THE WORLD CUPS

Last Updated: 30/07/2008

Places	Results	Scorers (Most Goals)	Scorers (Most WCs)	Scorers (in 1 Game)	Host Teams	Own Goals	Other Trivia

THE TEAMS - RELATIVE SUCCESSES

The points are given here in a following fashion - if N teams participated in the World Cup, the Champions get N points, the Vice-Champions obtain N-1 points, and so on. If a certain team caught a shared place, it gets the average of all the shared places.

For example, in 1970 Brazil got 16 points (Champions out of 16 teams participating), Italy got 15 points, and England (reaching the quarterfinals) got 10.5 points (12 for 5th, ..., 9 for 8th; (12+11+10+9)/4 = 42/4 = 10.5).

The bold-lettered teams participated in the last WC, WC'2006 in Germany.

The amount of teams participating in the WC is registered below the World Cup year.

xxx	---	W	D	B	0
not a FIFA member	didn't take part	withdrew during the qualification	disqualified (sportively)	banned (politically)	failed to qualify

Place	Team	1930 (13)	1934 (16)	1938 (15)	1950 (13)	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)	Points
	Brazil	5-8	9-16			5-8			9-12				5-8	5-8	9-16				5-8	292
	Germany (1)	---		9-15	xxx			5-8				5-6				5-8	5-8			290
	Italy	---			5-7	9-12	0	9-12	9-12		9-12			9-16			5-8	9-16		255.5
	Argentina		9-16	W	W	---	13-16	9-12	5-8	0	7-8		9-12			9-16	5-8	17-24	5-8	201
5	England	---	---	---	5-7	5-8	9-12	5-8		5-8	0	0	5-8	5-8		0	9-16	5-8	5-8	193.5
6	Spain	---	5-8	W		0	0	13-16	9-12	0	0	9-12	9-12	5-8	9-16	5-8	17-24	5-8	9-16	159.5
7	France	9-12	9-16	5-8	0	9-12		0	13-16	0	0	9-12			0	0		25-32		157.5
8	Sweden	---	5-8			0		0	0	9-12	5-6	13-16	0	0	19-24		0	9-16	9-16	135.5
9	Mexico	13	0	W	11-13	13-16	13-16	9-12	9-12	5-8	0	13-16	0	5-8	D	9-16	9-16	9-16	9-16	126.5
10	Netherlands	---	9-16	9-15	---	---	0	0	0	0			0	0	9-16	5-8		0	9-16	119
11	Serbia and Montenegro (2)	/	0	0	5-7	5-8	5-8		0	0	7-8	0	13-18	0	5-8	B	9-16	0	25-32	115
12	Belgium	9-12	9-16	9-15	W	13-16	0	0	0	9-12	0	0	9-12		9-16	9-16	17-24	9-16	0	114.5
13	Uruguay		---	---			0	9-12	5-8		13-16	0	0	9-16	9-16	0	0	17-24	0	109
14	Russia (3)	---	---	---	---	---	5-8	5-8		5-8	0	0	5-8	9-16	19-24	17-18	0	17-24	0	99
15	Czech Republic (4)	---		5-8	---	9-12	9-12		0	13-16	0	0	13-18	0	5-8	0	0	0	17-24	95.5
16	Hungary	---	5-8		---		9-12	5-8	5-8	0	0	13-16	13-18	17-18	0	0	0	0	0	86.5
17	Paraguay	5-8	---	---	8-10	0	9-12	0	0	0	0	0	0	9-16	0	0	9-16	9-16	17-24	85
18	Poland	---	W	9-15	---	W	0	0	0	0		5-6		9-16	0	0	0	25-32	17-24	81
19	Austria	---		W	W		13-16	W	0	0	0	7-8	5-8	0	17-18	0	17-24	0	0	77.5
20	Romania	5-8	9-16	9-15	---	0	0	W	0	9-12	0	0	0	0	9-16	5-8	9-16	0	0	74
21	Switzerland	---	5-8	5-8	8-10	5-8	0	13-16	13-16	0	0	0	0	0	0	9-16	0	0	9-16	71
22	USA	/	9-16	W	11-13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19-24	9-16	25-32	5-8	25-32	68.5
23	South Korea	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	13-16	---	0	W	0	0	0	0	19-24	19-24	17-18	25-32		17-24	63
24-25	Denmark	---	---	---	---	---	0	---	0	0	0	0	0	9-16	0	0	5-8	9-16	0	59.5
24-25	Chile	5-8	W	---	8-10	0	0		13-16	0	9-12	0	19-24	0	D	B	9-16	0	0	59.5
26	Portugal	---	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	19-24	0	0	0	17-24		59
27	Bulgaria	---	W	0	---	0	0	13-16	13-16	9-12	9-12	0	0	9-16	0		25-32	0	0	56
28	Croatia	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---		17-24	17-24	55
29	Ireland	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5-8	9-16	0	9-16	0	51.5
30	Cameroon	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	W	0	0	0	13-18	0	5-8	19-24	25-32	17-24	0	48.5
31	Scotland	xxx	xxx	xxx	W	13-16	13-16	0	0	0	9-12	9-12	13-18	19-24	17-18	0	25-32	0	0	43
32	Nigeria	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	W	0	0	0	0	0	0	9-16	9-16	25-32	0	37.5
33	Turkey	---	W	---	W	9-12	W	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	36.5
34	Northern Ireland	---	---	---	W	0	5-8	0	0	0	0	0	9-12	17-18	0	0	0	0	0	32.5
35-36	Columbia	xxx	xxx	W	---	---	0	13-16	0	0	0	0	0	0	9-16	19-24	17-24	0	0	31
35-36	Morocco	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	0	W	13-16	0	0	0	9-16	0	19-24	17-24	0	0	31
37-38	Japan	---	---	W	---	0	---	0	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	25-32	9-16	25-32	29.5
37-38	Costa Rica	---	---	0	---	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9-16	0	0	17-24	25-32	29.5
39-40	Tunisia	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	W	0	0	9-12	0	0	0	0	25-32	25-32	17-24	28
39-40	Norway	---	---	9-15	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19-24	9-16	0	0	28
41	Peru	9-12	W	---	W	W	0	0	0	5-8	0	7-8	19-24	0	0	0	0	0	0	27
42-43	Ukraine	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	0	0	5-8	26.5
42-43	Senegal	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	W	0	0	0	0	0	---	0	0	5-8	0	26.5
44	Saudi Arabia	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	---	---	0	0	0	0	9-16	25-32	25-32	25-32	26
45-46	Ecuador	---	---	---	W	---	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	25-32	9-16	25
45-46	South Africa	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	---	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	17-24	17-24	0	25
47	Australia	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	0	13-16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9-16	23
48	Ghana	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	W	0	0	0	W	0	0	0	0	0	9-16	20.5
49	Iran	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	---	---	---	---	0	13-16	W	D	0	0	17-24	0	25-32	19.5
50	Algeria	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	W	0	0	0	13-18	19-24	0	0	0	0	0	13
51-53	Angola	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	0	0	0	0	17-24	12.5
51-53	Cote d'Ivoire	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	0	---	0	0	0	0	17-24	12.5
51-53	Jamaica	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	0	0	W	0	0	W	0	0	17-24	0	0	12.5
54	East Germany	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	0	0	0	5-6	0	0	0	0	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	11.5
55-56	North Korea	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	5-8	W	0	W	0	0	0	0	---	---	0	10.5
55-56	Wales	---	---	---	0	0	5-8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10.5
57	Cuba	xxx	0	5-8	0	---	---	---	0	---	---	0	0	---	0	W	0	0	0	9.5
58	Bolivia	9-12	---	---	11-13	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19-24	0	0	0	9
59	Egypt	---	9-16	W	---	0	W	W	W	---	0	0	0	0	19-24	0	0	0	0	8
60	Salvador	xxx	xxx	W	---	---	---	---	---	13-16	0	0	19-24	0	0	0	0	0	0	6
61-64	Togo	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	0	0	W	W	0	0	0	25-32	4.5
61-64	Trinidad and Tobago	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	25-32	4.5
61-64	China	---	---	---	---	---	0	---	---	---	---	---	0	0	0	0	0	25-32	0	4.5
61-64	Slovenia	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	0	25-32	0	4.5
65	Indonesia	---	---	9-15	W	---	W	W	---	---	0	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4
66-72	Greece	---	W	0	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	19-24	0	0	0	3.5
66-72	UAE	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	W	---	0	19-24	0	0	0	0	3.5
66-72	Iraq	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	---	---	---	0	W	0	19-24	0	0	0	0	0	3.5
66-72	Canada	---	---	---	---	---	0	W	---	0	0	0	0	19-24	0	0	0	0	0	3.5
66-72	New Zealand	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	---	---	---	0	0	0	19-24	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.5
66-72	Quwait	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	---	0	0	19-24	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.5
66-72	Honduras	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	0	0	0	0	W	19-24	0	0	0	0	0	0	3.5
73-75	Haiti	xxx	0	---	---	0	---	---	---	0	13-16	0	0	0	---	0	0	0	0	2.5
73-75	Zaire	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	13-16	W	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.5
73-75	Israel (5)	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13-16	0	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2.5

