Semi-Finals: The Players

Let's take a look at the teams remaining in the competition. Most of them have players who play all over the world, except for Germany, whose players all work in their home nation.

In descending order, here are the most popular countries to play in for World Cup finalists:
Germany – 28 players The whole German team plus five Dutchmen.
Spain – 24 players Most of the Spanish team plus one Dutchman and three Uruguayans.
Netherlands – 11 players Nine Dutchmen and two Uruguayans.
England – 8 players Three Spaniards and five Dutchmen.
Italy – 6 players Four Uruguayans and two Dutchmen.
Portugal and Chile – 3 players each All Uruguayans.
Uruguay – 2 players Two Uruguayans.
Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, France, Scotland, Sweden, Turkey – 1 player each Apart from one Dutchman (Scotland), all Uruguayans.

This shows the immense popularity of the European leagues. The first three countries are all finalists, but Uruguay come far down. All of these leagues are either European or South American – the dominance of the sport in these countries is obvious, not just here, but also in the three Europeans and one South American in the final.