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blogsarahjames · 5 years ago

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The richest football players in the world

We all know that football is the sport to have many fans all over the world and so the soccer players are very famous as well. This popularity may bring them many advantages and specifically can make them tremendously rich. Now the question is which football players are currently the richest in the world, and who will be the wealthiest football player in 2020? There are many ways for football players to earn thousands of dollars every week, besides their playing salary. In fact, they can earn from their bonuses, sponsorship, and marketing, which can make their income extraordinary.

The wealthiest footballers in the world

Here are the top 20 wealthiest soccer players in the world right now.

20. Luis Suarez

Total Net Worth: $70 Million

Club: Barcelona

Country of birth: Uruguay

Position: striker

The 32-year-old started his playing career at a youth club named Nacional and since then, has played in many known clubs, including Ajax and Liverpool. Currently, the well-known player is a part of Barcelona where he kicks the ball as the striker. He also has the same position in the Uruguay national team.Suarez joined Barcelona in 2014 for $260,000/week wages, with Liverpool being paid $80 million. His current salary exceeds $26 million annually at Barca. He has been one of the bests in football world so far and has achieved many honors and awards, including 4 times La Liga titles, UEFA Champions League in 2014/15, FIFA Club World Cup in 2015, Ajax Player of the Year in 2008/09, 2009/10, Eredivisie Golden Boot in 2009/10, two European Golden Shoes, and a Premier League Golden Boot

19. Oscar

Total Net Worth: $70 Million

Club: Shanghai SIPG

Country of birth: Brazil

Position: attacking midfielder

The 28-years-old Brazilian player currently kicks the ball as an attacking midfielder for Chinese Club, Shanghai SIPG, while he also plays for Brazil national team. As estimated, he is currently one of the richest footballers in the world with about $70 million of net worth. The former Chelsea player moved to the Chinese club with a transfer fee of $78 million back in December 2016. He currently, earns more than $25 million per year. It has to be mentioned that interestingly Oscar provided a league-high 19 assists and scored 12 goals to help SIPG win the Chinese Super League in 2018.

18. Sergio Ramos

Total Net Worth: $80 Million

Club: Real Madrid

Country of birth: Spain

Position: center back

The current captain of Spain's National Team and Real Madrid is one of the richest soccer players in the world right now, as his net worth is about $80 Million. The 33-year-old legendary player moved to Real Madrid in the summer of 2005 & Since then has been one of the bests for the team. In fact, he has won 21 major honors, including four La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles, 5 La Liga Best Defender titles, and many more awards. His current salary is $260,000 per week.

17. Paul Pogba

Total Net Worth: $85 Million

Club: Manchester United

Country of birth: France

Position: Midfielder

The 26-year-old magnificent football player is kicking the ball for the Red Devils since 2016, though he has an interest to join Zidane’s Real Madrid. The former Juventus player is one of the bests in the soccer world and currently he earns $380,000 per week, which provides him almost $20 million annually. In addition to playing soccer professionally, the central midfielder’s representatives have done a top-class job of making him one of the most marketable characters in the sport with interesting deals with companies such as Adidas and his media work consisting of presenting MTV Europe Music Awards and appearing in numerous commercials such as the FIFA 17 computer game. This is how Pogba is currently 17th on our list.

16. Ronaldinho

Total Net Worth: $90 Million

Club: retired

Country of birth: Brazil

Position: attacking midfielder

The 39-year-old first joined Grêmio when he was 18 and continued to be one of the best players in the 21st century. He started playing for Paris Saint-Germain from 2001 to 2003 and then joined Barcelona to be one of their bests till 2008. Later he joined Milan, Flamengo, Atletico Mineiro, Queretaro and finally Fluminense in 2015. He is known as one of the legends in the football world with some scenes he has made during his professional career, such as the goal he scored against Venezuela to help Brazil win the Copa America. That goal is still remembered by fans and is thought to be the greatest ever scored in Brazil's long soccer history. Ronaldinho also helped Brazil win its 5th World Cup in 2002, won the FIFA World Player of the Year twice and was included in Pele's FIFA 100 list.

15. Pele

Total Net Worth: $100 Million

Club: retired

Country of birth: Brazil

Position: Forward

Known as one of the best players of the 20th century and definitely one of the bests of all time, Pele is regarded as a soccer legend for all the football fans. The 79-year-old was voted World Player of the Century by IFFHS in 1999 and was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the Century award. He is the most successful domestic league goal-scorer in football history scoring 1281 goals in 1363 games, which included unofficial friendlies. This is a Guinness World Record. The legendary rich man in currently 15th in our list with $100 Million of net worth.

14. Samuel Eto’o Fils

Total Net Worth: $95 Million

Club: retired

Country of birth: Cameroon

Position: striker

Apparently, Samuel Eto’o Fils is not only the 14th on our list, but he is the richest footballer in Africa, as his net worth is estimated to be $95 million. The former Chelsea player has played for many big clubs such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Mallorca, Inter Milan, Sampdoria, Antalyaspor, and Everton. It is also interesting to know that as a member of the Cameroon national team, Eto'o was a part of the squad that won the Gold Medal at the 2000 Olympics and he also won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002.

13. Eden Hazard

Total Net Worth: $100 Million

Club: Real Madrid

Country of birth: Belgium

Position: Winger

Reportedly, the Belgium superstar is making around $245,000 per week after tax, with bonuses added on top of his base wage, which makes him almost $13 million annually. Hazard moved to Real Madrid from Chelsea during the 2019 summer transfer window for $111 million. Apart from the income he has from his professional football playing, he holds a wealthy sponsorship deal with Nike, while he is also the face behind Belgian-based Lotus Bakeries. In 2017, Hazard also invested a stake in owning North American Soccer League franchise San Diego 1904 FC.