In the following table, the teams are measured according to the usual criteria of League Championships - points obtained, goal difference, number of goals scored, face-to-face games, number of victories. If N teams were participating in the WC, the best team gets N points, the 2nd best team obtains N-1 points, and so on. If a certain team caught a shared place according to the League criteria, it gets the average of all the shared places.

This way, surprisingly, one can see that sometimes the World Champions didn't have the best results overall! And this goes especially for the 2nd and the 4th places.

The obtained points are measured according to the victory points in the particular WC - 2 pts between 1930 and 1990, and 3 pts later on. When the teams have the same number of award points, they are sorted according to the number of game points they had earned, then the goal difference, etc.

The amount of teams participating in the WC is registered below the World Cup year.

Place	Team	1930 (13)	1934 (16)	1938 (15)	1950 (13)	1954 (16)	1958 (16)	1962 (16)	1966 (16)	1970 (16)	1974 (16)	1978 (16)	1982 (24)	1986 (24)	1990 (24)	1994 (24)	1998 (32)	2002 (32)	2006 (32)	Points
	Brazil	6	14			6			11						7				5	307
	Germany (1)	---		10	xxx			7				6	6	5			7			286
	Italy	---			7	11	0	8	9		10			12			5	15-16		257.5
	Argentina		9-11	W	W	---	13	10	5	0	9		11		5	10	6	17	6	209
5	England	---	---	---	8	7	11	9		8	0	0		10		0	8	6	7	191
6	Spain	---	5	W		0	0	12	10	0	0	10	13	6	9	8	16		8	177
7	France	7	9-11	8	0	9		0	13-14	0	0	12	5		0	0		28		162.5
8	Sweden	---	8	7		0		0	0	9	5	13	0	0	21		0	13	14	132
9	Mexico	13	0	W	12	13	16	11	12	5	0	16	0		0	13	13	11	15	117
10	Netherlands	---	9-11	14	---	---	0	0	0	0			0	0	15	7		0	10	116
11	Belgium	11	15	13	W	12	0	0	0	10-11	0	0	9	8	10	11	18	14	0	115.5
12	Serbia and Montenegro (2)	5	0	0	5	8	8		0	0	7	0	16	0		B	10	0	32	113
13	Russia (3)	---	---	---	---	---	6	6			0	0	7	9	17	18	0	22	0	108
14	Czech Republic (4)	---			---	14	9		0	15	0	0	19	0	6	0	0	0	20	91
15	Uruguay		---	---			0	13	7	6	13	0	0	17	16	0	0	26	0	90
16	Hungary	---	6		---		10	5	6	0	0	15	14	18	0	0	0	0	0	89
17	Poland	---	W	12	---	W	0	0	0	0		5		14	0	0	0	25	21	86
18	Romania	8	12	9	---	0	0	W	0	10-11	0	0	0	0	11	5	11	0	0	80.5
19	Switzerland	---	7	5	6	5	0	16	16	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	0	0	9	76
20	Paraguay	9	---	---	11	0	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0	0	14	18	18	74
21	Austria	---		W	W		15	W	0	0	0	7	8	0	18-19	0	22	0	0	73.5
22	Portugal	---	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	0	0	0	15	0	0	0	21		66
23	Denmark	---	---	---	---	---	0	---	0	0	0	0	0	7	0	0	9	10	0	65
24	South Korea	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	16	---	0	W	0	0	0	0	20	22	20	30	5	17	61
25	USA		16	W	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	23	15	32	9	25-26	59.5
26	Chile		W	---	9	0	0		13-14	0	11	0	22	0	D	B	21	0	0	55.5
27	Croatia	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---		23	22	52
28	Cameroon	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	W	0	0	0	17	0	8	22	25	20	0	49
29	Scotland	xxx	xxx	xxx	W	15	14	0	0	0	8	11	15	19	18-19	0	27	0	0	48.5
30	Bulgaria	---	W	0	---	0	0	15	15	13	12	0	0	16	0	6	29	0	0	45
31	Nigeria	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	W	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	12	27	0	43
32	Ireland	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	17	0	12	0	42
33	Turkey	---	W	---	W	10	W	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	37
34	Morocco	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	0	W	14	0	0	0	11	0	23	17	0	0	35
35	Norway	---	---	11	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	15	0	0	34
36	Columbia	xxx	xxx	W	---	---	0	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	19	20	0	0	33
37	Japan	---	---	W	---	0	---	0	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	31	8	28-29	31.5
38	Ecuador	---	---	---	W	---	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	24	12	30
39	Northern Ireland	---	---	---	0	0	7	0	0	0	0	0	10	21	0	0	0	0	0	29
40	Peru	10	W	---	W	W	0	0	0	7	0	8	20	0	0	0	0	0	0	28
41	Costa Rica	---	---	0	---	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	13	0	0	19	31	28
42	Tunisia	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	W	0	0	9	0	0	0	0	26	29	24	28
43	South Africa	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	---	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	24	15-16	0	26.5
44	Senegal	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	W	0	0	0	0	0	---	0	0	7	0	26
45	Iran	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	---	---	---	---	0	14	W	D	0	0	19	0	25-26	24.5
46	Saudi Arabia	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	---	---	0	0	0	0	12	28	32	28-29	23.5
47	Ukraine	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	0	0	11	22
48	Ghana	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	W	0	0	0	W	0	0	0	0	0	13	20
49	Australia	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	0	14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	20
50	Algeria	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	W	0	0	0	12	22	0	0	0	0	0	16
51	Cote d'Ivoire	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	0	---	0	0	0	0	19	14
52	Wales	---	---	---	0	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12
53	East Germany	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	0	0	0	6	0	0	0	0	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	11
54	Cuba	xxx	0	6	0	---	---	---	0	---	---	0	0	---	0	W	0	0	0	10
55	Jamaica	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	0	0	W	0	0	W	0	0	23	0	0	10
56	Angola	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	0	0	0	0	23	10
57	North Korea	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	8	W	0	W	0	0	0	0	---	---	0	9
58	Egypt	---	13	W	---	0	W	W	W	---	0	0	0	0	20	0	0	0	0	9
59	Honduras	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	0	0	0	0	W	18	0	0	0	0	0	0	7
60	Bolivia	12	---	---	13	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	21	0	0	0	7
61	Trinidad and Tobago	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	27	6
62	Israel (5)	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
63	Quwait	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	---	0	0	21	0	0	0	0	0	0	4
64	Slovenia	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	0	30	0	3
65	Togo	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	0	0	0	W	W	0	0	0	30	3
66	Iraq	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	---	---	---	0	W	0	23	0	0	0	0	0	2
67	China	---	---	---	---	---	0	---	---	---	---	---	0	0	0	0	0	31	0	2
68	New Zealand	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	---	---	---	0	0	0	23	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
69	Haiti	xxx	0	---	---	0	---	---	---	0	15	0	0	0	---	0	0	0	0	2
70	Salvador	xxx	xxx	W	---	---	---	---	---	16	0	0	24	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
71	Canada	---	---	---	---	---	0	W	---	0	0	0	0	24	0	0	0	0	0	1
72	Indonesia	---	---	15	W	---	W	W	---	---	0	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
73	UAE	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	W	---	0	24	0	0	0	0	1
74	Greece	---	W	0	---	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	24	0	0	0	1
75	Zaire	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	xxx	---	---	16	W	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1


