200+ awesome stats from the 2014 World Cup

0 – Argentina have failed to get a single shot on target in their last two World Cup finals – both 1-0 defeats to Germany.

0 – No Confederations Cup winner has ever gone on to win the World Cup the following year. Brazil won the Confederations Cup last year.

0 – Argentina and Netherlands played out the first ever 0-0 in a World Cup semi-final.

0 – Belgium did not score a single goal in the first-half of any of their five matches.

0 – All four of Mexico’s matches were 0-0 at half-time.

0 – None of the nations from the AFC section of qualifying mustered a single win in their 12 matches at the 2014 World Cup. South Korea, Japan and Iran all picked up one point, whilst Australia lost all three matches.

0 – Australia, Honduras and Cameroon all finished with 0 points.

0 – For the third time in the last five editions of the World Cup, an Asian nation has failed to reach it past the group stage. Four years ago in South Africa both South Korea and Japan made it to the round of 16, which is where their tournament ended.

0 – None of the three Italian head coaches managed to progress past the group stage, winning just one game combined. This was Cesare Prandelli’s Italy beating England, whilst Fabio Capello’s Russia and Alberto Zaccheroni’s Japan went home winless.

0 – Cameroon, England and Iran were the only nations not to take the lead at any point in their three games during this World Cup.

1 – Mario Götze became the first substitute to score in a World Cup final.

1 – Germany became the first nation outside of South America to win a World Cup in South America.

1 – This was the first World Cup in which both Brazil and Argentina reached the semi-finals.

1 – Brazil were eliminated at the semi-final of a World Cup for the first time. They had previously qualified from all six of their previous semi-finals.

1 – The Netherlands ended a World Cup campaign on a winning note for the first time.

1 – Netherlands versus Mexico saw the only cooling break of the tournament with the referee stopping the game for three minutes after half hour in each half.

1 – Didier Deschamps suffered his first defeat in 11 World Cup matches as player and manager combined in France’s quarter-final defeat to Germany (8 wins, 2 draws).

1 – Greece kept their first clean sheet at a World Cup by drawing 0-0 with Japan. This is their only clean sheet in ten World Cup matches.

1 – Portugal have won exactly one match in each of their four World Cup campaigns outside of Europe. These came in Mexico ’86, South Korea/Japan 2002 and 2010 South Africa prior to this year’s tournament. They have finished 3rd and 4th in the two tournaments they have qualified for in Europe.

1 – Cristiano Ronaldo has scored exactly one goal in each of his three World Cups; 2006, 2010 and 2014. He has scored Portugal’s last goal in each of their last two World Cups.

1 – Ecuador’s 0-0 with France was their first-ever draw at a World Cup in their 10th match.

1 – Cameroon, Honduras and Iran managed only one goal each.

1 – Honduras have scored one goal in their last seven World Cup matches.

1 – Toni Kroos became the first player born in East Germany to win the World Cup. The Bayern Munich playmaker was born in Greifswald, East Germany – 9 months before the East and West reunited.

1 – Brazil’s Oscar picked up the only yellow card for diving in this World Cup. It came in the penultimate match – the third-place playoff defeat to the Netherlands.

1 – There was at least one card show in every match at the 2014 World Cup.

2 – Costa Rica conceded the fewest goals at the 2014 World Cup.

2 – Algeria and Greece reached the knockout rounds of the World Cup for the first time in their history. Both took their round of 16 matches to extra-time with Algeria losing 2-1 to Germany and Greece going out on penalties to Costa Rica.

2 – For the first time in World Cup history two African nations made it to the second round. There had been exactly one African nation in each of the last seven World Cups reach the second round. Nigeria were then beaten 2-0 by France and Algeria 2-1 by Germany, both in the second round.

2 – France became the first nation to benefit from two own goals in a single World Cup. Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares and Nigeria defender Joseph Yobo aided Didier Deschamps’ side.

2 – Mario Mandžukić became the first Croatian to score two goals in a single game at a World Cup.

2 – Croatia have won only two of their last nine matches at World Cups since winning five of seven in finishing third in their World Cup debut at France ’98.

2 – Uruguay won both matches at Brazil 2014 when Luis Suárez and lost both matches when he didn’t.

