 48 84 -36 45
16 Czech Rep.4 9 33 12 5 16 47 49 - 2 41
17 Austria 7 29 12 4 13 43 47 - 4 40
18 Belgium 11 36 10 9 17 46 63 -17 39
19 Portugal 4 19 11 1 7 32 21 +11 34
20 Romania 7 21 8 5 8 30 32 - 2 29
21 Switzerland 8 26 8 5 13 37 51 -14 29
22 Chile 7 25 7 6 12 31 40 - 9 27
23 Paraguay 7 22 6 7 9 27 36 - 9 25
24 Denmark 3 13 7 2 4 24 18 + 6 23
25 USA 8 25 6 3 16 27 51 -24 21
26 Croatia 3 13 6 2 5 15 11 + 4 20
27 Cameroon 5 17 4 7 6 15 29 -14 19
28 Scotland 8 23 4 7 12 25 41 -16 19
29 South Korea 7 24 4 7 13 22 53 -31 19
30 Bulgaria 7 26 3 8 15 22 53 -31 17
31 Turkey 2 10 5 1 4 20 17 + 3 16
32 Peru 4 15 4 3 8 19 31 -12 15
33 Rep. of Ireland 3 13 2 8 3 10 10 0 14
34 N. Ireland 3 13 3 5 5 13 23 -10 14
35 Nigeria 3 11 4 1 6 14 16 - 2 13
36 Colombia 4 13 3 2 8 14 23 - 9 11
37 Morocco 4 13 2 4 7 12 18 - 6 10
38 Costa Rica 3 10 3 1 6 12 21 - 9 10
39 Norway 3 8 2 3 3 7 8 - 1 9
40 Ecuador 2 7 3 0 4 7 8 - 1 9
41 Senegal 1 5 2 2 1 7 6 + 1 8
42 East Germany 1 6 2 2 2 5 5 0 8
43 Japan 3 10 2 2 6 8 14 - 6 8
44 Saudi Arabia 4 13 2 2 9 9 32 -23 8
45 Ukraine 1 5 2 1 2 5 7 - 2 7
46 Algeria 2 6 2 1 3 6 10 - 4 7
47 Tunisia 4 12 1 4 7 8 17 - 9 7
48 Wales 1 5 1 3 1 4 4 0 6
49 Ghana 1 4 2 0 2 4 6 - 2 6
50 South Africa 2 6 1 3 2 8 11 - 3 6
51 Australia 2 7 1 2 4 5 11 - 6 5
52 Iran 3 9 1 2 6 6 18 -12 5
53 North Korea 1 4 1 1 2 5 9 - 4 4
54 Cuba 1 3 1 1 1 5 12 - 7 4
55 Ivory Coast 1 3 1 0 2 5 6 - 1 3
56 Jamaica 1 3 1 0 2 3 9 - 6 3
57 Honduras 1 3 0 2 1 2 3 - 1 2
58 Angola 1 3 0 2 1 1 2 - 1 2
59 Israel 1 3 0 2 1 1 3 - 2 2
60 Egypt 2 4 0 2 2 3 6 - 3 2
61 Kuwait 1 3 0 1 2 2 6 - 4 1
62 Trinidad & Tobago 1 3 0 1 2 0 4 - 4 1
63 Bolivia 3 6 0 1 5 1 20 -19 1
64 Iraq 1 3 0 0 3 1 4 - 3 0
65 Slovenia 1 3 0 0 3 2 7 - 5 0
66 Togo 1 3 0 0 3 1 6 - 5 0
67 Canada 1 3 0 0 3 0 5 - 5 0
68 Dutch East Indies5 1 1 0 0 1 0 6 - 6 0
69 United Arab Emirates 1 3 0 0 3 2 11 - 9 0
70 China 1 3 0 0 3 0 9 - 9 0
71 New Zealand 1 3 0 0 3 2 12 -10 0
72 Greece 1 3 0 0 3 0 10 -10 0
73 Haiti 1 3 0 0 3 2 14 -12 0
74 Zaire6 1 3 0 0 3 0 14 -14 0
75 El Salvador 2 6 0 0 6 1 22 -21 0
Total 361 1,416 551 314 551 2,063 2,063 0 1,967
1 : Germany includes West Germany but not East Germany 2 : Russia includes Soviet Union (USSR) 3 : Serbia and Montenegro includes Yugoslavia 4 : Czech Republic includes Czechoslovakia 5 : Dutch East Indies is now Indonesia 6 : Zaire is now Democratic Republic of Congo