(1) - combined with the results of West Germany,     1954-1990.
(2) - combined with the results of Yugoslavia,       1930-2002.
(3) - combined with the results of the Soviet Union, 1958-1990.
(4) - combined with the results of Czechoslovakia,   1954-1990.
(5) - combined with the results of Eretz-Israel,     1934-1938.

Back to the Index

THE TEAMS - RESULTS

A victory was worth 2 points between 1930 and 1990, and is worth 3 points from 1994 on. A penalty shoot-out, first introduced in 1982, is worth 1 point as a normal draw in a regular or an extra time, no matter the actual winner and the actual loser. Penalty shoot-outs aren't included in the goals as well.

The results in brackets show first the team results between 1930 and 1990, next the team results from 1994 on.

The bold-lettered teams participated in the last played WC, WC'2006 in Germany.

Place	Team	WC Partic.	Games	Victories	Draws	Losses	Goals	Goal Diff.	Points	Points, %
	Brazil	18 (14 / 4)	92 (66 / 26)	64 (44 / 20)	14 (11 / 3)	14 (11 / 3)	201-84 (148-65 / 53-19)	+117 (+83 / +34)	162 (99 / 63)	77.1 (75.0 / 80.8)
	Germany (1)	16 (12 / 4)	92 (68 / 24)	55 (39 / 16)	19 (15 / 4)	18 (14 / 4)	190-112 (145-90 / 45-22)	+78 (+55 / +23)	145 (93 / 52)	69.7 (68.4 / 72.2)
	Italy	16 (12 / 4)	77 (54 / 23)	44 (31 / 13)	19 (12 / 7)	14 (11 / 3)	122-69 (89-54 / 33-15)	+53 (+35 / +18)	120 (74 / 46)	67.8 (68.5 / 66.7)
	Argentina	14 (10 / 4)	65 (48 / 17)	33 (24 / 9)	13 (9 / 4)	19 (15 / 4)	113-74 (82-59 / 31-15)	+39 (+23 / +16)	88 (57 / 31)	59.9 (59.4 / 60.8)
5	England	12 (9 / 3)	55 (41 / 14)	25 (18 / 7)	17 (12 / 5)	13 (11 / 2)	74-47 (55-38 / 19-9)	+27 (+17 / +10)	74 (48 / 26)	59.7 (58.5 / 61.9)
6	France	12 (9 / 3)	51 (34 / 17)	25 (15 / 10)	10 (5 / 5)	16 (14 / 2)	95-64 (71-56 / 24-8)	+31 (+15 / +16)	71 (36 / 35)	59.7 (52.9 / 68.6)
7	Spain	12 (8 / 4)	49 (32 / 17)	22 (13 / 9)	12 (7 / 5)	15 (12 / 3)	80-57 (43-38 / 37-19)	+23 (+5 / +18)	65 (33 / 32)	56.5 (51.6 / 62.7)
8	Netherlands	8 (5 / 3)	36 (20 / 16)	16 (8 / 8)	10 (6 / 4)	10 (6 / 4)	59-38 (35-23 / 24-15)	+21 (+12 / +9)	50 (22 / 28)	56.8 (55.0 / 58.3)
9	Sweden	11 (8 / 3)	46 (31 / 15)	16 (11 / 5)	13 (6 / 7)	17 (14 / 3)	74-69 (51-52 / 23-17)	+5 (-1 / +6)	50 (28 / 22)	46.7 (45.2 / 48.9)
10	Russia (2)	9 (7 / 2)	37 (31 / 6)	17 (15 / 2)	6 (6 / 0)	14 (10 / 4)	64-44 (53-34 / 11-10)	+20 (+19 / +1)	42 (36 / 6)	52.5 (58.1 / 33.3)
11	Serbia and Montenegro (3)	10 (8 / 2)	40 (33 / 7)	16 (14 / 2)	8 (7 / 1)	16 (12 / 4)	62-56 (55-42 / 7-14)	+6 (+13 / -7)	42 (35 / 7)	48.3 (53.0 / 33.3)
12	Uruguay	10 (9 / 1)	40 (37 / 3)	15 (15 / 0)	10 (8 / 2)	15 (14 / 1)	65-57 (61-52 / 4-5)	+8 (+9 / -1)	40 (38 / 2)	48.2 (51.4 / 22.2)
13	Mexico	13 (9 / 4)	45 (29 / 16)	11 (6 / 5)	12 (6 / 6)	22 (17 / 5)	48-84 (27-64 / 21-20)	-36 (-37 / +1)	39 (18 / 21)	36.8 (31.0 / 43.8)
14	Poland	7 (5 / 2)	31 (25 / 6)	15 (13 / 2)	5 (5 / 0)	11 (7 / 4)	44-40 (39-29 / 5-11)	+4 (+10 / -6)	37 (31 / 6)	54.4 (62.0 / 33.3)
15	Hungary	9 (9 / 0)	32 (32 / 0)	15 (15 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	14 (14 / 0)	87-57 (87-57 / 0-0)	+30 (+30 / 0)	33 (33 / 0)	51.6 (51.6 / -)
16	Belgium	11 (8 / 3)	36 (25 / 11)	10 (7 / 3)	9 (4 / 5)	17 (14 / 3)	46-63 (33-49 / 13-14)	-17 (-16 / -1)	32 (18 / 14)	38.6 (36.0 / 42.4)
17	Czech Republic (4)	9 (8 / 1)	33 (30 / 3)	12 (11 / 1)	5 (5 / 0)	16 (14 / 2)	47-49 (44-45 / 3-4)	-2 (-1 / -1)	30 (27 / 3)	43.5 (45.0 / 33.3)
18	Portugal	4 (2 / 2)	19 (9 / 10)	11 (6 / 5)	1 (0 / 1)	7 (3 / 4)	34-22 (21-13 / 13-9)	+12 (+8 / +4)	28 (12 / 16)	58.3 (66.7 / 53.3)
19	Austria	7 (6 / 1)	29 (26 / 3)	12 (12 / 0)	4 (2 / 2)	13 (12 / 1)	43-47 (40-43 / 3-4)	-4 (-3 / -1)	28 (26 / 2)	45.9 (50.0 / 22.2)
20	Romania	7 (5 / 2)	21 (12 / 9)	8 (3 / 5)	5 (3 / 2)	8 (6 / 2)	30-32 (16-20 / 14-12)	-2 (-4 / +2)	26 (9 / 17)	51.0 (37.5 / 63.0)
21	Switzerland	8 (6 / 2)	26 (18 / 8)	8 (5 / 3)	5 (2 / 3)	13 (11 / 2)	37-51 (28-44 / 9-7)	-14 (-16 / +2)	24 (12 / 12)	40.0 (33.3 / 50.0)
22	Paraguay	7 (4 / 3)	22 (11 / 11)	6 (3 / 3)	7 (4 / 3)	9 (4 / 5)	27-36 (16-25 / 11-11)	-9 (-9 / 0)	22 (10 / 12)	40.0 (45.5 / 36.4)
23	Denmark	3 (1 / 2)	13 (4 / 9)	7 (3 / 4)	2 (0 / 2)	4 (1 / 3)	24-18 (10-6 / 14-12)	+6 (+4 / +2)	20 (6 / 14)	57.1 (75.0 / 51.9)
24	Croatia	3 (0 / 3)	13 (0 / 13)	6 (0 / 6)	2 (0 / 2)	5 (0 / 5)	15-11 (0-0 / 15-11)	+4 (0 / +4)	20 (0 / 20)	51.3 (- / 51.3)
25	Chile	7 (6 / 1)	25 (21 / 4)	7 (7 / 0)	6 (3 / 3)	12 (11 / 1)	31-40 (26-32 / 5-8)	-9 (-6 / -3)	20 (17 / 3)	37.0 (40.5 / 25.0)
26	South Korea	7 (3 / 4)	24 (8 / 16)	4 (0 / 4)	7 (1 / 6)	13 (7 / 6)	22-53 (5-29 / 17-24)	-31 (-24 / -7)	19 (1 / 18)	29.7 (6.3 / 37.5)
27	USA	8 (4 / 4)	25 (10 / 15)	6 (3 / 3)	3 (0 / 3)	16 (7 / 9)	27-51 (14-29 / 13-22)	-24 (-15 / -9)	18 (6 / 12)	27.7 (30.0 / 26.7)
28	Bulgaria	7 (5 / 2)	26 (16 / 10)	3 (0 / 3)	8 (6 / 2)	15 (10 / 5)	22-53 (11-35 / 11-18)	-31 (-24 / -7)	17 (6 / 11)	27.4 (18.8 / 36.7)
29	Cameroon	5 (2 / 3)	17 (8 / 9)	4 (3 / 1)	7 (3 / 4)	6 (2 / 4)	15-29 (8-10 / 7-19)	-14 (-2 / -12)	16 (9 / 7)	37.2 (56.3 / 25.9)
30	Turkey	2 (1 / 1)	10 (3 / 7)	5 (1 / 4)	1 (0 / 1)	4 (2 / 2)	20-17 (10-11 / 10-6)	+3 (-1 / +4)	15 (2 / 13)	55.6 (33.3 / 61.9)
31	Scotland	8 (7 / 1)	23 (20 / 3)	4 (4 / 0)	7 (6 / 1)	12 (10 / 2)	25-41 (23-35 / 2-6)	-16 (-12 / -4)	15 (14 / 1)	30.6 (35.0 / 11.1)
32	Ireland	3 (1 / 2)	13 (5 / 8)	2 (0 / 2)	8 (4 / 4)	3 (1 / 2)	10-10 (2-3 / 8-7)	0 (-1 / +1)	14 (4 / 10)	41.2 (40.0 / 41.7)
33	Nigeria	3 (0 / 3)	11 (0 / 11)	4 (0 / 4)	1 (0 / 1)	6 (0 / 6)	14-16 (0-0 / 14-16)	-2 (0 / -2)	13 (0 / 13)	39.4 (0 / 39.4)
34	Northern Ireland	3 (3 / 0)	13 (13 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	5 (5 / 0)	5 (5 / 0)	13-23 (13-23 / 0-0)	-10 (-10 / 0)	11 (11 / 0)	42.3 (42.3 / -)
35	Peru	4 (4 / 0)	15 (15 / 0)	4 (4 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	8 (8 / 0)	19-31 (19-31 / 0-0)	-12 (-12 / 0)	11 (11 / 0)	36.7 (36.7 / -)