2 – Neymar was the only player to score more than one goal in a single game twice.  He scored a brace in Brazil’s 3-1 win over Croatia and 4-1 win over Cameroon.

2 – Jasper Cillesen became the first goalkeeper to be subbed off two times in the history of the World Cup.

2.4 – France allowed the fewest shots on target per game against them.

3 – The 2014 World Cup saw Argentina face Germany in a World Cup final for a record third time.

3 – Argentina have been eliminated by Germany in each of their last three World Cups. In 2006 they went out on penalties in the quarter-final, in 2010 they were thumped 4-0 in the quarter-finals and in 2014 they lost 1-0 in the final.

3 – The Netherlands came from behind to win three of their matches at the 2014 World Cup.

3 – There were 3 CONCACAF nations to qualify for the second round for the first time in World Cup history. Costa Rica, Mexico and USA all qualified whilst Honduras were the only ones to fall at the group stage.

3 – Colombia had won a total of three games at the four previous World Cups combined before winning their first four matches at Brazil 2014.

3 – Ivory Coast have failed to get past the group stage of all three World Cups they have qualified for; 2006, 2010 and now 2014.

3 – There are more German head coaches in the last 16 than any other nation. Ottmar Hitzfeld (Switzerland), Joachim Löw (Germany) and Jürgen Klinsmann (USA). Volker Finke (Cameroon) was the only one eliminated in the group stage.

3 – Costa Rica, Germany and the Netherlands all remained unbeaten. New Zealand were the only undefeated side four years ago.

3 – The three highest paid head coaches at the World Cup all dropped out of the group stage (Fabio Capello – Russia, Roy Hodgson – England and Cesare Prandelli – Italy).

3 – Germany’s André Schürrle scored more goals than the England national team (3 vs 2) yet all six of his appearances came from the substitutes bench, total 244 minutes.

3 – Brazil’s Thiago Silva was the only player to receive as many as three cards (all yellow).

3 – Portugal became the first nation to use three goalkeepers in a single World Cup since Greece at USA ‘94. Rui Patrício, Beto and Eduardo all made an appearance in Brazil. The Netherlands matched this with Jasper Cillessen, Tim Krul and Michel Vorm all making an appearance.

3 – Brazil joined Haiti and Zaire as the only three nations to concede five goals in the first-half at a World Cup during their 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Germany.

3 – Bosnia and Herzeogvina, Nigeria, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland received the fewest cards – three each.  Each of these were three yellow cards except Portugal who collected two yellows and one red.

3 – Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben became the first Dutch players to score at three different World Cups.

3 – Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan became the first African player to score at three different World Cups.

3 – Steven Gerrard received his third yellow card in a World Cup match, tying Jamie Carragher and Terry Fenwick as England players with most.

4 – Germany became the first nation to reach the semi-finals in four successive World Cups.

4 – Germany joined Italy on four World Cup wins; both nations one behind record winners Brazil.

4 – Including the 1982 second group stage, Germany have now eliminated the World Cup hosts on more occasions than any other nation (Spain 1982, Mexico 1986, South Korea 2002 & Brazil 2014).

4 – Argentina have progressed from all four semi-finals they have reached at World Cups.

4 – Belgium won four matches at a World Cup for the first time in their history.

4 – Algeria became the first African nation to score four goals in a single World Cup match in beating South Korea 4-2.

4 – The last four World Cups in which Chile made it out of the group stage they were eliminated by Brazil (1962, 1998, 2010 and 2014) – the last three in the round of 16.

4 – Portugal’s 4-0 defeat the hands of Germany was their biggest-ever World Cup defeat.

4 – Cameroon had just four shots on target in their three matches, the fewest of any nation.

4 – Four of the top ten nations in the FIFA World Rankings were eliminated at the group stage – Spain (1), Portugal (4), Italy (9) and England (10).

4 – Miroslav Klose became the first player to play in four World Cup semi-finals, winning two and losing two.

4 – Mexico’s Rafael Márquez became the first player to captain his team in four different World Cups

4 – Colombia’s Juan Cuadrado recorded the most assists.