12. Francesco Totti

Total Net Worth: $101.6 Million

Club: Retired

Country of birth: Italy

Position: Attacking midfielder

There is no doubt that Totti is one of the best football players in the 21st century. The 43-year-old who is known as Roma & Italy legend of all time was retired from football just three years ago and was referred to as the “golden boy” through his playing career.The Captain spent his entire career at Roma, where he won a Serie A title, two Coppa Italia titles, 2006 FIFA World Cup, All-Star team for UEFA Euro 2000 and FIFA 2006, five Serie A Italian Footballer of the Year awards, two Serie A Footballer of the Year awards, two Serie A Goal of the Year awards, one Serie A Goalscorer of the Year award, and one Serie A Young Footballer of the Year award. He also won the 2007 European Golden Shoe and the 2010 Golden Foot.Knowing all these facts, it looks not strange for “The Eighth King of Rome” to be in our list of richest footballers in the world.

11. Kaká

Total Net Worth: $105 Million

Club: retired

Country of birth: Brazil

Position: Attacking midfielder

Ricardo Kaká is a well-known name for many of us as he was one of the bests during his professional playing career at both club and international level.During his playing years, he has kicked the ball for many big clubs, besides Brazil national team. These clubs include São Paulo, Milan, and Real Madrid.It has to be said that the legendary Brazilian was one of the biggest earners in the soccer world, besides the lucrative endorsement deals he made with the likes of Sony, Adidas, Armani, and PepsiCo. He was also was the first sportsperson to amass 10 million followers on Twitter which has brought him many opportunities.

10. Andres Iniesta

Total Net Worth: $120 Million

Club: Vissel Kobe

Country of birth: Spain

Position: Midfielder

The current Vissel Kobe Midfielder is the one who spent most of his career at Barcelona, where he served as the captain for three seasons. He has been a very successful player during his professional career and is known as one of the bests in the football world all around the world. It is interesting to know that his move to Vissel Kobe in 2018 has brought him an astonishing amount of money in wages and bonuses. However, that’s not all and the Spanish player is one of the ones to make deals with Nike and Asics which has made him very reach in cash.

9. Gareth Bale

Total Net Worth: $125 Million

Club: Real Madrid

Country of birth: Wales

Position: Winger

Despite the player has had a tough summer and after all the ups and downs with Zinedine Zidane, now the winger is back in the games, shining all over again. However, that’s not all as Bale has found other ways of earning cash, such as the Sponsorship deals he has made with Adidas, Lucozade, and BT Sport. The Welshman also has his fair share of business interests including his own sports bar called Elevens in his hometown of Cardiff.

8. Wayne Rooney

Total Net Worth: $160 Million

Club: Derby County

Country of birth: England

Position: Striker

Widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation, he has scored many goals for both the England national team and Manchester United, in addition to the other clubs he has kicked the ball for.He was D.C. United’s forward from 2018 to 2019 but most recently, the 34-year-old has moved to Derby County.He has been awesome all through these years and has won the Premier League, FA Cup, UEFA Champions League, League Cup, UEFA Europa League, and FIFA Club World Cup.His success over the years at club level and internationally has made him rich in cash, but he has also made endorsement deals with big brands such as Nike, Nokia, Coca-Cola, and Ford which has made him even more wealthy.

7. Neymar

Total Net Worth: $185 Million

Club: PSG

Country of birth: Brazil

Position: Forward

A lot has been going on with the 27-year-old Brazilian recently. He is one of the bests in the football world who currently kicks the ball as a forward for French champions, PSG where he is paid $900,000 per week. This is while he really liked to leave the club for Barcelona during the summer transfer window.Anyway, besides the money he is paid for his professional soccer playing and his bonuses, he is well known is social marketing and sponsorship and that is how he is standing 7th in our list.

6. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Total Net Worth: $190 Million

Club: LA Galaxy

Country of birth: Sweden

Position: Striker

The 38-year-old player is widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the world of football in his generation. Through all these years he has played for many well-known teams, including Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, Milan, PSG, Manchester United, and LA Galaxy. It is also interesting to know that he’s also one of a few players who has had deals with both Adidas and Nike.

5. Dave Whelan

Total Net Worth: $210 Million

Club: retired

Country of birth: England

Position: full-back

Not a famous one in the soccer world! Huh?! First of all, you need to know that the former player is currently 83 years old and as he was not a famous one as a player, it’s normal for many not to know him. But the question is why is his name in the list and more specifically why is he fifth?Well, though his dad was a coal miner, and he was a player to play just for 10 years, Dave Whelan became a successful business magnate after his playing days.In fact, it seems like he was born more of a businessperson than a football player, which fortunately he figured out himself.After being retired from professional soccer, he focused on his chain of supermarkets, Whelan's Discount Stores, which were sold to Ken Morrison, another supermarket chain, for almost 3 million Dollars in 1978.Just one year before this, he bought sports and fishing store J. J. Bradburn and renamed it to JJB Sports. The company was the empire, which grew throughout the ’80s and ’90s, and eventually became the U.K.’s second-biggest retailer.However, that is not all, and the wealthy former football player also owned other big companies and clubs, such as DW Sports Fitness, Wigan Athletic F.C., Wigan Warriors, and Orrell Rugby Union Club.

4. Lionel Messi

Total Net Worth: $400 million

Club: Barcelona

Country of birth: Argentina

Position: Attacker

Did you know that the best footballer of all time, is not first on our list, but is fourth? What else do you think you may not know about him? Check out it out on “Top facts about the best footballer in the world, Lionel Messi”.The six-time Ballon d'Or and European Golden shoe winner has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he currently earns $650,000 per week.However, that is not all, as the famous captain has had a brilliant performance in international level as well.In addition, he has an interesting revenue through his sponsorship contracts such as his life-long deal with Adidas.

