Sorry that I've completely failed to post the last few days. It's been busy here. Anyway, Brazil were defeated by the Netherlands, and Uruguay beat Ghana in penalties after Gyan failed to get an in-game penalty at the end that would have put his team through. Oops!
Yesterday, there was an awesome victory for Germany over Argentina, and Spain beat Paraguay. So now the European dominance returns, with three of the four finalists in this continent. Two of the four haven't won a World Cup before, so it's quite possible that we could see a new country winning the cup. Personally, I'm with Spain.
Despite being a low-scoring team (in their five matches they have only had 6 goals), Spain also has the tournament's top goalscorer so far – David Villa, who has scored five of those goals. That's an average of one per game.
Germany's Mueller is also a top scorer with four goals, despite his young age (19). However, he will miss out on their next match – against Spain – because of the yellow card he got in yesterday's game. For all the other players, there is now a yellow card amnesty. This is so that people who get a yellow card in their semi-final game won't miss out on the final/third-place playoff. It's probably also because otherwise, so many people would have one yellow card that the teams might struggle to get enough people together for the final!
Anyway, no more stats on goals per game/cards per game. I'm a little behind on working these things out. I might have them later in the week.
Showing posts with label argentina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label argentina. Show all posts
04/07/2010
01/07/2010
The Quarter Finals: Continental Drift
Now we're up to the final eight teams in the competition. They come from three continents, but how does this compare to previous competitions? We were only ever going to get three European teams through, as a twist of fate meant they ended up playing each other instead of nations from other continents.
The perceived European dominance of football has been severely dented this year – only three sides made it from here, and most of the teams come from South America. In previous years, there was a European dominance, with maybe a couple of teams from South America. Even in 2002, Europe had more representation, and the other teams came from a wide spread of continents.
There has never been a World Cup winner outside of Europe or South America, and it looks like that will continue this year. Only Paraguay of the South American teams remaining has not won a cup, but only Germany from the European sides has done so. So it is possible that we may get a new World Cup winner this year – I'm supporting Spain.
| Continent | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 |
| Africa | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Asia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Australasia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Europe | 6 | 4 | 6 | 3 |
| North/Central America0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| South America | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
The perceived European dominance of football has been severely dented this year – only three sides made it from here, and most of the teams come from South America. In previous years, there was a European dominance, with maybe a couple of teams from South America. Even in 2002, Europe had more representation, and the other teams came from a wide spread of continents.
There has never been a World Cup winner outside of Europe or South America, and it looks like that will continue this year. Only Paraguay of the South American teams remaining has not won a cup, but only Germany from the European sides has done so. So it is possible that we may get a new World Cup winner this year – I'm supporting Spain.
The Quarter Finals: Odds
Eight teams have been eliminated from the competition, and eight remain. Obviously, the bookies have now had to revise their odds. In comparison to last time, the odds have changed a bit. The change (+ if you get more back, - if you get less back) is shown after the odds. Let's take a look at the teams. As before, the odds are bet365.com, Ladbrookes, William Hill (10.00am 1/7/2010):
1-Brazil. Brazil are, unsurprisingly, still top. They easily took care of Chile. They're up against Netherlands/Holland next, who are also a good side. (12-5, 9-4, 5-2 -)
2-Spain. Viva la Espana! They managed to beat Portugal, and now face Paraguay. Not too hard for the Euro Champions. (11-4, 3-1, 11-4 -)
4-Netherlands. Now the third-best in the competition, but they face Brazil next. Can they do it? (7-1, 7-1, 7-1 +)
6-Germany. Germany easily beat a terrible England team. They play Argentina next, who are another fantastic, England-beating side. (7-1, 6-1, 13-2 -)
7-Argentina. And Argentina are just below Germany in the rankings. Both countries have won cups before, so there's pressure at home for more. (4-1, 7-2, 9-2 -)
16-Uruguay. They face Ghana next, and have done well so far in the competition. They are the third of four South American sides still in the competition! (14-1, 14-1, 16-1 -)
31-Paraguay. Paraguay face Spain. They're a long way down, but can David beat Goliath this time? (40-1, 40-1, 50-1 +)
32-Ghana. The last African nation left. They have a nation upholding them, but they're playing Uruguay. (33-1, 33-1, 40-1 -)
The biggest changes were with Ghana (decreasing) and Paraguay (increasing). Paraguay have taken Slovakia's place as outsiders.