5 – For the second successive World Cup, 5 CONMEBOL nations reached the second round. Four years ago all five nations made it, this year South America had six entrants, with Ecuador the only side to drop out at the group stage. Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia all made it past the group stage this year.

5 – Nigeria have won five of their 18 matches at World Cups. All five of these came against European nations.

5 – Brazil’s Fred managed just five shots on target in his six starts for Brazil.

5 – Colombia’s James Rodríguez was the only player to score in all of his country’s matches (5).

5 – England have only scored five goals in their last eight World Cup matches.

5 – Ghana are winless in their last five World Cup group stage matches after picking up just one point in Brazil 2014.

5 – Thomas Müller (2010 and 2014) and Miroslav Klose (2002 and 2006) are the only players to have scored 5+ goals in consecutive World Cup tournaments.

5 – There were five own goals scored at this World Cup – Marcelo (Brazil), Noel Valladares (Honduras), Sead Kolašinac (Bosnia and Herzegovina), John Boye (Ghana) and Joseph Yobo (Nigeria)

5 – Roy Hodgson is winless in his last 5 matches at World Cups, drawing one and losing four during spells with Switzerland and England.

5 – Gianluigi Buffon attended his fifth World Cup but was an unused substitute in 1998.

6 – Germany have reached six of the last 11 World Cup finals, winning three of them (1974, 1990 and 2014).

6 – The Netherlands have now failed to score in all six of their World Cup matches to go to extra-time after being held 0-0 by both Costa Rica and Argentina.

6 – Brazil suffered their biggest defeat in World Cup history.

6 – Algeria became only the 6th African nation to reach the second round of a World Cup, after Morocco, Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana.

6 – For the second successive World Cup, only six European nations reached the second round. The six tournaments prior to South Africa 2010 since the second round began back in 1982, had seen 9-10 European nations reach the second round. Despite this, Germany won the competition and the Netherlands finished third.

6 – Brazil have qualified for the quarter-finals in each of the last six World Cups.

6 – Belgium have reached the knockout rounds in six of the last seven World Cups they have qualified for.

6 – Asamoah Gyan became the first African player to score six goals in his career at the World Cup.

6% – Cameroon have won just one of 18 World Cup matches outside of Italy. The Indomitable Lions won three of their five matches at Italia ’90, losing in the quarter-finals to England.

7 – Germany have reached at least one World Cup final in each of the last seven decades.

7 – Germany have won their group at each of the last seven World Cups.

7 – Germany became the first team to score seven goals in a World Cup semi-final.

7 – Argentina only trailed for seven minutes at the 2014 World Cup.  Those were the final seven minutes of the final.

7 – For the first time in their history, the Netherlands were undefeated in a World Cup campaign (W5 D2). Matches tied after 120 minutes are counted as draws.

7 – Mexico have progressed past the group stage of the last seven World Cups they have participated in. They have been eliminated at the round of 16 at the last six following their 2-1 loss to the Netherlands.

7 – Algeria scored more goals at this tournament than in their previous three World Cups combined (six).

7 – Spain conceded six goals in winning Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012 (19 games) combined. They conceded seven goals in at the 2014 World Cup (3 games).

7 – Ghana have failed to keep a clean sheet in their last seven World Cup matches.

7 – Cameroon have lost their last seven World Cup matches, scoring just three goals and conceding 16 during this run.

7 – Thomas Müller scored Germany’s seventh World Cup hat-trick – the most of any nation.

7 – Lionel Messi has failed to score in all seven of his knock-out round matches at World Cups.

7 – All seven of Klaas-Jan Huntelaar’s World Cup apps have been as a substitute. No player of has made more without starting a game.

8 – Germany reached a record eighth World Cup final.

8 – All eight group winners won their second round matches.

8′ – Germany were only behind for eight minutes in total during the 2014 World Cup. This was in their second group game versus Ghana.

8 – England have won only one of their last eight matches at the World Cup.

8 – Portugal are unbeaten in their last eight World Cup matches against nations outside of Europe, winning five and drawing three. They are winless in their last five World Cup matches versus fellow European nations, drawing one and losing four.

8% – South Korea have only won two of their 24 World Cup matches outside of their own country.