3. David Beckham

Total Net Worth: $450 Million

Club: retired

Country of birth: England

Position: Midfielder

David Beckham is one of the bests in the football world with no doubt who has played in many teams, including Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, Milan, LA Galaxy, Paris Saint-Germain, and the England national team. Currently, he is the president of Inter Miami CF and also is the co-owner of Salford City.It is interesting to know that he is the first English footballer to become a league titleholder in four different countries: England, Spain, the United States, and France.Anyway, it has to be said that the former player is not just earning cash from football, but he also has income as a businessperson, a model, and a spokesperson.

2. Cristiano Ronaldo

Total Net Worth: $450 Million

Club: Juventus

Country of birth: Portugal

Position: Attacker

Thinking about the best football player in the 21st century, you will definitely remember Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. However, you have to know that though they are the bests, they are not the richest! In fact, Ronaldo is the second with $450 Million of net worth, while Messi is standing the fourth.However, it has to be said that for Ronaldo playing professionally is not the only way to earn money. In fact, the Juventus hero not only earns the most amount of money per week in club soccer but he also has his famous brand CR7 in addition to various business ventures including his hotels and clothing line.It is interesting to know that currently, the player earns $663,000 per week, which gathers him $35 million per year.Now if you want to know how the star spends his money, you can check out "Cristiano Ronaldo owns the most expensive Rolex watch".

1. Faiq Bolkiah

Total Net Worth: $20 billion

Club: Leicester City

Country of birth: Brunei

Position: Midfielder

Time to see who’s the richest football player in the world. We bet you couldn’t have guessed his name unless you knew about this fact, but who is this?Currently, the Brunei national team captain, Faiq Bolkiah, who also kicks the ball as a midfielder for Leicester City is standing first on our list. But the question is how?!Interestingly he’s the son of Jefri Bolkiah, Prince of Brunei, and the nephew of the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah and that’s how he has put Ronaldo, Messi and David Beckham behind, to stand on top of the list of the wealthiest soccer players in the world.Did you enjoy the article? Leave us a comment if you have any other information about these football players and their wealth.

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flaunt263mag · 5 years ago

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Top 15 Football Stars Who Retired in 2019

All good things must come to an end and the retired players make us realise we really are getting old.

As we enter the winter months, most supporters are looking ahead to new players to welcome to their clubs – but it’s also time to remember those who hung up their boots during 2019.

Here are some of the football stars that retired in 2019:

Juan Silveira

Seventy-nine caps for Brazil, for whom he appeared at the 2010 World Cup and won two editions of the Copa America with, plus over 300 appearances of top-flight European football with Bayer Leverkusen and Roma, winning honours with the Italian outfit.

Juan has spent the last seven years back in his home country with Internacional and Flamengo, but the defender bowed out at the ripe old age of 40 at the end of April.

Peter Crouch

The English striker also Known as “Crouchy,” Played for Liverpool, Tottenham, QPR, Portsmouth, Norwich City, Aston Villa, Burnley, Southampton and Stoke City.

He Scored over 167 goals during his time, spent seven-and-a-half years with Stoke, scoring 62 goals before joining Burnley in January 2019. He retired in July 2019.

Diego Forlan

The Uruguayan football manager and former Athletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Manchester United and Villarreal player, who scored over 252 goals during his time.

Forlán also had a successful international career, scoring 36 times for his country between his debut in 2002 and his retirement in 2015, including six goals at FIFA World Cups. On 12 July 2011, at the 2011 Copa América in Argentina, which Uruguay won, Forlán earned his 79th international cap in a match against Mexico, breaking the record held since 1986 by goalkeeper Rodolfo Rodríguez.

On 20 June 2013, in a match against Nigeria at the 2013 Confederations Cup, Forlán became the first Uruguayan to win 100 caps.Forlán was Uruguay’s all-time leading top scorer from 2011 until Luis Suárez overtook him two years later.

Samuel Eto’o

The Former Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid , Chelsea and Everton Striker who won the African Player of the year for Four times : in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010.

A precocious talent, Eto’o moved to Real Madrid as a 16 year old. Due to competition in his position with more experienced players, he had several loan spells, before signing for Mallorca in 2000 where he scored 70 goals. His impressive form saw him join Barcelona in 2004 where he scored 130 goals in five seasons and also became the record holder for the most number of appearances by an African player in La Liga.

Winning La Liga three times, he was a key member of the Barcelona attack, alongside Ronaldinho, that won the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, with Eto’o scoring in the final, and was part of a front three of Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry that won the 2009 UEFA Champions League Final, with Eto’o again scoring in the final.

He is the second player in history to score in two UEFA Champions League finals. At Barcelona, He came in third for the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2005 and was twice named in the FIFA FIFPro World XI, in 2005 and 2006.

He has participated in four World Cups and six Africa Cup of Nations. He is the all-time leading scorer in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, with 18 goals, and is Cameroon’s all-time leading scorer and third most capped player, with 56 goals in 118 caps.

Eto’o announced his retirement from international football in August 2014, and finally retired from football in 2019.

Wesley Sneijder

The former Ajax, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Galatasaray Midfielder who was named UEFA midfielder of the season and one of the three best midfielders in the world for 2010 by FIFA.

A product of the Ajax Youth Academy, he started his professional career playing for Ajax, with whom he won four trophies and was awarded the Johan Cruyff Trophy in 2004.

With 134 caps, he is the most capped Dutch player of all time. He announced his international retirement in March 2018 and finally retired from football in 2019.

Fernando Torres

The 35-year-old played for five clubs – Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Chelsea, AC Milan and Sagan Tosu – in his 18-year career, with Torres attaining legendary status at Atletico.

At club level, Torres was able to lift some important trophies. He won the Europa League with Atletico in 2017/18, along with reaching the Champions League final with Los Rojiblancos in 2015/16, while at Chelsea he lifted the FA Cup and the Champions League in 2011/12, as well as the Europa League in 2012/13.