36	Columbia	4 (2 / 2)	13 (7 / 6)	3 (1 / 2)	2 (2 / 0)	8 (4 / 4)	14-23 (8-14 / 6-9)	-9 (-6 / -3)	10 (4 / 6)	31.3 (28.6 / 33.3)
37	Ecuador	2 (0 / 2)	7 (0 / 7)	3 (0 / 3)	0 (0 / 0)	4 (0 / 4)	7-8 (0-0 / 7-8)	-1 (0 / -1)	9 (0 / 9)	42.9 (- / 42.9)
38	Norway	3 (1 / 2)	8 (1 / 7)	2 (0 / 2)	3 (0 / 3)	3 (1 / 2)	7-8 (1-2 / 6-6)	-1 (-1 / 0)	9 (0 / 9)	39.1 (0 / 42.9)
39	Morocco	4 (2 / 2)	13 (7 / 6)	2 (1 / 1)	4 (3 / 1)	7 (3 / 4)	12-18 (5-8 / 7-10)	-6 (-3 / -3)	9 (5 / 4)	28.1 (35.7 / 22.2)
40	Senegal	1 (0 / 1)	5 (0 / 5)	2 (0 / 2)	2 (0 / 2)	1 (0 / 1)	7-6 (0-0 / 7-6)	+1 (0 / +1)	8 (0 / 8)	53.3 (- / 53.3)
41	Japan	3 (0 / 3)	10 (0 / 10)	2 (0 / 2)	2 (0 / 2)	6 (0 / 6)	8-14 (0-0 / 8-14)	-6 (0 / -6)	8 (0 / 8)	26.7 (- / 26.7)
42	Costa Rica	3 (1 / 2)	10 (4 / 6)	3 (2 / 1)	1 (0 / 1)	6 (2 / 4)	12-21 (4-6 / 8-15)	-9 (-2 / -7)	8 (4 / 4)	30.8 (50.0 / 22.2)
43	Saudi Arabia	4 (0 / 4)	13 (0 / 13)	2 (0 / 2)	2 (0 / 2)	9 (0 / 9)	9-32 (0-0 / 9-32)	-23 (0 / -23)	8 (0 / 8)	20.5 (- / 20.5)
44	Ukraine	1 (0 / 1)	5 (0 / 5)	2 (0 / 2)	1 (0 / 1)	2 (0 / 2)	5-7 (0-0 / 5-7)	-2 (0 / -2)	7 (0 / 7)	46.7 (- / 46.7)
45	East Germany	1 (1 / 0)	6 (6 / 0)	2 (2 / 0)	2 (2 / 0)	2 (2 / 0)	5-5 (5-5 / 0-0)	0 (0 / 0)	6 (6 / 0)	50.0 (50.0 / -)
46	Ghana	1 (0 / 1)	4 (0 / 4)	2 (0 / 2)	0 (0 / 0)	2 (0 / 2)	4-6 (0-0 / 4-6)	-2 (0 / -2)	6 (0 / 6)	50.0 (- / 50.0)
47	South Africa	2 (0 / 2)	6 (0 / 6)	1 (0 / 1)	3 (0 / 3)	2 (0 / 2)	8-11 (0-0 / 8-11)	-3 (0 / -3)	6 (0 / 6)	33.3 (- / 33.3)
48	Tunisia	4 (1 / 3)	12 (3 / 9)	1 (1 / 0)	4 (1 / 3)	7 (1 / 6)	8-17 (3-2 / 5-15)	-9 (+1 / -10)	6 (3 / 3)	18.2 (50.0 / 11.1)
49	Wales	1 (1 / 0)	5 (5 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	4-4 (4-4 / 0-0)	0 (0 / 0)	5 (5 / 0)	50.0 (50.0 / -)
50	Algeria	2 (2 / 0)	6 (6 / 0)	2 (2 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	6-10 (6-10 / 0-0)	-4 (-4 / 0)	5 (5 / 0)	41.7 (41.7 / -)
51	Australia	2 (1 / 1)	7 (3 / 4)	1 (0 / 1)	2 (1 / 1)	4 (2 / 2)	5-11 (0-5 / 5-6)	-6 (-5 / -1)	5 (1 / 4)	27.8 (16.7 / 33.3)
52	Iran	3 (1 / 2)	9 (3 / 6)	1 (0 / 1)	2 (1 / 1)	6 (2 / 4)	6-18 (2-8 / 4-10)	-12 (-6 / -6)	5 (1 / 4)	20.8 (16.7 / 22.2)
53	Cote d'Ivoire	1 (0 / 1)	3 (0 / 3)	1 (0 / 1)	0 (0 / 0)	2 (0 / 2)	5-6 (0-0 / 5-6)	-1 (0 / -1)	3 (0 / 3)	33.3 (- / 33.3)
54	North Korea	1 (1 / 0)	4 (4 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	2 (2 / 0)	5-9 (5-9 / 0-0)	-4 (-4 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	37.5 (37.5 / -)
55	Cuba	1 (1 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	5-12 (5-12 / 0-0)	-7 (-7 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	50.0 (50.0 / -)
56	Jamaica	1 (0 / 1)	3 (0 / 3)	1 (0 / 1)	0 (0 / 0)	2 (0 / 2)	3-9 (0-0 / 3-9)	-6 (0 / -6)	3 (0 / 3)	33.3 (- / 33.3)
57	Honduras	1 (1 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	2 (2 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	2-3 (2-3 / 0-0)	-1 (-1 / 0)	2 (2 / 0)	33.3 (33.3 / -)
58	Angola	1 (0 / 1)	3 (0 / 3)	0 (0 / 0)	2 (0 / 2)	1 (0 / 1)	1-2 (0-0 / 1-2)	-1 (0 / -1)	2 (0 / 2)	22.2 (- / 22.2)
59	Israel (5)	1 (1 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	2 (2 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	1-3 (1-3 / 0-0)	-2 (-2 / 0)	2 (2 / 0)	33.3 (33.3 / -)
60	Egypt	2 (2 / 0)	4 (4 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	2 (2 / 0)	2 (2 / 0)	3-6 (3-6 / 0-0)	-3 (-3 / 0)	2 (2 / 0)	25.0 (25.0 / -)
61	Quwait	1 (1 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	2 (2 / 0)	2-6 (2-6 / 0-0)	-4 (-4 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	16.7 (16.7 / -)
62	Trinidad and Tobago	1 (0 / 1)	3 (0 / 3)	0 (0 / 0)	1 (0 / 1)	2 (0 / 2)	0-4 (0-0 / 0-4)	-4 (0 / -4)	1 (0 / 1)	11.1 (- / 11.1)
63	Bolivia	3 (2 / 1)	6 (3 / 3)	0 (0 / 0)	1 (0 / 1)	5 (3 / 2)	1-20 (0-16 / 1-4)	-19 (-16 / -3)	1 (0 / 1)	6.7 (0 / 11.1)
64	Iraq	1 (1 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	1-4 (1-4 / 0-0)	-3 (-3 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / -)
65	Slovenia	1 (0 / 1)	3 (0 / 3)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	3 (0 / 3)	2-7 (0-0 / 2-7)	-5 (0 / -5)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (- / 0)
66	Togo	1 (0 / 1)	3 (0 / 3)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	3 (0 / 3)	1-6 (0-0 / 1-6)	-5 (0 / -5)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (- / 0)
67	Canada	1 (1 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	0-5 (0-5 / 0-0)	-5 (-5 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / -)
68	Indonesia	1 (1 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	1 (1 / 0)	0-6 (0-6 / 0-0)	-6 (-6 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / -)
69	UAE	1 (1 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	2-11 (2-11 / 0-0)	-9 (-9 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / -)
70	China	1 (0 / 1)	3 (0 / 3)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	3 (0 / 3)	0-9 (0-0 / 0-9)	-9 (0 / -9)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (- / 0)
71	New Zealand	1 (1 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	2-12 (2-12 / 0-0)	-10 (-10 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / -)
72	Greece	1 (0 / 1)	3 (0 / 3)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	3 (0 / 3)	0-10 (0-0 / 0-10)	-10 (0 / -10)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (- / 0)
73	Haiti	1 (1 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	2-14 (2-14 / 0-0)	-12 (-12 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / -)
74	Zaire	1 (1 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	3 (3 / 0)	0-14 (0-14 / 0-0)	-14 (-14 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / -)
75	Salvador	2 (2 / 0)	6 (6 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	6 (6 / 0)	1-22 (1-22 / 0-0)	-21 (-21 / 0)	0 (0 / 0)	0 (0 / -)