9 – Four nations picked up maximum points in the group stage – the Netherlands, Colombia, Argentina and Belgium. This is the same number as in South Africa four years ago. This is twice as many as 1998 and 2002, the only other tournaments to contain eight groups of four nations (32 teams).

9 – Brazil have finished top of their group for each of the last nine World Cups.

9 – Argentina and Netherlands picked up the maximum nine points in the group stage at each of the last two World Cups. In 2006 they both picked up seven points after drawing with each other in the same group.

9 – Belgium have now gone undefeated in nine consecutive World Cup group stage matches, winning four and drawing five.

9 – Honduras are winless in all nine of their games at World Cup finals, losing six. No team are winless having played as many games.

10 – The 2014 World Cup saw the fewest red cards since 1986.

10 – Thomas Müller has scored ten goals in 13 World Cup matches including a hat-trick in Germany’s opener against Portugal at this World Cup, and their winner versus the USA. He is only 24-years old.

10 – Sami Khedira became the 10th player to win both the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA World Cup in the same season. The nine previous were Franz Beckenbauer, Paul Breitner, Uli Hoeneß, Jupp Kapellmann, Sepp Maier, Gerd Müller, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, in 1974, Christian Karembeu in 1998 and Roberto Carlos in 2002.

10 – The Netherlands have now scored all ten of their regular time penalties.

11 – European nations have now won 11 of the 20 World Cups with South America winning the other nine.

11 – Wayne Rooney has scored once in his 11 matches at World Cup finals. This came in England’s second game at this tournament, against Uruguay.

11 – England extended their record to a World Cup high 11 0-0 draws.

11 – Luiz Felipe Scolari won his first 11 matches at World Cups.  He has won only three of ten since, losing four.

12 – Iran’s 0-0 draw with Nigeria at this World Cup is the only time they have kept a clean sheet in 12 games at the finals.

13 – Thomas Müller became the 13th player to reach double figures in World Cup goals. In the process he became the 5th German to do so.

14 – Brazil became the first nation to concede 14 goals in any World Cup under the current format of 32 nations which has been going since France ’98 and the most since Belgium conceded 15 in 1986.

14 – Brazil received the most cards in this tournament, all of them yellow.

14 – Luiz Felipe Scolari has won 14 times as head coach at the World Cup.  Only Helmut Schön has more wins (16).

14% – Fabio Capello has now won only one of seven matches at a World Cup with spells in charge of England and Russia.

15 – Italy extending their scoring streak to a national record 15 consecutive World Cup matches in their 2-1 win over England, before failing to score in their next two matches.

15 – Iran used the fewest players at the 2014 World Cup.

15 – Tim Howard’s 15 saves against Belgium was the most in any game at this tournament.

16 – Germany have reached the last eight in each of the last 16 World Cups since being banned from the 1950 tournament.

16 – Miroslav Klose broke Ronaldo’s record to become the all-time World Cup scorer with his goal against Brazil in the semi-final. He tied the record in Germany’s second group stage game, equalising in a 2-2 draw with Ghana.

18 – Germany were the top scorers at the 2014 World Cup.

17% – The Netherlands have won only one of six World Cup matches that have gone to extra-time. That was their quarter-final victory over Costa Rica on penalties.

17 – England lost the fewest games in World Cup history amongst the eight nations to have previously won the competition.

17% – Steven Gerrard has won just one of six World Cup matches as England captain. England were the bookmakers’ favourites in each of these matches. He has won three of the other six matches he has played, which includes the 0-0 draw with Costa Rica where he only came on to take the captain’s armband late on.

17 – England have scored 17 goals at their last four World Cups combined. Miroslav Klose has scored 16 alone.

17 – Wesley Sneijder has played more World Cup games than any other Netherlands player. The midfielder missed their third-place playoff with a hamstring injury picked up during the warmup.

18 – Luke Shaw was the youngest player to make an appearance at the 2014 World Cup.

19 – Cameroon have kept only one clean sheet in their last 19 World Cup matches.

19% – Jürgen Klinsmann has lost only five of 27 World Cup finals matches as a player and head coach combined. Two of those came in this tournament when his USA went down to Germany and Belgium in back-to-back matches.