Internationally, however, Torres will never be forgotten by the Spanish public. His deft chip over Jens Lehmann in the 2008 European Championship final was the start of Spain’s dominance, with La Roja securing their first trophy since 1964. He also scored in the 2012 European Championship final win against Italy, whilst also helping Spain lift the World Cup in 2010. In 110 games for La Roja, Torres scored 38 goals.

David Villa

The ex-Barcelona star who won the Golden Boot at the 2008 Euros and finished joint on goals with the Golden Shoe winner from the 2010 World Cup.

Villa’s club achievements include winning La Liga twice, the Champions League, the Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

After spending a season at Atletico Madrid, he left Spain for America, as he became the first player for MLS expansion side New York City FC.

He scored three goals at the 2006 World Cup, was the top scorer at Euro 2008 and earned the Silver Boot at the 2010 World Cup.

His displays for Spain and Valencia saw him named in the FIFA FIFPro World11 for 2010. He became the first Spanish player to ever reach 50 international goals and, after a brief comeback in 2017,he retired from the national team with 59 goals in 98 matches, making him Spain’s all-time top goal scorer as well as the country’s top scorer in the World Cup, with nine goals.

Julio Baptista

The former Brazil international started out at Sao Paulo before heading to Spain, where he played for Sevilla – scoring 20 goals in the 2003-04 LaLiga season – and Real Madrid. Baptista helped Arsenal win the League Cup during a loan stint in 2006-07, including an astonishing four-goal haul against Liverpool in a 6-3 quarter-final win at Anfield.

There were also spells with Roma and Malaga, as well as a return to his homeland with Cruzeiro in 2013, prior to joining Orlando City in MLS.

Bastian Schweinsteiger

The Former Bayer Munich Player who spent 17 seasons at Bayern Munich, playing in exactly Bundesliga 500 matches across all competitions and scoring 68 goals.

His honours at the club include eight titles, seven DFB-Pokal titles, a UEFA Champions League title, a FIFA Club World Cup title and a UEFA Super Cup title.

He joined Manchester United in 2015, playing sparingly for 18 months before moving to Chicago Fire.

He played for the German national team from 2004 to 2016. He is Germany’s fourth most-capped player of all time, having earned 121 caps and scored 24 goals, in a 12-year international career starting in 2004. He was selected in their squads for four European Championships and three World Cups, including their victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Following Philipp Lahm’s international retirement on 2 September 2014, Schweinsteiger was named captain of the national team. He played his last match for Germany against Finland on 31 August 2016, after which he retired from international football.

Arjen Robben

The former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich winger from football aged 35 following a trophy-laden career at club level and having earned 96 caps for his country, which included playing in a World Cup final.

Robben won 12 league titles – eight with Bayern, two at Chelsea and one each at PSV Eindhoven and Real Madrid – and was part of the Netherlands team that lost to Spain in the 2010 World Cup final in Johannesburg.

Patrice Evra

Evra, 38, has called time on a 20-year career during which he played for Nice, Monaco, Man Utd, Juventus, Marseille, West Ham and the France national side.

The left-back spent eight seasons at Old Trafford, winning five Premier League titles, the Champions League and three League Cups.

Evra also won two Serie A titles at Juventus and the French League Cup at Monaco. He won 81 international caps for France between 2004 and 2016, and was in their squad for two World Cup and three European Championship tournaments.

Xavi

A career in which he won it all – including the Qatar lottery – has been drawn to a close. A former Spain and Barcelona Midfielder, He won World Soccer Player of the Year (2010), Ballon d’Or – third place (2009, 2010, 2011), Spanish Sportsman of the Year (2009), World Cup champion (2010) Olympic silver medal (2000). Also Ranked has one of Barcelona all-time best player.

Robin van Persie

Van Persie retiring at the age of 35 is a shocking reminder of our own mortality, but it’s a testament to the man himself that he has lasted so long after so many injury problems during his early years at Arsenal.

When he was fit and firing, few strikers in the Premier League could match the Dutchman, especially during his final season in north London and debut campaign at Manchester United, when he struck 67 goals in all competitions.

Petr Cech

The former Czech Republic, Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper who won the UEFA Champions League, Europa League, FA CUP, English Premier League and other major trophies in the EPL before retiring from Soccer and proceeded to Playing Ice Hockey in his country.

By all accounts he’s a great goalkeeper; Cech has set the benchmark for all Premier League stoppers to aspire to with a record 202 clean sheets in 443 appearances in the competition.

Yet the 36-year-old still isn’t done, with the small matter of the Europa League final against his former club Chelsea still to come before the end of the season.

Andrea Barzagli

Barzagli perhaps attracted fewer plaudits than team-mates and defensive partners Georgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci, but having joined Juventus for just €600,000, the centre-back has proved an immense servant to the Italian giants.

Not only did Barzagli help inspire Wolfsburg to their one and only title, the 38-year-old will retire having also won eight Serie A crowns, four Italian Cups and the World Cup.

It’s little wonder Juve chairman Andrea Agnelli dubbed him “the best signing we ever made”.

Ashley Cole

The former England defender won 13 major titles during his 20-year career, including the 2012 Champions League with Chelsea, three Premier League titles and seven FA Cup triumphs.

38-year-old Cole, who won 107 caps for England, announced his retirement on Sky Sports, where he was appearing as a pundit for Sunday afternoon’s Premier League games.

Cole made more than 500 club appearances in a career that took in Arsenal, Crystal Palace (on loan), Chelsea, Roma, LA Galaxy and Derby County.