(1) - combined with the results of West Germany,     1954-1990.
(2) - combined with the results of the Soviet Union, 1958-1990.
(3) - combined with the results of Yugoslavia,       1930-2002.
(4) - combined with the results of Czechoslovakia,   1954-1990.
(5) - combined with the results of Eretz-Israel,     1934-1938.

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THE BEST SCORERS (10 goals and more)

Goals	Player	Country	When Scored
15	Ronaldo	Brazil	1998 - 4, 2002 - 8, 2006 - 3
14	Mueller, Gerd	Germany	1970 - 10, 1974 - 4
13	Fontaine, Jouste	France	1958 - 13
12	Pele	Brazil	1958 - 6, 1962 - 1, 1966 - 1, 1970 - 4
11	Klinsmann, Juergen	Germany	1990 - 3, 1994 - 5, 1998 - 3
10	Koscic, Sandor	Hungary	1954 - 10
10	Rahn, Helmut	Germany	1954 - 4, 1958 - 6
10	Cubillas, Teofillo	Peru	1970 - 5, 1978 - 5
10	Lato, Grzegozh	Poland	1974 - 7, 1978 - 2, 1982 - 1
10	Lineker, Gary	England	1986 - 6, 1990 - 4
10	Batistuta, Gabriel	Argentina	1994 - 4, 1998 - 5, 2002 - 1
10	Klose, Miroslav	Germany	2002 - 5, 2006 - 5

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PLAYERS SCORING IN THE MOST WCs

WCs	Player	Country	When Scored	Goals
4	Pele	Brazil	1958 - 6, 1962 - 1, 1966 - 1, 1970 - 4	12
4	Seeler, Uwe	Germany	1958 - 2, 1962 - 2, 1966 - 2, 1970 - 3	9
3	Ronaldo	Brazil	1998 - 4, 2002 - 8, 2006 - 3	15
3	Klinsmann, Juergen	Germany	1990 - 3, 1994 - 5, 1998 - 3	11
3	Lato, Grzegozh	Poland	1974 - 7, 1978 - 2, 1982 - 1	10
3	Batistuta, Gabriel	Argentina	1994 - 4, 1998 - 5, 2002 - 1	10
3	Rummenigge, Karl-Heinz	Germany	1978 - 3, 1982 - 5, 1986 - 1	9
3	Baggio, Roberto	Italy	1990 - 2, 1994 - 5, 1998 - 2	9
3	Maradona, Diego Armando	Argentina	1982 - 2, 1986 - 5, 1994 - 1	8
3	Voeller, Rudolf	Germany	1986 - 3, 1990 - 3, 1994 - 2	8
3	Szarmach, Karel	Poland	1974 - 5, 1978 - 1, 1982 - 1	7
3	Matthaeus, Lothar	Germany	1986 - 1, 1990 - 4, 1994 - 1	6
3	Platini, Michel	France	1978 - 1, 1982 - 2, 1986 - 2	5
3	Hierro, Fernando	Spain	1994 - 1, 1998 - 2, 2002 - 2	5
3	Larsson, Henrik	Sweden	1994 - 1, 2002 - 3, 2006 - 1	5
3	Gonzalez, Raul	Spain	1998 - 1, 2002 - 3, 2006 - 1	5
3	Jordan, Joe	Scotland	1974 - 2, 1978 - 1, 1982 - 1	4
3	Rocheteau, Dominique	France	1978 - 1, 1982 - 2, 1986 - 1	4
3	Salinas, Julio	Spain	1986 - 1, 1990 - 1, 1994 - 1	3
3	Al-Jaber, Sami	Saudi Arabia	1994 - 1, 1998 - 1, 2006 - 1	3
3	Beckham, David	England	1998 - 1, 2002 - 1, 2006 - 1	3

21 players are in this honorable list - just 2 of them scored in 4 WCs, and the other 19 did so in 3. Diego Armando Maradona could've caught up with Pele and Seeler had he scored at least once in 1990; however, he couldn't even score an after-match penalty then, and Argentina enjoyed just his great goal passes... Only Pele, Seeler, Maradona, Larsson and Al-Jaber scored within the span of 12 years; all the others needed only 8...