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In the thread that will not die.....The biggest World Cup Upsets

1: USA 1 England 0 World Cup 1950
England were undone by a combination of a part-time dishwasher and student accountant when a cross from Walter Bahr was glanced in to the net by Joe Gaetjens in the Estadio Independencia in Belo Horizonte, Brazil for what still stands as the greatest upset in international football history.

2: Senegal 1 France 0 World Cup 2002
Papa Bouba Diop’s first half goal handed Senegal their first ever World Cup finals victory and bloodied the nose of the World Cup holders, widely tipped to be poised for a successful defence. France may have been missing Zinedine Zidane but the impact of the African victory was profound.

3: Cameroon 1 Argentina 0 World Cup 1990
Few gave Cameroon a hope against the reigning world champions, with Diego Maradona still at his peak, but an effective double-team marking job on the Argentine talisman and Francois Oman Biyik’s headed goal kick-started a campaign for the West Africans that took them to within a kick of a quarter-final victory over England. Andrea Kana Biyik’s crushing foul on Claudio Cannigia also helps this one stick in the mind.

4: North Korea 1 Italy 0 World Cup 1966
The 18,000 who crammed in to Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough, for this group match will never forget what they witnessed. The Koreans were rank outsiders and complete unknowns before Park Doo-Ik wrote his name in to the record books with a stunning strike to win the match. Italy, who started strongly, did have the handicap of seeing Bulgarelli hobble off (there were no substitutes in those days) but after the goal the Koreans could have scored more and deserved their win.

5: Northern Ireland 1 Spain 0 World Cup 1982
In Spain’s own back yard – the Luis Casanova Stadium, Valencia, to be exact – Northern Ireland enjoyed one of their most celebrated footballing nights ever thanks to a goal from Gerry Armstrong. That the Irish had to play most of the game with ten men after Mal Donaghy was sent off made the achievement all the more impressive.

6: Hungary 2 West Germany 3 World Cup 1954
The Mighty Magyars of Puskas, Boszik, Kocsis and Hidegkuti rival the Dutch side of Cruyff for the title of greatest side never to win the World Cup thanks to an amazing turnaround in fortune for the West Germans that they refer to as the 'Miracle of Berne'. Hungary beat the Germans 8-3 in a group game in Basle and another pasting was envisaged when Hungary ran to a 2-0 lead but an incredible performance from Toni Turek in the German goal and some dirty weather that hampered the Hungarians' passing game saw an incredible turn around and the underdogs have their day.

7: South Korea 2 Italy 1 World Cup 2002
Ahn Jung-Hwan’s golden goal provided one of the World Cup’s biggest shocks as South Korea, as their ‘friends’ from the north had done in 1966, overcame 10-man Italy – this time due to Francesco Totti’s sending off for diving. Ahn was not welcomed back as a hero by his employers, however. Italian club Perugia’s president branded him a ‘traitor’ to Italian football. Some injudicious decisions from the linesman and referee gave the Koreans another big scalp, Spain, in the next round but the Italian job lives longest in the memory for the right reasons.

8: Brazil 1 Uruguay 2 World Cup 1950
Brazil remain the only world champions to have ever lost a World Cup final at home in what the residents of Rio de Janeiro term the ‘Fateful Final’. Goals from Schiaffino and Gigghia overturned a 1-0 deficit for Uruguay, who had been expected to play little more than a supporting role in the first ever World Cup final but ended up crashing the biggest football party there had been to that date in front of over 200,000 in the famous Maracanã Stadium.