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bigyack-com · 5 years ago

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Sadio Mane crowned Africa’s 2019 Player of the Year - football

Liverpool star Sadio Mane was crowned on Tuesday as Africa’s 2019 Player of the Year for the first time at an awards gala in Egypt.The 27-year old Senegalese striker was up against his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah, the Egyptian who won the award the last two years, and Algerian Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City.“I am really happy and at the same time I am really proud to win this award,” said Mane at the ceremony organised by the Confederation of African Football in the Egyptian Red Sea city of Hurghada.“It’s a big day for me.” Mane became the second star from Senegal to be named African Player of the Year after El Hadji Diouf, who was the continent’s best player in 2001 and 2002.He scored 34 goals and produced 12 assists in 61 appearances in 2019, according to CAF statistics.Salah’s tally stood at 26 goals and 10 assists in 55 matches while Mahrez accounted for 14 goals and 18 assists in 48 games last year.The key Senegalese player shared the 2018/19 Premier League Golden Boot award with Salah and Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Gabon.“I would love to thank all the Senegalese people. They have been for me all the time, they push me,” said Mane, extending sincere gratitude to people from his village Bambali.Africa’s best in 2019FIFA president Gianni Infantino as well as former Argentinian player Juan Sebastian Veron and Brazil’s Cafu attended Tuesday’s event.Some of Africa’s former star players including Senegal’s Diouf, Egypt’s Ahmed Hassan and Algeria’s Rabah Madjer were also at the ceremony.Neither Salah nor Mahrez, who was playing for Manchester City, were present on Tuesday.Mane, Salah and Mahrez played for their respective countries in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.Salah’s Egypt crashed out of the competition shortly after it kicked off but Mane and Mahrez faced off in the final.Algeria claimed the title following a 1-0 victory over Senegal in Cairo.At the ceremony, other male awards went to Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi, Algerian Youcef Belaili for African Interclubs Player of the Year and Algeria’s national team.The award for the youth category was given to Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi of Borussia Dortmund.Female awardees included Nigerian Asisat Oshoala, who won the African Women’s Player of the Year prize for the fourth time.South African national team boss Desiree Ellis was also voted top coach for the second consecutive year.Cameroon’s women’s team was selected as the continent’s best after reaching the last 16 of the World Cup.The Egyptian Football Association also won the Federation of the Year award.The CAF Team of the Year featured Salah, Mane and Aubameyang as well as Mahrez and Ajax duo Andre Onana and Hakim Ziyech.Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Idrissa Gueye was included alongside Senegal team-mate Kalidou Koulibaly, with Hakimi, Joel Matip and Serge Aurier also selected. Read the full article

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shwni-blog · 5 years ago

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Andres Iniesta Signed Jersey

Andres Iniesta: The Biography & Signed Memorabilia of The Legend

This is where you can get an authentic Andres Iniesta Signed Jersey But you have to read this first... Or if you just want to go straight to the Andres Iniesta signed jerseys then Click Here For the largest part of modern football history, Spain have been one of the most dominant teams on the European national front While success at international level was hard to come by until 2008, when the country won three international titles in a row They regularly produced some of the most exciting teams at European Championship and FIFA World Cup events However, the real revolution, the catalyst for success from 2008-2012, stemmed from a generation of unique players who came through the Barcelona system As a generation reared on the wonderful possession-based style of the past, they modernised the game in the 21st century and went on to become dominant at both club and international level Chief among this golden generation of stars, though, was one of the most unassuming players of them all; Andres Iniesta Before we you read about this legend, just take a look at this short video of some of his memorable moments Andres Iniesta was Born on May 11th, 1984, in Fuentealbilla, Iniesta and joined the famous Barcelona academy at the age of 12 and has never looked back

Andres Iniesta Biography

Having made a promising start to his career with Under-17s and Under-19s European Championship victories in 2001 and 2002 The name Iniesta would not be a household name for another few years yet He made his first-team debut for his boyhood club, Barcelona, in October 2002 And by 2005 he was a regular in a title-winning squad

However, he really came to international prominence when following an injury-hit season from compatriot and friend Xavi He was a key asset in a Barcelona side that won the league and the Champions League in 2006 At this point, the beginning of the birth of a legend was en route Already well-respected by Barcelona fans, his international and European performances were beginning to draw attention from clubs all across the world Fans began to hear the name more and more around the globe, crowds chanting and waving their scarvesscarves in the air... Iniesta, Iniesta, Iniesta... Are you an Andres Iniesta fan? You could pick up some authentic, signed Andres Iniesta memorabilia today!

Not Yet In The Spotlight

His quiet and respectable demeanour, though, meant other players were always mentioned ahead of him in discussions about top players Never a regular goal scorer, much of what Iniesta done on a pitch went unseen, until the team would score By 2008, though, he came to prominence in a way that few would have thought possible Spain went to the 2008 European Championships emboldened by the growth of stars like David Silva, David Villa, Fernando Torres and, of course, Iniesta Using his cerebral connection with teammates, Iniesta became the beating heart of a Spain side that won an incredible amount in the years to come In 2008, he established himself as a household name when a 1-0 win in the Final seen Spain crowned two-times European champions By 2008-09, he enjoyed a wonderful season with his club when he rose to the very peak of his form That year, with Pep Guardiola in charge, an idol of his as a youngster, the club went through a rebirth and alongside names like Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o, the club won an incredible treble Wins such as a decisive 6-2 win at the Bernabeu, where Iniesta took centre stage, and an incredible 2-0 win in the Champions League Final against a stunning Manchester United side And united were made to look ordinary on the night as Iniesta ran the show That Final, though, would never have taken place without him Trailing to Chelsea of London in the semi-finals, Iniesta hit an incredible first-time hit from the edge of the box that screamed into the top corner Sending Barcelona through to the Final at the expense of the previous years beaten finalists Despite not being a regular goalscorer, Iniesta has a knack for scoring when he is needed most Take the 2010 World Cup for instance Where he scored the decisive goal in a near-perfect run to the final After a cagey match where very few chances were presented, Arjen Robben missing a one-on-one for opponents Netherlands aside, Iniesta broke through and scored the winner Never thinking of himself, he whipped his shirt off to show a message of support to fallen friend Dani Jarque, who had tragically died playing for local rivals Espanyol Even in the moment that culminates an entire life’s work, Iniesta found the time to pass the message on to someone else Celebrate the career of a legend with signed Andres Iniesta memorabilia!