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PLAYERS SCORING MOST GOALS IN ONE GAME

Goals	WC	Player	Team	Rival	Stage	Result
5	1994	Salenko, Oleg	Russia	Cameroon	Group 2	6:1
4	1938	Wetterstroem, Gustav	Sweden	Cuba	1/4	8:0
4	1938	Willimovski, Ernst	Poland	Brazil	1/8	5:6 AET
4	1950	Schiaffino, Juan	Uruguay	Bolivia	Group 4	8:0
4	1950	Ademir	Brazil	Sweden	1/2	7:1
4	1954	Koscic, Sandor	Hungary	Germany	Group 2	8:3
4	1958	Fontaine, Jouste	France	Germany	3rd place	6:3
4	1966	Eusebio, Augusto	Portugal	North Korea	1/4	5:3
4	1986	Butragueno, Emilio	Spain	Denmark	1/8	5:1

Just one player out of the abovementioned was defeated in the game that gave him a personal glory - Ernst Willimowski of Poland indeed scored 4 goals, but saw his Brazilian counterpart Leonidas with a hat-trick of his own, leading Brazil to a 6:5 victory. Oleg Salenko, the absolute record holder of goals in one WC game, indeed brought a sparkling victory to his team, but this wasn't enough for Russia to advance any further than the qualification round.

Two of those players actually led their teams to the impressive comebacks - Augusto Eusebio of Portugal and his Iberian peninsula neighbour, the fabulous Spanish forward Emilio Butragueno.

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TEAMS HOSTING THE WCs - RESULTS

The amount of teams participating in the EC is registered below the Championship year.

WC	Host Team	Place	Games	Victories	Draws	Losses	Goals	Goal Diff.	Points	Pts (%)
1930 (13)	Uruguay		4	4	0	0	15-3	+12	8	100
1934 (16)	Italy		5	4	1	0	13-4	+9	9	90.0
1938 (15)	France	5-8	2	1	0	1	4-4	0	2	50.0
1950 (13)	Brazil		6	4	1	1	22-6	+16	9	75.
1954 (16)	Switzerland	5-8	4	2	0	2	11-11	0	4	50.0
1958 (16)	Sweden		6	4	1	1	12-7	+5	9	75.0
1962 (16)	Chile		6	4	0	2	10-8	+2	8	66.7
1966 (16)	England		6	5	1	0	11-3	+8	11	91.7
1970 (16)	Mexico	5-8	4	2	1	1	6-4	+2	5	62.5
1974 (16)	Germany		7	6	0	1	13-4	+9	12	85.7
1978 (16)	Argentina		7	5	1	1	15-4	+11	11	78.6
1982 (24)	Spain	9-12	5	1	2	2	4-5	-1	4	40.0
1986 (24)	Mexico	5-8	5	3	2	0	7-3	+4	8	80.0
1990 (24)	Italy		7	6	1	0	10-2	+8	13	92.9
1994 (24)	USA	9-16	4	1	1	2	3-4	-1	4	33.3
1998 (32)	France		7	6	1	0	15-2	+13	19	90.5
2002 (32)	Japan	9-16	4	2	1	1	5-3	+2	7	58.3
2002 (32)	South Korea		7	3	2	2	8-6	+2	11	52.4
2006 (32)	Germany		7	5	1	1	14-6	+8	16	76.2

"My house is my fortress"... This proverb is totally right when talking about the teams that hosted the World Cups. Pay attention to the following facts:

No host team ever failed to pass the 1st round.
12 host teams reached at least the semifinals.
11 host teams got medals (places 1-3).
6 host teams became World Champions; for England and France, those were the only times.
For 7 of the less lucky host teams those were still the best ever performances (Switzerland, Sweden, Chile, Mexico twice, Japan, South Korea).

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OWN GOAL SCORERS

WC	Player	Country	Round	Rival
1938	Loortscher	Switzerland	1/8	Germany
1950	Parra	Spain	1/2	Brazil
1954	Cardenas	Mexico	Group 1	France
1954	Dickenson	England	Group 4	Belgium
1954	Horvat	Yugoslavia	1/4	Germany
1954	Cruz	Uruguay	3rd place	Austria
1966	Vutzov	Bulgaria	Group 3	Portugal
1966	Davidov	Bulgaria	Group 3	Hungary
1974	Perfumo	Argentina	Group 4	Italy
1974	Krol, Ruud	Netherlands	Group 3	Bulgaria
1974	Curran	Australia	Group 1	East Germany
1978	Eskandarian	Iran	Group 4	Scotland
1978	Brandts	Netherlands	Group A	Italy
1978	Vogts, Hans-Hubertus	Germany	Group A	Austria
1982	Barmos	Czechoslovakia	Group 4	England
1994	Escobar, Andres	Columbia	Group 2	USA
1998	Boyd, Tommy	Scotland	Group A	Brazil
1998	Chippo, Jusuf	Morocco	Group A	Norway
1998	Issa, Pierre	South Africa	Group C	France
1998	Mihajlovic, Sinica	Yugoslavia	Group F	Germany
2002	Costa, Jorge	Portugal	Group D	USA
2002	Agoos, Jeff	USA	Group D	Portugal
2002	Puyol, Carles	Spain	Group B	Paraguay
2006	Gamarra, Carlos	Paraguay	Group B	England
2006	Zaccardo, Cristian	Italy	Group E	USA
2006	Sancho, Brad	Trinidad and Tobago	Group B	Paraguay
2006	Petit	Portugal	3rd place	Germany

An own goal in the World Cup... The miserable mistake in a regular game can turn into a real tragedy when talking about the WC, especially when the statistics say that most of the wrong-direction-scorers bring a loss to their team in that particular game. Berti Vogts, for example, scored a miserable goal which denied his team the semifinals in 1978, and the miserable destiny pursued him ever since - training such a successful team as Germany, it still took him 6 years to take his first trophy...

The only person who wasn't really sad after his own goal was the Dutch midfielder Brandts; opening the score for Italy in 1978 with his own goal, he himself levelled the score, before an incredible in its beauty Dutch winner of Ari Haan hit the net of the legendary Dino Zoff. The goals of the American Jeff Agoos and the Spaniard Carles Puyol also didn't prevent their teams from winning, although the sinners themselves couldn't atone for their misery in the same game. And the most tragic own goal ever was the one of the Colombian defender Andres Escobar - several days after his unfortunate deflection, he was murdered in a cold blood in his home town of Medellin, Columbia...

The South African defender Pierre Issa nearly became the record holder, scoring 2 own goals in one game against France during the WC'98! However, the organizers were merciful (or was it the French National pride involved?) and awarded the 2nd goal to the young French striker Thierry Henry.

The game between USA and Portugal in 2002, becoming one of the greatest surprises lastly as the American underdogs won 3:2, was also the first game ever during the WC history, in which both teams scored an own goal.

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TRIVIA - INTERESTING INFORMATION

World Cup victories - only European and South American Champions. In the 18 WCs held up to date, only European and South American teams took the trophy, and there never happened a situation when one continent had an advantage of more than one won Cup over its rival. WC'2006 brought again a parity of 9:9; after the WC'2002 the balance was 9:8 in favour of South America, and so one could foresay with high probability a European nation would triumph in WC'2006 in Germany. It's also of interest that the Europeans enjoyed the advantage only twice - in 1938 and 1954.