1-Brazil. Brazil are, unsurprisingly, still top. They easily took care of Chile. They're up against Netherlands/Holland next, who are also a good side. (12-5, 9-4, 5-2 -)
2-Spain. Viva la Espana! They managed to beat Portugal, and now face Paraguay. Not too hard for the Euro Champions. (11-4, 3-1, 11-4 -)
4-Netherlands. Now the third-best in the competition, but they face Brazil next. Can they do it? (7-1, 7-1, 7-1 +)
6-Germany. Germany easily beat a terrible England team. They play Argentina next, who are another fantastic, England-beating side. (7-1, 6-1, 13-2 -)
7-Argentina. And Argentina are just below Germany in the rankings. Both countries have won cups before, so there's pressure at home for more. (4-1, 7-2, 9-2 -)
16-Uruguay. They face Ghana next, and have done well so far in the competition. They are the third of four South American sides still in the competition! (14-1, 14-1, 16-1 -)
31-Paraguay. Paraguay face Spain. They're a long way down, but can David beat Goliath this time? (40-1, 40-1, 50-1 +)
32-Ghana. The last African nation left. They have a nation upholding them, but they're playing Uruguay. (33-1, 33-1, 40-1 -)
The biggest changes were with Ghana (decreasing) and Paraguay (increasing). Paraguay have taken Slovakia's place as outsiders.
27/06/2010
Day Seventeen: 27/6/2010
The stats prove true
But let's hope not for the entire knockout rounds. Germany beat England after one of the England goals was disallowed despite being over the line. More calls have gone out for Sepp Blatter to change FIFA's stance on technology – he was the trending topic on Twitter, along with the ref of that game. Admittedly, Germany were the better team. The last Italian has now left the competition with a little more dignity than the others! FA – we'd like to keep Fabio please. He's nice.
Argentina also played fantastically against Mexico, who were no match for Maradona's team. Higuain got his fourth goal of the tournament, which once again puts him the top goalscorer. If Argentina keep up their performance, they could win the cup, and Higuain could well get the Adidas golden boot.
There has been an incredible increase in the number of goals scored per game. Just in the knockout stages, the average has been 3.75 goals per game! There's clearly a great desire to win, and sometimes the competition just hasn't met up to expectations (England).
Nor have the referees. Linesman Mauricio Espinosa was the one who declared Lampard's goal to not be a goal, but the referee Jorge Larrionda has now made two mistakes in this cup, having also not called a handball in the Australia-Serbia game that would have given Serbia a penalty and maybe put them through.
The only Englishman left in the competition is Howard WEBB, the referee, who has had a good performance so far. I hope he gets the final, but if Germany gets through then that probably won't be such a good idea.
Goals per game: Mean – 2.25, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 3.9, Median – 4, Mode – 5, Range – 10
Predictions for tomorrow: Netherlands have the experience, but Slovakia beat Italy. It's hard to call, but I'm going to risk it and go for the Slovaks. Well, I have to get one wrong! Brazil are definitely going to beat Chile, despite the fact that one of the Chilleans is called Isla.
But let's hope not for the entire knockout rounds. Germany beat England after one of the England goals was disallowed despite being over the line. More calls have gone out for Sepp Blatter to change FIFA's stance on technology – he was the trending topic on Twitter, along with the ref of that game. Admittedly, Germany were the better team. The last Italian has now left the competition with a little more dignity than the others! FA – we'd like to keep Fabio please. He's nice.
