Back page As the build-up to the Russia 2018 World Cup is beginning to reach fever pitch, I thought today would be a good day to look at some stats and facts regarding this most popular of soccer tournaments.
Whether you are planning on betting on the World Cup or just want to ensure you can book your space on the sofa to watch, what may turn out to be one of the best matches, then have a look through this guide.
I am confident some of the stats and facts I am about to reveal to you will be an eye opener. If nothing else, they may help get a few of the much more obscure World Cup related questions right when you are next taking part in a pub quiz!
Total Goals Scored and Average Match Attendance
It was in 2014 and 1998 that saw the most goals being scored, and the total number of goals scored by all teams in those two years were 171.
It was back in 1930 and 1934 that the lowest total number of goals were scored that being just 70, however the reason for that was that there was a much lower number of teams taking place in the tournament at the group stages.
You would have thought that the best figures regarding attendances would be in the more recent editions of the World Cup, as stadiums have got much larger over the years and therefore more people can watch the matches live and in person.
However, the best average attendance figures every recorded where back in the 1994 World Cup that was hosted in the USA, and each match on average was watched by 68,991 people in the stadiums hosting each match!
For reference the last few years have seen an average attended of 52,918 in 2014 in Brazil, 49,669 in 2010 and the average attended in 2006 in Germany was 52,491.
It will of course be interesting to see how those figures compare to the ones that will be released after the 2018 edition is held in Russia!
Teams That Have Won the World Cup the Most
Regarding the teams that have had the best of luck in the World Cup, it is Brazil that have the honour of being the team that has won it the most times. They won it in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and more recently in 2002, and there is also the chance they could win it again this year.
Italy and German are the joint second countries that have won the World Cup the most times, both teams having won the cup four times. Italy won it on 1934 and doubled up again in 1938, they also won it back in 1982 and 2006.
Germany won in 1954, 1974, 1990 and much more recently in 2014, and if they end up in this year’s final against England I am more than convinced they will win it again!
A couple of teams have won the World Cup twice, the first being Uruguay in 1930 and then again in 1950, Argentina won it in 1978 and 1986, which does surprise a lot of people who seem to think they have won it many more times that just twice.
Player Statistics
Considering that each group stage of the World Cup is held every four years, it is quite rare to see players taking part in more than just a couple of them.
However, to date there have been three players that have played in five World Cup editions, and the first is Antonio Carbajal who took to the pitch in 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962 and then again back in 1966.
Lothar Matthaeus has also played in five editions those being in 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994 and in 1998, you may be more familiar with the player Gianluigi Buffon for he has been the most recent player to play in five editions those being in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and in 2014
Most Goals Scored
The next set of stats I want to reveal to you do make very interesting reading, for as you will be more than aware it is rare for there to be any matches that do see a huge number of goals being scored, unless of course the match goes to a penalty shoot out.
However, let me now enlighten you on the most goals that were score in several different World Cup editions. In 1954 the match between Austria and Switzerland in the Quarter Finals saw an amazing 12 goals being scored, 7 of which were scored by Austria and 5 of which were scored by Switzerland.
In the First Round of the 1928 edition of the World Cup a whopping 11 goals were scored in the match between Brazil and Poland, Brazil did eventually win that match after extra time having scored six of those eleven goals!
In fact, there must have been something in the air in the 1954 World Cup for in the Group 2 stage of that tournament in the match between Hungary and Germany eleven goals were scored again, eight of which were scored by Hungary and three of which were scored by Germany!
Four years later another match ended with a total of eleven goals being scored and that was in the Group 3 match between Hungary and El Salvador, amazingly though Hungary scored a total of ten goals in that match, putting to shame somewhat the one single goal scored by El Salvador!