Andres Iniesta Awards and Trophies

The player himself has been a critical part of multiple Barcelona and Spain sides, with major wins at the 2012 European Championships backed up by a double and a treble under Luis Enrique, where again Iniesta was a star cog to their wheel Now approaching the end of a truly stellar career, it’s a shame that sport never looks at the creator, only the decider Having finished 2nd in the Ballon d’Or to Lionel Messi in 2010, the prize given to the best player in the world, he’s never come closer to winning an award he almost certainly deserved While he did win the prestigious UEFA Best Player In Europe award, it would be hard to find a player of the same consistency, quality and class as the Spaniard over such a long period of time He might not be in the headlines every week, but he’s the one who makes sure that club and international teammates get to enjoy the limelight Recently, he signed a ‘contract for life’ with the team he loves so much, securing his future with them for the rest of his professional career. Andres, we salute you! Andres Iniesta has won... 8 La Liga titles 5 Copa del Rey titles 4 Champions League titles 3 FIFA Club World Cups Trio of International Trophies Iniesta can hang up his boots but hopefully not anytime soon as he’s achieved more than the majority of clubs, nevermind players! If you would like to commemorate the career of one of the most revered players of all-time, then why not take a look at this excellent range of Andres Iniesta memorabilia? var shrs_randomNum = Math.random();shrs_strRNum = shrs_randomNum.toString().substring(2,7);var shrs_empty ='';document.write(' Read the full article

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release-info · 6 years ago

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Open main menu Wikipedia Search Cristiano Ronaldo Read in another language Watch this page Edit This name uses Portuguese naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Santos and the second or paternal family name is Aveiro. Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM (European Portuguese: [kɾiʃˈtjɐnu ʁoˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Juventus and captains the Portugal national team. Often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time,[4][5][6] Ronaldo has a record-tying five Ballon d’Or awards,[note 2] the most for a European player, and is the first player to win four European Golden Shoes. He has won 28 trophies in his career, including six league titles, five UEFA Champions League titles and one UEFA European Championship. A prolific goalscorer, Ronaldo holds the records for most official goals scored in the UEFA Champions League (126), the UEFA European Championship (9), as well as those for most assists in the UEFA Champions League (34) and the UEFA European Championship (6). He has scored over 700 senior career goals for club and country. Cristiano Ronaldo Cristiano Ronaldo 2018.jpg Cristiano Ronaldo with Portugal at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Personal information Full name Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro[1] Date of birth 5 February 1985 (age 34)[2] Place of birth Funchal, Madeira, Portugal Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[3] Playing position Forward Club information Current team Juventus Number 7 Youth career 1992–1995 Andorinha 1995–1997 Nacional 1997–2002 Sporting CP Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) 2002–2003 Sporting CP B 2 (0) 2002–2003 Sporting CP 25 (3) 2003–2009 Manchester United 196 (84) 2009–2018 Real Madrid 292 (311) 2018– Juventus 31 (21) National team‡ 2001 Portugal U15 9 (7) 2001–2002 Portugal U17 7 (5) 2003 Portugal U20 5 (1) 2002–2003 Portugal U21 10 (3) 2004 Portugal U23 3 (2) 2003– Portugal 156 (85) Honours Men’s football Representing Portugal UEFA European Championship Runner-up 2004 Portugal Third place 2012 Poland & Ukraine [note 1] Winner 2016 France FIFA Confederations Cup Third place 2017 Russia * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:50, 19 May 2019 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 25 March 2019 Born and raised on the Portuguese island of Madeira, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart at age 15. He underwent an operation to treat his condition, and began his senior club career playing for Sporting CP, before signing with Manchester United at age 18 in 2003. After winning his first trophy in England, the FA Cup, during his first season there, he helped United win three successive Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League title, and a FIFA Club World Cup. By age 22, he had received Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations and at age 23, he won his first Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In 2009, Ronaldo was the subject of, what was, at the time, the most expensive association football transfer when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth €94 million (£80 million). With Real Madrid, Ronaldo won 15 trophies, including two La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey and four UEFA Champions League titles. Real Madrid’s all-time top goalscorer, Ronaldo scored a record 34 La Liga hat-tricks, including a record-tying eight hat-tricks in the 2014–15 season[note 3] and is the only player to reach 30 goals in six consecutive La Liga seasons. After joining Madrid, Ronaldo finished runner-up for the Ballon d’Or three times, behind Lionel Messi, his perceived career rival, before winning back-to-back Ballons d’Or in 2013 and 2014. After winning consecutive Champions League titles, Ronaldo secured back-to-back Ballons d’Or again in 2016 and 2017. A historic third consecutive Champions League followed, making Ronaldo the first player to win the trophy five times. In 2018, he signed for Juventus in a transfer worth an initial €100 million; the highest ever paid by an Italian club and the highest fee ever paid for a player over 30 years old, winning the Serie A and the Supercoppa Italiana in his first season. A Portuguese international, Ronaldo was named the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation in 2015. He made his senior debut in 2003 at age 18, and has since earned over 150 caps, including appearing and scoring in eight major tournaments, becoming Portugal’s most capped player and his country’s all-time top goalscorer. He scored his first international goal at Euro 2004 and helped Portugal reach the final of the competition. He assumed full captaincy in July 2008, leading Portugal to their first-ever triumph in a major tournament by winning Euro 2016, and received the Silver Boot as the second-highest goalscorer of the tournament, before becoming the highest European international goalscorer of all-time two years later.[7] One of the most marketable athletes in the world, he was ranked the world’s highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2016 and 2017 and as the world’s most famous athlete by ESPN in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Early life Club career International career Player profile Outside football Personal life Career statistics Honours and achievements See also References Further reading External links Last edited 6 hours ago by Ahecht Wikipedia Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Terms of UsePrivacyDesktop #sports #Football #hot#bio#lifestyle#Ronaldo http://bit.ly/2M6PoAD

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mk11thelegend · 8 years ago

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Behind the World Cup record: Miroslav Klose

The events that unfolded at Belo Horizonte’s Estadio Mineirao on 8 July 2014 were like no other in the history of the beautiful game. If it were a screenplay, it would have won an Oscar.