Argentina also played fantastically against Mexico, who were no match for Maradona's team. Higuain got his fourth goal of the tournament, which once again puts him the top goalscorer. If Argentina keep up their performance, they could win the cup, and Higuain could well get the Adidas golden boot.
There has been an incredible increase in the number of goals scored per game. Just in the knockout stages, the average has been 3.75 goals per game! There's clearly a great desire to win, and sometimes the competition just hasn't met up to expectations (England).
Nor have the referees. Linesman Mauricio Espinosa was the one who declared Lampard's goal to not be a goal, but the referee Jorge Larrionda has now made two mistakes in this cup, having also not called a handball in the Australia-Serbia game that would have given Serbia a penalty and maybe put them through.
The only Englishman left in the competition is Howard WEBB, the referee, who has had a good performance so far. I hope he gets the final, but if Germany gets through then that probably won't be such a good idea.
Goals per game: Mean – 2.25, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 3.9, Median – 4, Mode – 5, Range – 10
Predictions for tomorrow: Netherlands have the experience, but Slovakia beat Italy. It's hard to call, but I'm going to risk it and go for the Slovaks. Well, I have to get one wrong! Brazil are definitely going to beat Chile, despite the fact that one of the Chilleans is called Isla.
Day Seventeen preview: 27/6/2010
Germany vs England, Argentina vs Mexico
I hate to do this, but I will take a hard look at the facts.
Germany are 6, England are 8 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings. It's a small difference, but gives point one to Germany.
In their most recent confrontations – 2000-2010 only – there have been five games played. England won three, Germany two. Overall, England have won 12 games in normal time, Germans 10 with 5 draws, of which Germany won two because they were knockout games, so in normal play England also have the advantage. So point two goes to England.
From 1994-2006, Germany have always gone to the quarter finals, came second in 2002, and third in 2006. England missed out on the 1994 World Cup, and have otherwise done reasonably but not brilliantly. Point three to Germany.
In the European Championship from 1992-2008, Germany were champions in 1996 (with England as hosts), and were runners-up twice, but only made the first round in 2000 and 2004. England made the semi-final in 1996, and the quarter-final in 2004, but failed to qualify last time. Point four to Germany.
And in terms of group-stage performance, Germany have a 2-0-1 record, while England have a 1-2-0 record. Therefore they are on equal standings in this cup.
So the statistics say Germany will probably win, but England have determination on their side, and a longer starvation from victories. We also have an older, more experienced squad, with some of Germany's best players not in this competition.
For Argentina and Mexico, Argentina are ranked 7th while Mexico are 17th. This puts point one to Argentina.
In their confrontations they have played 26 games, with Argentina winning 11, drawing 11 and only losing 4. This puts point two easily to Argentina.
As well as having two World Cup victories, Argentina are also led by Diego Maradona, who won one of those cups. But in more recent years they have not made it past the quarter-finals. Mexico have not made it past the final 16, and only reached the quarter-finals when they hosted the competition. Point three to Argentina.
And in this World Cup, Argentina have a group stage record of 3 wins, while Mexico are on 1-1-1. Point four solidly to Argentina.
So Argentina have the best chance of winning!
I hate to do this, but I will take a hard look at the facts.
Germany are 6, England are 8 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings. It's a small difference, but gives point one to Germany.
In their most recent confrontations – 2000-2010 only – there have been five games played. England won three, Germany two. Overall, England have won 12 games in normal time, Germans 10 with 5 draws, of which Germany won two because they were knockout games, so in normal play England also have the advantage. So point two goes to England.
From 1994-2006, Germany have always gone to the quarter finals, came second in 2002, and third in 2006. England missed out on the 1994 World Cup, and have otherwise done reasonably but not brilliantly. Point three to Germany.
In the European Championship from 1992-2008, Germany were champions in 1996 (with England as hosts), and were runners-up twice, but only made the first round in 2000 and 2004. England made the semi-final in 1996, and the quarter-final in 2004, but failed to qualify last time. Point four to Germany.