19% – German head coaches made up three of the last 16 in the second round – more than any other nation. Ottmar Hitzfeld (Switzerland), Joachim Löw (Germany) and Jürgen Klinsmann (USA).

22 – Thibaut Courtois lost his first international match in his 22nd international during Belgium’s 1-0 loss to Argentina. The 22-year old has kept 12 clean sheets.

20% – Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal have won just two of their last ten matches at World Cups.

20% – The three Portuguese head coaches at this World Cup combined to win two in their ten matches. Greece won one under Fernando Santos, Iran 0 under Carlos Queiroz and Portugal one under Paulo Bento.

20% – England’s Joe Hart had the lowest save percentage in the World Cup, making only one save and conceding four goals in two matches.

21 – Germany have now lost only one of their last 21 group stage matches at the World Cup. Four years ago they were beaten 1-0 by Serbia. They have won 16 and drawn the other five.

21 – All 21 of Argentina’s substitutions at this World Cup failed to score.

21 – Brazil’s 3-1 win over Croatia means the host nation has never lost their opening match at a World Cup.

22% – Russia have only won two of nine matches at the World Cup since the USSR split.

23 – The Netherlands were the only nation to use all 23 members of their squad – the most ever used by a single nation at a World Cup.

24 – All three nations to have won the World Cup more than three times all secured their fourth title 24 years after winning their third (Brazil, Italy and Germany).

24 – Only Lothar Matthäus (25) has played more World Cup matches than Miroslav Klose.

24 – There have already been more goals scored by substitutes at this World Cup than any previous edition.

24 – Iran had the fewest attempts on goal.

24 – Of the 12 stadiums used, the Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador saw the most goals with 24 in 6 matches.

25 – The Netherlands were caught offside on the most occasions.

25 – Mexico have lost the most matches in the history of the World Cup.

26 – England officially finished 26th out of 32 nations at the 2014 World Cup – their lowest ever finish.

27 – USA have only kept two clean sheets in their last 27 games at the World Cup.

27 – USA’s Tim Howard made the most saves.

29′ – Germany were the first team to score 5 goals within 29 minutes at a World Cup when they beat Brazil 7-1 in their semi-final.

30 – Clint Dempsey’s goal for USA against Ghana after only 30 seconds was the quickest scored at this World Cup.

30% – Iran averaged the least possession.

31 – Brazil’s 31 fouls against Colombia was the most by any nation in a single game at this tournament.

32 – Cameroon officially finished bottom of the tournament, picking up 0 points and with a goal difference of -8. The Indomitable Lions finished 31st four years ago.

32 – Belgium scored the opening goal of their second round game with their 32nd attempt at goal versus USA.

35 – 22-year old Neymar became Brazil’s sixth-highest goalscorer of all-time during this World Cup by adding 4 goals to take his tally up to 35 in 54 caps.

36 – Miroslav Klose is the oldest German to score at a World Cup, at 36 years and 29 days.

37′ – Pepe’s 37th minute dismissal against Germany in Portugal’s opening game was the earliest sending off at the 2014 World Cup.

38 – Brazil were undefeated in competitive home matches for 38 years until they lost back-to-back games against Germany and the Netherlands in this tournament.

38% – European nations have now won only five of 13 penalty shootouts against nations from other continents following Greece’s loss to Costa Rica and the Netherlands losing to Argentina.

39% – Italy have now been eliminated at the group stage of seven of the 18 World Cups they have qualified for.

43 – Brazil have kept 43 clean sheets – the most of any nation in World Cup history.

43 – At 43 years and 3 days, Colombia goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón became the oldest player in World Cup history when he made a cameo appearance at the end of their 4-1 victory over Japan.

44 – Nigeria were the lowest-ranked team in the FIFA World Rankings to reach the second round.

44% – Seven of the 16 knockout round matches went to extra-time – one less than the record eight set at Italia’ 90.

45% – Tim Cahill has scored five of Australia’s 11 goals in their World Cup history.

48 – Germany had the most shots on target during the 2014 World Cup.

50 – Xherdan Shaqiri’s hat-trick for Switzerland against Honduras was the 50th scored at a World Cup. Thomas Müller had earlier scored the 49th – these were the only two hat-tricks at the 2014 World Cup.