Decades from now, there will be football fans across the globe who can still remember exactly where they were on the evening Germany beat Brazil 7-1 in the semi-final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. This remarkable, breathtaking encounter even broke new ground in the long and eventful history of the World Cup by becoming the highest semi-final defeat ever inflicted in the competition, earning the nickname Mineiraço [Shock of the Mineirao] among Brazilian fans.

The eventual champions’ journey to victory that evening began to gain momentum when Miroslav Klose scored his 16th World Cup goal to make it 2-0. In doing so, the striker surpassed the previous record held by Brazil’s Ronaldo, who was watching on from the stands, and added another important footnote to his country’s illustrious place in the history books. "It’s an outstanding achievement, I’m delighted for him," Germany coach Joachim Low said after the match.

The player The man nicknamed Miro began his professional career with Kaiserslautern 16 years ago and made his international debut just a year later. After making a name for himself with Die Roten Teufel, Klose won the DFB League Cup with Werder Bremen and ended the season as the Bundesliga’s top goalscorer before moving to Bayern Munich and collecting two German championship titles, two DFB Cups, a DFB League Cup and a DFB Supercup. In 2011, he signed for Lazio, where he added the Coppa Italia to his extensive collection of silverware.

The 38-year-old helped Germany to their fourth World Cup title at Brazil 2014, having previously finished as runner-up and second-highest goalscorer at Korea/Japan 2002. While he and his team-mates had to settle for third place on home turf four years later, Klose was awarded the adidas Golden Boot as tthe highest-scoring player at the tournament. He and Germany finished in third place once again in South Africa in 2010. The world-class striker also represented his country at UEFA EURO 2004, 2008 and 2012, even helping them to reach the final against Spain in 2008.

"Lifting the Trophy in Brazil was the fulfilment of a childhood dream for me. I cannot think of a better time to bring the international chapter of my career to a close." In August 2014, Klose retired from international football with these words after winning 137 caps and scoring 71 goals for his country. He finally hung up his boots for good in November 2016.

The record By scoring his 16th World Cup goal against A Seleção, Klose became the World Cup’s sole record goalscorer ahead of Ronaldo (15) and compatriot Gerd Muller (14). "There’s no question that it’s something very special for me,” the striker said after the match. “You don’t experience things like today very often and it’s not easy to put in a performance like that in a World Cup semi-final."

Klose’s grand total of 19 goals at major international tournaments is a record for a European player [Gerd Muller scored 18 – editor’s note]. He played a total of 24 World Cup matches, a total that also places him near the top of the all-time tournament appearances list ahead of Paolo Maldini (23). Only fellow countryman Lothar Matthaus (25) has stepped onto the pitch at the world’s biggest football tournament more often – although when it comes to knockout matches, Klose’s total of 14 games places him ahead of both Matthaus and Cafu.

This popular figure has never been comfortable in the spotlight – but on that remarkable, record-breaking evening in July 2014, accompanied by goalkeeping coach Andreas Kopke, he was the first to step back out onto the pitch to celebrate with the German fans. Counting down from five to one, he triggered a Mexican wave that travelled at least part of the way around the otherwise deserted Estadio Mineirao.

Even when making history, Klose’s unassuming manner never wavered when he paid tribute to the player whose tally he ultimately surpassed. "For me, Ronaldo is one of the best ever," he said after equalling the record. The Brazilian was similarly gracious on Twitter, saying: "Welcome to the club, Klose. I can imagine how happy you must be right now." Regardless of who scored the most goals, both men will always be great champions.

Klose stopped by the FIFA World Football Museum in Zurich earlier in 2016 to relive his record-breaking tournament.

Source: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2016/m=12/news=behind-the-world-cup-record-miroslav-klose-2861974.html

#Miroslav Klose

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365footballorg-blog · 6 years ago

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Major League Soccer’s biggest stars named to 2018 MLS Best XI

November 11, 20183:15PM EST

Major League Soccer’s biggest stars named to 2018 MLS Best XI

Best XI features seven first-time selections, while

Almirón, Marshall, Martínez and Piatti make repeat appearances

NEW YORK (Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018) – Major League Soccer today revealed the 2018 MLS Best XI, recognizing the league’s top players at each position as determined by media, MLS players and MLS technical staff. The 11 players named to the Best XI hail from eight different countries and represent some of the league’s most exciting and accomplished talent comprised of international stars, breakout players and top newcomers to the league. Eight different MLS clubs are represented by this year’s Best XI squad.

2018 MLS Best XI

Goalkeeper: Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew SC)

Defenders: Kemar Lawrence (New York Red Bulls), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Chad Marshall (Seattle Sounders FC)

Midfielders: Luciano Acosta (D.C. United), Miguel Almirón (Atlanta United), Ignacio Piatti (Montreal Impact), Carlos Vela (Los Angeles Football Club)

Forwards: Zlatan Ibrahimović (LA Galaxy), Josef Martínez (Atlanta United), Wayne Rooney (D.C. United)

Video soundbytes from the Best XI are available HERE.