And in terms of group-stage performance, Germany have a 2-0-1 record, while England have a 1-2-0 record. Therefore they are on equal standings in this cup.
So the statistics say Germany will probably win, but England have determination on their side, and a longer starvation from victories. We also have an older, more experienced squad, with some of Germany's best players not in this competition.
For Argentina and Mexico, Argentina are ranked 7th while Mexico are 17th. This puts point one to Argentina.
In their confrontations they have played 26 games, with Argentina winning 11, drawing 11 and only losing 4. This puts point two easily to Argentina.
As well as having two World Cup victories, Argentina are also led by Diego Maradona, who won one of those cups. But in more recent years they have not made it past the quarter-finals. Mexico have not made it past the final 16, and only reached the quarter-finals when they hosted the competition. Point three to Argentina.
And in this World Cup, Argentina have a group stage record of 3 wins, while Mexico are on 1-1-1. Point four solidly to Argentina.
So Argentina have the best chance of winning!
22/06/2010
Day Twelve: 22/6/2010
France fail as Argentina shine
Here's some goalscorer age stats:
The youngest goalscorer is unchanged from last time: Germany's Mueller, aged only 20. The oldest goalscorer is Mexico's Blanco, who scored a penalty against France aged 37. The mean age of a scorer is 27.2, and the median is 27.5, with a lower quartile of 25 and an upper quartile of 29, suggesting most goalscorers are in their late 20s. Indeed, the age with the most goalscorers is 29.
A fantastic game for South Africa, but disappointingly they failed to get through to the next round of the World Cup as Uruguay only won 1-0 against Mexico - goal difference was the deciding factor. France have shown themselves to be a terrible team – they went through more than 338 minutes of World Cup matches without scoring a single goal – which is two-and-a-half matches from this year's cup, and one-and-a-half matches from last year's cup. So Mexico go through on goal difference (+1) as second in their group.
The referee of the France-South Africa game did not do a fantastic job – the first goal was off the shoulder of South African KHUMALO, and the red card against GOURCUFF that brought France down to 10 men was probably undeserved. There has been a lot of bad refereeing in this tournament so far, but let's hope we have a few good refs to choose from to take the Final.
France head home to face a government enquiry into the mess they've ended up in. The only two previous times they have failed to get into the knockout stages – 1966 and 2002 – they were in Uruguay's group each time, and failed to get more than a single point. South Africa are already at home, so there's no long distance to travel for their players, but they put on a great final performance.
Argentina played Greece as South Korea took on Nigeria in the second pair of games today. There was fantastic play in the South Korea/Nigeria game that kept the other two teams guessing as to who would go through. After missing an easy goal in the second half, Yukubu then scored a penalty his team earned to get them on level terms again with the Asian side. All the players were flagging by the end, and struggling to keep going.
Despite a terrible lack of possession for Greece, they held Argentina off their first goal for 77 minutes before DEMICHELIS finally scored to bring the South American side in the lead. They eventually won 2-0 with some fantastic play. To nobody's surprise, Argentina successfully qualified winners of group B to play against Mexico. South Korea go on to face Uruguay.
Predictions for tomorrow: England and USA to qualify from group C, Germany and Serbia to qualify from group D. I would say Germany and Ghana if they weren't playing each other, and I expect Germany to win this game, and Serbia to beat Australia.
We have two South American, one mid-American and one Asian side through to the next round of the World Cup so far. If my predictions prove correct, then three European and one North American side will join them.
Goals per game: Mean – 2.14, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 3.92, Median – 4, Mode – 2,3, Range – 9
It seems goals are increasing, and the roughness of the games is decreasing.
Here's some goalscorer age stats:
The youngest goalscorer is unchanged from last time: Germany's Mueller, aged only 20. The oldest goalscorer is Mexico's Blanco, who scored a penalty against France aged 37. The mean age of a scorer is 27.2, and the median is 27.5, with a lower quartile of 25 and an upper quartile of 29, suggesting most goalscorers are in their late 20s. Indeed, the age with the most goalscorers is 29.