52′ – Despite winning four matches, Belgium only led for 52 minutes at the 2014 World Cup.

54% – David Villa has scored seven of Spain’s last 13 World Cup goals.

64% – Brazil conceded nine of their fourteen goals in the opening half hour of matches.

65% – The Netherlands have won 17 of their 26 World Cup matches outside of Europe, compared to only 42% of World Cup matches in Europe.

67% – Four of Belgium’s six goals at this World Cup were scored by substitutes.

73% – Germany have won eight of their last 11 World Cup matches versus South American, drawing two and losing only one.

73% – 11 of the Netherlands’ 15 goals at the 2014 World Cup came after half-time.

75% – Three of Lionel Messi’s four goals at the 2014 World Cup came from outside the penalty area. They were all scored in the group stage.

80% – Argentina have won 12 of their last 15 World Cup group matches, drawing two and losing only one. That defeat came courtesy of a David Beckham penalty against England in 2002.

80% – Argentina’s penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands in their semi-final means that South American countries have won eight of ten penalty shootouts against nations from other continents in World Cup history.

83% – Five of Chile’s six goals at this World Cup came in the first-half.

88% – The bookmakers’ favourites won 14 of the 16 knockout round matches. Germany beating Brazil and the Netherlands beating Brazil were the only times the ‘underdog’ won. These were the two biggest margins of victory in the knockout rounds too.

91% – Costa Rica’s Keylor Navas had the highest save percentage amongst goalkeepers to play at least two games, saving 21 shots and conceding only two goals in five matches.

92% – 12 of the 13 penalties in regular time were scored during this World Cup with Karim Benzema the only player to miss with Switzerland’s Diego Benaglio denying him.

94 – Klass-Jan Huntelaar’s 94th minute penalty for Netherlands was the first time Mexico fell behind at the 2014 World Cup. Three minutes later the final whistle went at they were eliminated.

95% – Brazil’s progression from the group stage means that 20 of the 21 nations to have hosted the World Cup have progressed past the opening group stage with South Africa the only nation who failed to do so, four years ago.

98 – Brazil’s Thiago Silva received the earliest yellow card at the 2014 World Cup, just 98 seconds into their third-place playoff match against the Netherlands.

100 – Olivier Giroud scored France’s 100th goal at World Cups by opening the scoring against Switzerland in their second match at the 2014 World Cup.

102 – Germany were the first nation to reach 100 games at a World Cup, moving onto 106 by the end of the tournament. Brazil’s final group stage match was their 100th, finishing the 2014 World Cup on 104.

102 – Brazil became the second nation to concede a century of goals in World Cup history. The joined Germany who end the competition with 121 goals against.

106 – France became the fifth nation to score over a century of goals – behind Brazil (217), Germany (213), Argentina (129) and Italy (128).

117 – Argentina were fouled the most times during the 2014 World Cup.

126′ – Spain’s Diego Costa failed to get a single shot on target from 5 attempts in his 126 minutes at this World Cup in his country of birth.

156 – Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas took his international caps up to 156 during this tournament – the most amongst any player at the 2014 World Cup.

171 – There were 171 goals scored at the 2014 World Cup, the joint-highest scoring tournament with 1998.

179 – There were only 179 seconds between Germany’s second and fourth goals in their 7-1 thrashing of Brazil.

185 – Costa Rica went three hours and five minutes without a shot on target between Bryan Ruiz’s goal versus Greece and late in their quarter-final defeat to the Netherlands.

187 – There were a total of 187 yellow cards in Brazil 2014.

224 – Germany overtook Brazil to become the highest-scoring nation in World Cup history.

246′ – Argentina have now gone 2467 minutes since they last scored in a World Cup final.

372′ – The Netherlands finished their tournament going 372 minutes without conceding a goal.

485′ – Argentina went the longest without conceding a single goal at any point during the 2014 World Cup.

1958 – England were eliminated from the first round/opening group stage of a World Cup for the first time since Sweden 1958.

1990 – This was the first World Cup Argentina had made it past the quarter-finals since 1990. Back at Italia ’90 they also lost 1-0 to (West) Germany in the final.