Geography of the won World Cups. Those two continents and North America were also the only places to ever host the World Cups till 2002; the combined efforts of South Korea and Japan broke "the spell" then, and South Africa, nearly making it to host the WC of 2006, will have to wait till 2010. The European teams had NEVER won a Championship outside Europe! The South Americans managed to win only one Cup in Europe - Brazil of Pele defeated the host team of Sweden in the final of WC'1958, 5:2; in addition, Brazil of Ronaldo, who scored twice in the final against a tragic figure of Oliver Kahn, defeated Germany 2:0 in 2002 and won the first World Cup held in Asia.

Record of active (positive amount of played minutes) World Cups. The only 2 players who actively participated in the final stages of 5 WCs (!) were the Mexican keeper Antonio Carbajal (1950-1966) and the legendary German midfielder Lothar Matthaeus (1982-1998). Several players participated in 4 WCs, amongst them Pele (Brazil) and Uwe Seeler (Germany) (both - 1958-1970), Diego Armando Maradona (Argentina, 1982-1994), the Spanish keeper Andoni Zubizarreta and the Belgian midfielders Enzo Scifo and Franc van der Elst (all - 1986-1998), the Polish midfielder Wladislaw Zmuda (1974-1986), the South Korean midfielder Hong Myung Bo (1990-2002) and the legendary Brazilian captain Cafu (1994-2006). Giuseppe Bergomi, the Italian defender, has also participated in 4 WCs (1982-1990, 1998) - the man who has played in the WC'82 final at the age of 19, was left out of the squad by Arrigo Sacchi in 1994. One shouldn't forget also the best left defender in the Soccer history, Paolo Maldini of Italy (1990-2002).

Record of played games and minutes in the World Cups. Lothar Matthaeus also holds the record of the played World Cup games (25), ahead of Paolo Maldini (23); the Italian defender, however, was never ever substituted and had a number of extra-times played, bypassing Matthaeus in the category of played World Cup minutes (2216!). Behind them appear Diego Armando Maradona (Argentina), Wladislaw Zmuda (Poland) and Uwe Seeler (Germany), with 21 World Cup games each. Grzegorz Lato of Poland played 20 World Cup games, the biggest amount of games one has ever reached participating in "just" 3 WCs. 20 games had also been played by Cafu (Brazil).

Record of goals scored by one player in one game, the oldest scorer, the oldest World Champion. The game between Russia and Cameroon in 1994 brought us the incredible record of Oleg Salenko, scoring 5 goals and giving a goal pass in the Russian victory of 6:1. However, there was another record worth mentioning there - Roger Milla, the only Cameroonian scorer of this game, became "The Oldest Ever WC Scorer" at the age of 42! "The Oldest Ever World Champion" was 40.5 - the famous Italian keeper Dino Zoff in 1982; the English goalkeeper Peter Shilton reached the semifinals in 1990, being 41.5 years old.

Record of victory margins. The most fabulous victories in the WCs had the margin of 9 goals - 9:0 to Hungary over South Korea in 1954 and to Yugoslavia over Zaire in 1974, 10:1 to Hungary over Salvador in 1982. It is interesting that the Hungarian victory over Salvador wasn't enough to pass even the qualification round. The other huge victories should be mentioned as well - 8:0 to Sweden over Cuba in 1938, to Uruguay over Bolivia in 1950 and to Germany over Saudi Arabia in 2002.

Lost without losing?.. It's often the case that the World Champions succeed to win the desired trophy without losing a single game in process. However, can a team eliminated earlier also enjoy the loseless balance? Yes, and the bitterer is the disappointment then. The following teams had to taste this bitter potion: Scotland (1974, +1=2-0, 3-1, group stage elimination, losing on merely a goal difference to Yugoslavia and Brazil), Brazil (1978, +4=3-0, 10-3, 3rd place, losing a semifinal group on a goal difference to Argentina), England (1982, +3=2-0, 6-1, Places 5-8, losing a quarterfinal group to West Germany), Cameroon (1982, +0=3-0, 1-1, group stage elimination, losing on merely the scored goals to Italy), Mexico (1986, +3=2-0, 7-3, quarterfinals, losing on penalties to West Germany), Brazil (1986, +4=1-0, 10-1, quarterfinals, losing on penalties to France), Italy (1990, +6=1-0, 10-2, 3rd place, losing on penalties to Argentina in the semifinals), Italy (1998, +3=2-0, 8-3, quarterfinals, losing on penalties to France), Belgium (1998, +0=3-0, 3-3, group stage elimination, losing to the Netherlands and Mexico on points), Spain (2002, +3=2-0, 10-5, quarterfinals, losing on penalties to South Korea), Ireland (2002, +1=3-0, 6-3, 1/8 finals, losing on penalties to Spain), Switzerland (2006, +2=2-0, 4-0, 1/8 finals, lost on penalties to Ukraine), Argentina (2006, +3=2-0, 11-3, quarterfinals, lost on penalties to Germany), England (2006, +3=2-0, 6-2, quarterfinals, lost on penalties to Portugal) and France (2006, +4=3-0, 9-3, final, lost on penalties to Italy).

Lost without conceding?.. It's hard to believe it, but such a bizarre thing also happened. Not only did Switzerland part from the WC'2006 unbeaten, but it also actually didn't concede a single goal in a regular time! The 1,97 cm tall Pascal Zueberbuehler kept the Swiss net dry for 390 minutes against France, Togo, South Korea and Ukraine. It's especially amazing in the light of the fact that Israel found the Swiss net 3 times in the WC'2006 qualification, twice in Ramat-Gan and once in Basel - and I watched all those goals at the respective stadiums...

Teams scoring in the World Cups no more than 1 goal. There are no teams that participated in the WCs and didn't concede a goal there; however, there are 6 teams that never scored - Indonesia, Canada, Zaire, Greece, China and Trinidad and Tobago. 6 teams (Angola, Israel, Iraq, Togo, Bolivia and Salvador) scored just 1 goal each; however, the first 4 teams can still be relatively proud for conceding the acceptable amount of goals (2, 3, 4 and 6, respectively), while 20 conceded goals of Bolivia and 22 of Salvador are a really good reason for shame.

The quickest goal. A great disappointment of the WC'2002, the Turkish forward Hakan Sukur still registered his name into the World Cup history by scoring the quickest WC goal ever - after 11 seconds, into the net of South Korea in the 3rd place game (3:2 at the end). The quickest goal scored before belonged to the Czech player Vaclav Masek, who opened the score against Mexico in 1962 after just 16 seconds (1:3 at the end). Brian Robson, a legendary English midfielder and captain, needed 27 seconds to net a goal against France (WC'1982, 3:1 at the end); the French attacker Guy Lacombe needed 38 seconds against Argentina in 1978 (1:2 at the end).

Most dull and spectacular teams in terms of goal average. If the number of goals scored in the team's game is a mark of spectacularity, it should be admitted that Israel, together with Trinidad and Tobago, is the dullest team ever in the WCs - just 4 goals in 3 games (1-3, an average of just 1.33 in the game). Ireland and Norway lastly registered some positive appearances in the World Cups to escape the Israeli neighborhood in this category - Norway has now 15 goals in 8 games (7-8, 1.875), and Ireland has 20 goals in 13 games (10-10, 1.54)... As for the other end (disregarding those outsiders who conceded numerous goals in those few games they played), we should mark the following teams - Hungary (87-57, 144 in 32, 4.5!), Turkey (37 in 10, 20-17, 3.70), Switzerland (37-51, 88 in 26, 3.38), Peru (19-31, 50 in 15, 3.33), Germany (190-112, 302 in 92, 3.28), Denmark (24-18, 42 in 13, 3.23).