A fantastic game for South Africa, but disappointingly they failed to get through to the next round of the World Cup as Uruguay only won 1-0 against Mexico - goal difference was the deciding factor. France have shown themselves to be a terrible team – they went through more than 338 minutes of World Cup matches without scoring a single goal – which is two-and-a-half matches from this year's cup, and one-and-a-half matches from last year's cup. So Mexico go through on goal difference (+1) as second in their group.
The referee of the France-South Africa game did not do a fantastic job – the first goal was off the shoulder of South African KHUMALO, and the red card against GOURCUFF that brought France down to 10 men was probably undeserved. There has been a lot of bad refereeing in this tournament so far, but let's hope we have a few good refs to choose from to take the Final.
France head home to face a government enquiry into the mess they've ended up in. The only two previous times they have failed to get into the knockout stages – 1966 and 2002 – they were in Uruguay's group each time, and failed to get more than a single point. South Africa are already at home, so there's no long distance to travel for their players, but they put on a great final performance.
Argentina played Greece as South Korea took on Nigeria in the second pair of games today. There was fantastic play in the South Korea/Nigeria game that kept the other two teams guessing as to who would go through. After missing an easy goal in the second half, Yukubu then scored a penalty his team earned to get them on level terms again with the Asian side. All the players were flagging by the end, and struggling to keep going.
Despite a terrible lack of possession for Greece, they held Argentina off their first goal for 77 minutes before DEMICHELIS finally scored to bring the South American side in the lead. They eventually won 2-0 with some fantastic play. To nobody's surprise, Argentina successfully qualified winners of group B to play against Mexico. South Korea go on to face Uruguay.
Predictions for tomorrow: England and USA to qualify from group C, Germany and Serbia to qualify from group D. I would say Germany and Ghana if they weren't playing each other, and I expect Germany to win this game, and Serbia to beat Australia.
We have two South American, one mid-American and one Asian side through to the next round of the World Cup so far. If my predictions prove correct, then three European and one North American side will join them.
Goals per game: Mean – 2.14, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 7
Cards per game: Mean – 3.92, Median – 4, Mode – 2,3, Range – 9
It seems goals are increasing, and the roughness of the games is decreasing.
18/06/2010
Day Eight: 18/6/2010
Disappointment all around, except in America
Well, there's been some pathetic football played today. Like France yesterday, Germany and England were not in form. The USA also started off slowly before fighting back to a fantastic 2-2 draw. In the words of @billybragg: "USA continue their winning streak with a brilliant 2-2 victory over Slovenia".
Let's start with the promised goal stats. So far in the tournament, 43 goals have been scored.
3 were from penalties, 2 were own goals, 10 were from set pieces (although Fifa hasn't classified one of Greece's, which was from a corner, so that means 11).
The Germany-Serbia match was definitely the roughest game so far, with nine yellow cards - two of which went to Miroslav KLOSE, who had scored against Australia. Serbia managed to score, and despite giving away a penalty, Lukas PODOLSKI was unable to score. Usually a fantastic team, this is the first match Germany have lost in the group stages since 1986, in a match against Denmark. For Serbia, it's their first win in a World Cup since beating the USA in 1998.
So let's look at our card-happy referee, Spaniard Alberto UNDIANO. Nine cards isn't particularly large for him; he also gave 10 yellow cards in the semi-final of the UEFA U21 Championship in 2006. Just look at his record. He has an average of 7 cards per game, and his Wikipedia page was updated within seconds of the match ending.
Next up was a much better game. America played Slovenia to a 2-2 draw. Serbia were two goals ahead in the first half, but fantastic play from the USA brought them level again in the second. The USA now have eighteen World Cup group matches in a row without a clean sheet, which is not a good record for number one goalkeeper Tim Howard. It's not just Tim Howard, though. The last time they did so was back in 1950, 60 years ago, when they had a 1-0 victory over England.
Interestingly, if Slovenia had won, they would have been the first team to guarantee qualification to the group stages. Now, that honour will go somewhere else. Slovenia are ranked 25 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings, while the USA are 14. The lowest-ranked team in the Cup are automatic-qualifiers South Africa at 85, while New Zealand just above them are the 78th best team in the world.
Ranked 8th in the world, England should have done better tonight against Algeria. They stumbled all over the pitch, and Fabio CAPELLO was having a very bad birthday. To be fair, so was Algerian BELHADJ, but as a top seeded team, England should have done better. But it seems Argentina are the only top team doing well so far.
Goals per game: Mean - 1.87, Median - 2, Mode – 1,2, Range - 5
Cards per game: Mean – 3.97, Median – 4, Mode – 3, Range - 8
Birthday: Tomorrow, 19th June, is the birthday of Brazilian KLEBERSON. Being a footballer for Brazil means he has enough to celebrate about, and his team aren't playing. Happy 31st birthday!
Well, there's been some pathetic football played today. Like France yesterday, Germany and England were not in form. The USA also started off slowly before fighting back to a fantastic 2-2 draw. In the words of @billybragg: "USA continue their winning streak with a brilliant 2-2 victory over Slovenia".
Let's start with the promised goal stats. So far in the tournament, 43 goals have been scored.
3 were from penalties, 2 were own goals, 10 were from set pieces (although Fifa hasn't classified one of Greece's, which was from a corner, so that means 11).
The Germany-Serbia match was definitely the roughest game so far, with nine yellow cards - two of which went to Miroslav KLOSE, who had scored against Australia. Serbia managed to score, and despite giving away a penalty, Lukas PODOLSKI was unable to score. Usually a fantastic team, this is the first match Germany have lost in the group stages since 1986, in a match against Denmark. For Serbia, it's their first win in a World Cup since beating the USA in 1998.
So let's look at our card-happy referee, Spaniard Alberto UNDIANO. Nine cards isn't particularly large for him; he also gave 10 yellow cards in the semi-final of the UEFA U21 Championship in 2006. Just look at his record. He has an average of 7 cards per game, and his Wikipedia page was updated within seconds of the match ending.
Next up was a much better game. America played Slovenia to a 2-2 draw. Serbia were two goals ahead in the first half, but fantastic play from the USA brought them level again in the second. The USA now have eighteen World Cup group matches in a row without a clean sheet, which is not a good record for number one goalkeeper Tim Howard. It's not just Tim Howard, though. The last time they did so was back in 1950, 60 years ago, when they had a 1-0 victory over England.
Interestingly, if Slovenia had won, they would have been the first team to guarantee qualification to the group stages. Now, that honour will go somewhere else. Slovenia are ranked 25 in the FIFA/Coca-Cola world rankings, while the USA are 14. The lowest-ranked team in the Cup are automatic-qualifiers South Africa at 85, while New Zealand just above them are the 78th best team in the world.
Ranked 8th in the world, England should have done better tonight against Algeria. They stumbled all over the pitch, and Fabio CAPELLO was having a very bad birthday. To be fair, so was Algerian BELHADJ, but as a top seeded team, England should have done better. But it seems Argentina are the only top team doing well so far.
Goals per game: Mean - 1.87, Median - 2, Mode – 1,2, Range - 5
Cards per game: Mean – 3.97, Median – 4, Mode – 3, Range - 8
Birthday: Tomorrow, 19th June, is the birthday of Brazilian KLEBERSON. Being a footballer for Brazil means he has enough to celebrate about, and his team aren't playing. Happy 31st birthday!
17/06/2010
Day Seven: 17/6/2010
Lots of numbers and surprises!
There are loads of different exciting statistics about today that I've picked up from Fifa and listening to the BBC and ITV. Here are today's top stats:
It's the end of the first week of the world cup. In total, 20 games have been played. 38 goals have been scored in those games, and a shocking 75 cards shown to players, with six sendings-off.