Israeli referees in the World Cups. The Israeli referees weren't often invited to conduct the games, but twice their games were the ones every Soccer fan will remember for many years... Menakhem Ashkenazi has seen 8 goals in 1966 - in a thrilling quarterfinal, North Korea scored 3 quick goals that astonished the World, but Augusto Eusebio registered an once-in-a-lifetime solo performance for Portugal, scoring 4 goals (2 of them from penalty kicks) and finishing a perfect comeback from 0:3 to 5:3! And Avraham Klein saw 5 goals in 1982; 3 of them belonged to the Italian forward Paolo Rossi who defeated Brazil in a game of great quality, 3:2. So to say, a breathtaking save of Gordon Banks from Pele's header (Brazil - England, 1:0, 1970) was also witnessed by Klein.

Record of dry keeping minutes in the World Cups. 516 dry minutes - this is the ultimate keeper's record in the WCs, held by the Italian Walter Zenga in 1990... Without any sparkles, he still was reliable enough and had a brilliant defence that helped him to concede no goals in 5 games (vs Czechoslovakia, USA, Austria, Uruguay and Ireland); 66 minutes in the semifinal against Argentina, he was beaten by Claudio Caniggia's header. 499 minutes was the previous record of the legendary English veteran Peter Shilton, achieved however in 2 WCs - from the goal of Soler (France) in the first English game of 1982 (26th minute) till the goal of Carlos Manuel (Portugal) in the first English game of 1986 (75th minute); 474 minutes did the German Zepp Maier stay unbeatable in 1978, also including the 88 dry minutes in the final of 1974, vs Netherlands. The fresh World Champion, Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), conceded an early penalty kick of Zinedine Zidane in the final in 2006, his record hopes shattered and his dry time stopped at 460 minutes. Gordon Banks (England) conceded the goal from the penalty kick of Eusebio (Portugal) after 441 dry minutes in 1966; Oliver Kahn (Germany) kept his net dry for 426 minutes in 2002, from the goal of Robbie Keane (Ireland) in the group stage till the goal of Ronaldo (Brazil) in the final, and Carlos (Brazil) conceded the goal from the shot of Michel Platini (France) after 400 dry minutes in 1986.

World Champions as players and coaches. Is it possible to win the World Cup both as a player and as a coach? Yes, it is, provided both events don't happen in the same Cup :-) Two people managed to do that in their sportive career - Mario Zagalo of Brazil (1958 and 1962 as a player, 1970 as a coach, 1994 as a 2nd coach) and Franz "Kaiser" Beckenbauer of Germany (1974 as a player, 1990 as a coach). Moreover, Beckenbauer reached the final of 1966 as a player and the final of 1986 as a coach; Zagalo was the losing coach in 1998. The German forward Rudi Voeller, having won the WC of 1990 and finished 2nd in 1986, brought his team as a coach to the final of 2002.

Tragic giants. Heroes and disappointments - the history of the World Cups is full of them... However, I can recall only three heroes who turned into the tragic figures of really epic proportions. In 1994, a mediocre Italy was taken into the final with the heroic one-time performance of Roberto Baggio, who scored 5 of its 6 goals in the knock-out stage; however, in the final against Brazil a goalless draw led to the penalty shoot-out, and Baggio missed the decisive penalty. In 2002, the German Oliver Kahn was "The Keeper Of The Tournament" and "The Player Of The Tournament", the first time in the history of WCs a keeper was awarded this honor, with only 1 goal conceded in 6 games and bringing Germany into the final with the series of astonishing saves; had Germany won the tournament, perhaps, Lev Yashin himself would've been moved aside as "The Best Keeper Of All Times". However, in the final the unbeatable Kahn was beaten twice by Ronaldo, once after a horrendous blunder and once after reacting lately. Last but not the least, the horrible qualification and the slow start into WC'2006 were reversed as Zinedine Zidane brilliantly brought the French National team into their second final in 8 years with goals and goal passes; moreover, he scored in the final an early penalty kick, stopping the seemingly unstoppable dry series of Gianluigi Buffon and becoming only the 4th player ever to score in 2 World Cups. The game went into the extra-time, where he unexpectedly headbutted Marco Materazzi and saw a fully justified red card; his shocked Equipe Tricoleur lost the crown on the penalty kicks.

Players scoring in more than one World Cup final game. There are not very numerous examples of players who participated in more than one World Cup final game. However, the number of people who actually SCORED in more than one World Cup final game is much smaller - 4, to be precise. Only the Brasileans Pele (1958 and 1970) and Vava (1958 and 1962), the German Paul Breitner (1974 and 1982) and the legendary Frenchman Zinedine Zidane (1998 and 2006) succeeded in this uneasy task. Pele and Vava were victorious twice; Breitner won the Cup in 1974, but scored only a consolation goal in 1982; Zidane won in style the home World Cup in 1998, but his team lost on penalties in 2006, after he himself saw a red card. Rudi Voeller, scoring one of the 2 German goals in the lost final of 1986, could have joined the club in 1990 as well - but he renounced on taking a crucial penalty against Argentina in favour of Andreas Brehme, who emerged victorious.

World Champions more than once. Just one player was the World Champion 3 times - the legendary Brazilian forward Pele. 13 players became the World Champions twice - the Italian scorers Meazza and Ferrari (1934-1938), the Brazilian players Gilmar, G. Santos, N. Santos, Zito, Didi, Vava, Garrincha and Zagalo (1958-1962), the Argentinean midfielder Daniel Passarella (1978 and 1986), the Brazilians Cafu and Ronaldo (1994 and 2002); the Brazilian keeper Gilmar became also the only keeper who won the WCs twice. The Dutch keeper Jan Jongbloed was the unfortunate loser in 1974 and in 1978, and the controversial keeper Harald Schumacher of West Germany also lost the finals twice (1982, 1986); Claudio Taffarel of Brazil was victorious in 1994, but belonged to the losers in 1998. It should be also mentioned that Ronaldo had indeed been in the winning squad of 1994, but hadn't played a single minute then; the same was the destiny of Passarella in 1986.

Record of played World Cup final games. Cafu was also the only player in history who played in 3 WC finals (1994-2002). There were some players who played in 2 WC finals, but didn't play in the 3rd, though they belonged to a team which had been there - Pele (Brazil, 1958 and 1970, missed 1962), Lothar Matthaeus (Germany, 1986 and 1990, missed 1982), Pierre Littbarski (Germany, 1982 and 1990, missed 1986), Ronaldo (Brazil, 1998 and 2002, missed 1994).

Decisive World Cup final goals. Many World Cup finals were very close, also by score, and then a certain player came to score a winner, the goal which is remembered forever as the most decisive goal of that Championship. Here are those players: Sciavio (Italy, 1934, 97th minute [extra-time], 2:1 vs Czechoslovakia), Giggia (Uruguay, 1950, 79th, 2:1 vs Brazil), Helmut Rahn (Germany, 1954, 80th, 3:2 vs Hungary), Gerd Mueller (Germany, 1974, 43rd, 2:1 vs Netherlands), Jorge Burruchaga (Argentina, 1986, 86th, 3:2 vs Germany), Andreas Brehme (Germany, 1990, 85th, 1:0 vs Argentina), Carlos Dunga (Brazil, 1994, after-match penalties, 3:2 vs Italy), Fabio Grosso (Italy, 2006, after-match penalties, 5:3 vs France).

Memorial boards for scored goals. Have you ever heard about the memorial boards commemorating the goals scored? Indeed, this is not a joke - in 1986, 2 memorial boards were installed in the Azteca Stadium in Mexico, to commemorate the 2 goals of rare beauty scored during the WC'86. The Mexican midfielder Manuel Negrete scored in the 1/8 finals vs Bulgaria a magnificent side-scissors kick from 18 meters, becoming a prototype of frequent since then "Negrete-styled" goals. The other goal is obvious to every Soccer fan - Diego Maradona took the ball near his own net and passed 7 English players and the keeper during the quarterfinals game, scoring undeniably "The Best Goal Of All Times".

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