The English league had provided the most scorers (8, if you include Mexican Javier HERNANDEZ who is transferring to Manchester United), but only players from La Liga in Spain – Uruguay's Diego FORLAN and Argentina's Gonzalo HIGUAIN, have scored more than one goal so far.
Tomorrow, Algeria's Nadir BELHADJ will be 28 years old, and playing against England. Well, I don't want to wish him an unhappy birthday, but I am English...
The scariest thing about this World Cup is that for the first time, several players are younger than me. That's a statistic that makes you realise you're growing up. Here are some less-scary stats:
Goals per game: Mean – 1.9, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 5
Cards per game: Mean – 3.75, Median – 3.5, Mode – 3, Range – 6
There are loads of different exciting statistics about today that I've picked up from Fifa and listening to the BBC and ITV. Here are today's top stats:
- Hernandez scores the 2,100th goal in World Cup history! There have only been 18 World Cups, so that's an average (mean) of 117 goals per tournament.
- Higuain scores the first hat-trick in a World Cup since 2002, and becomes the top scorer in the 2010 World Cup. Uruguay's Diego Forlan only held onto that title for one day, when he scored twice yesterday.
- Greece wins their first ever World Cup finals game, and it's the first time they've scored in a finals too! According to Fifa, they took 404 minutes of World Cup gameplay to score their first goal.
- Less happily, South Korean PARK Chu Young scores the second own goal of the tournament.
- Sani KAITA of Nigeria receives the third straight red card of the tournament after a stupid kick at a Greek player. Nigeria had been ahead, but went on to lose 2-1.
- Mexican BLANCO scores the third penalty goal of the tournament, and helps to damage France's chances of qualifying. France now have to defeat South Africa - and Mexico's game against Uruguay cannot end in a draw - for them to qualify.
- The total distance run so far in the World Cup by all players is 4,144,261 metres, or 207,213 metres on average per game. In total that is 103.4 times around the Equator!
- Nigeria is the only team in the World Cup to take all its members from leagues outside the country. In other words, no Nigerian team members usually play in Nigeria.
It's the end of the first week of the world cup. In total, 20 games have been played. 38 goals have been scored in those games, and a shocking 75 cards shown to players, with six sendings-off.
The English league had provided the most scorers (8, if you include Mexican Javier HERNANDEZ who is transferring to Manchester United), but only players from La Liga in Spain – Uruguay's Diego FORLAN and Argentina's Gonzalo HIGUAIN, have scored more than one goal so far.
Tomorrow, Algeria's Nadir BELHADJ will be 28 years old, and playing against England. Well, I don't want to wish him an unhappy birthday, but I am English...
The scariest thing about this World Cup is that for the first time, several players are younger than me. That's a statistic that makes you realise you're growing up. Here are some less-scary stats:
Goals per game: Mean – 1.9, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 5
Cards per game: Mean – 3.75, Median – 3.5, Mode – 3, Range – 6
12/06/2010
Day Two: 12/6/2010
South Korea does well as America goes soccer-crazy
Yes, the Americans have gone crazy. Why? They drew with England. So, they're treating it like a win. Well, they don't know much about football, do they? Okay, so England goalie Robert GREEN slipped up, and I bet he feels terrible. Number of Google hits for “Robert Green goalkeeper”: 1,110,000 (17/6/2010). Number of YouTube videos: 173. Most are from Americans making fun, but a few are older from West Ham fans. Rob Green is a GOOD goalkeeper most of the time. Unfortunately, he also has the horrendous statistic of being the first England goalkeeper to get sent off: in a World Cup qualifier against Ukraine that England lost 1-0. However, he also played in the match England won 5-1 against Croatia that saw them succeed in their qualification attempt. So he has a mixed record.
Let's look at the other matches. The first game was between South Korea and Greece. Both sides have done surprisingly well in previous football tournaments – South Korea got to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup (in South Korea and Japan) and Greece won Euro 2004 in Portugal, shocking the world by defeating the host nation in the final.
The South Korean goalscorers were 29-year-old Manchester United player PARK Ji-Sung, whose nickname is ‘double-hearted oxygen tank’ (source: Fifa.com) and 30-year old LEE Jung-Soo, who plays in Japan. It was a clean game, with only the Greek Vasileios TOROSIDIS getting a yellow.
Second: Argentina versus Nigeria. This match ended up a disappointing 1-0 to Argentina. You'd expect this team to do much better. Of course, England fans aren't upset that they're in bad form, especially with Diego MARADONA coaching the team. Boo! Maradona is known for his 'hand of God' goal that halted a previous World Cup attempt by England.
Gabriel HEINZE is Argentina's 32-year-old goalscorer. Sadly, he has nothing to do with Tomato Ketchup or Baked Beans. Internationally, he's done well, and is the second defender to score in the tournament (along with Mexico's Marquez). In fact, the Marseille player has scored three international goals in his career.
There were only two yellow cards in this game – one to each side.
The final game of the day, as you should know, was England versus USA. Stephen GERRARD scored a fantastic goal after only four minutes: the fastest so far of the tournament. Just before half time, American Clint DEMPSEY got lucky with the goalkeeper to level the scores. There were six yellow cards – three for each team – in this game.
Goals per game: Mean – 1.4, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 2
Cards per game: Mean – 4, Median – 4, Mode – 1,2,4,6,7, Range – 6
Yes, the Americans have gone crazy. Why? They drew with England. So, they're treating it like a win. Well, they don't know much about football, do they? Okay, so England goalie Robert GREEN slipped up, and I bet he feels terrible. Number of Google hits for “Robert Green goalkeeper”: 1,110,000 (17/6/2010). Number of YouTube videos: 173. Most are from Americans making fun, but a few are older from West Ham fans. Rob Green is a GOOD goalkeeper most of the time. Unfortunately, he also has the horrendous statistic of being the first England goalkeeper to get sent off: in a World Cup qualifier against Ukraine that England lost 1-0. However, he also played in the match England won 5-1 against Croatia that saw them succeed in their qualification attempt. So he has a mixed record.
Let's look at the other matches. The first game was between South Korea and Greece. Both sides have done surprisingly well in previous football tournaments – South Korea got to the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup (in South Korea and Japan) and Greece won Euro 2004 in Portugal, shocking the world by defeating the host nation in the final.
The South Korean goalscorers were 29-year-old Manchester United player PARK Ji-Sung, whose nickname is ‘double-hearted oxygen tank’ (source: Fifa.com) and 30-year old LEE Jung-Soo, who plays in Japan. It was a clean game, with only the Greek Vasileios TOROSIDIS getting a yellow.
Second: Argentina versus Nigeria. This match ended up a disappointing 1-0 to Argentina. You'd expect this team to do much better. Of course, England fans aren't upset that they're in bad form, especially with Diego MARADONA coaching the team. Boo! Maradona is known for his 'hand of God' goal that halted a previous World Cup attempt by England.
Gabriel HEINZE is Argentina's 32-year-old goalscorer. Sadly, he has nothing to do with Tomato Ketchup or Baked Beans. Internationally, he's done well, and is the second defender to score in the tournament (along with Mexico's Marquez). In fact, the Marseille player has scored three international goals in his career.
There were only two yellow cards in this game – one to each side.
The final game of the day, as you should know, was England versus USA. Stephen GERRARD scored a fantastic goal after only four minutes: the fastest so far of the tournament. Just before half time, American Clint DEMPSEY got lucky with the goalkeeper to level the scores. There were six yellow cards – three for each team – in this game.
Goals per game: Mean – 1.4, Median – 2, Mode – 2, Range – 2
Cards per game: Mean – 4, Median – 4, Mode – 1,2,4,6,7, Range – 6
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