The 2018 Allstate MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Zack Steffen suits up between the posts on the Best XI after recording the eighth-longest shutout streak in league history this season. Steffen has emerged as a future star for the U.S. Men’s National Team, appearing in six matches since making his debut in January 2018.

Manning the Best XI back line are three standout defenders who led their clubs to postseason appearances. The 2018 MLS Defender of the Year Aaron Long emerged with the U.S. National Team following a breakout season for the New York Red Bulls. The 26-year-old Long is joined by Jamaican National Team and Red Bulls teammate Kemar Lawrence, who also helped New York to the best regular season in MLS history with a league-record 71 points. Rounding out the defense is Seattle Sounders FC defender Chad Marshall, who makes his fourth appearance on the Best XI squad after helping Seattle tie an MLS record with its 10th consecutive appearance in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.

All five 2018 Landon Donovan MLS MVP finalists compose a talented midfield and forward group on the Best XI squad. Los Angeles Football Club standout Carlos Vela helped the club to the best-ever regular season by an expansion club, while also starring for Mexico at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Ignacio Piatti of the Montreal Impact makes his second appearance on the Best XI squad after an MLS career-high 29 combined goals and assists. Also in the midfield is 24-year-old Luciano Acosta, who finished second in the league with 19 assists for a resurgent D.C. United squad. Rounding out the group is Atlanta United’s Miguel Almirón, the 2017 MLS Newcomer of the Year winner who paced the league’s highest scoring team with 12 goals and 14 assists.

Atlanta United teammate and 2018 Golden Boot winner Josef Martínez headlines a talented trio of forwards after shattering the MLS single-season scoring record with 31 goals. Joining him on the Best XI is world icon and LA Galaxy forward Zlatan Ibrahimović, who recorded the third ever 20-goal, 10-assist season in MLS history. Rounding out the talented group is England’s all-time leading goalscorer Wayne Rooney, who revitalized D.C. United with his midseason arrival, leading the club from bottom of the league to fourth in the Eastern Conference behind his 19 combined goals and assists in a mere 18 games started.

Seven of the players named to the Best XI are first-time selections, with Almirón, Martínez and Piatti making their second appearances, and Marshall making his fourth appearance.

2018 MLS Best XI Bios:

Zack Steffen | Goalkeeper | Columbus Crew SC | Nationality: USA | Born: April 2, 1995

In his second full season with Columbus, the 23-year-old Steffen won the Allstate MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award after registered a career-high 10 shutouts and helping the club to a fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. From April 28-July 13 of this season, Steffen recorded the eighth-longest shutout streak in MLS history with a career-high 525 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal. Steffen has emerged as the future of the U.S. Men’s National Team, making six appearances at goalkeeper for the U.S. since receiving his first cap in January 2018. This is Steffen’s first MLS Best XI selection.

Kemar Lawrence | Defender | New York Red Bulls | Nationality: Jamaica | Born: September 17, 1992

Lawrence paced a New York defense that allowed a league low 33 goals this season en route to posting the best season in MLS history with a record 71 points. Originally discovered via the inaugural MLS Caribbean Combine in 2014, Lawrence recorded a career-high 28 games played in his fourth season with the Red Bulls. With more than 40 caps for the Jamaica Men’s National Team, Lawrence has starred in the Copa America Centenario and in Concacaf Gold Cups, being named to the 2017 Gold Cup Best XI. This is Lawrence’s first MLS Best XI selection.

Aaron Long | Defender | New York Red Bulls | Nationality: USA | Born: October 12, 1992

Long experienced a breakout 2018 season, winning MLS Defender of the Year and earning his first All-Star Game selection. The 26-year-old defender helped New York register the best season in MLS history with a record 71 points, while the club’s 33 goals allowed were the fewest in the league. Long developed through the Red Bulls’ USL team, earning the league’s Defender of the Year in 2016, before emerging as a starter for New York in 2017. This is Long’s first MLS Best XI selection.

Chad Marshall | Defender | Seattle Sounders FC | Nationality: USA | Born: August 22, 1984

A three-time MLS Defender of the Year winner (2008, 2009, 2014), Marshall shined for Seattle this season, helping the club finish second in the Western Conference with the second-stingiest defense in the league. Marshall tied an MLS career-high with four goals scored to go along with one assist in 30 regular season matches. The hulking defender has 11 caps for the United States Men’s National Team. This is Marshall’s fourth selection to the MLS Best XI (2008, 2009, 2014, 2018).

Luciano Acosta | Midfielder | D.C. United | Nationality: Argentina | Born: May 31, 1994

Acosta experienced a breakout season for D.C. United, helping the club to an incredible second-half turnaround, registering career-highs with 10 goals and 17 assists, the latter ranking second in MLS. A product of Argentine club Boca Juniors famed academy, Acosta helped D.C. United to a 9-2-5 record during matches where he recorded a goal or an assist this season. This is the first MLS Best XI selection for the 24-year-old Acosta.

Miguel Almirón | Midfielder | Atlanta United | Nationality: Paraguay | Born: February 10, 1994

A member of the Paraguay National Team, Almirón starred for his country in the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup before breaking out in 2016 at the Copa America Centenario. The 24-year-old had an impressive first season, recording nine goals and 14 assists, for which he was named 2017 MLS Newcomer of the Year. This season, Almirón scored an MLS career-high 12 goals to go along with 14 assists. This is Almirón’s second MLS Best XI selection (2017, 2018).

Ignacio Piatti | Midfielder | Montreal Impact | Nationality: Argentina | Born: February 4, 1985

The Montreal Impact star scored 16 goals along with an MLS career-high 13 assists this season. A model of consistency, Piatti recorded 17 goals and six assists in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons. Piatti has made the MLS All-Star team each of the last three seasons (2016-2018). This is the second MLS Best XI selection for Piatti (2016, 2018).

Carlos Vela | Midfielder | Los Angeles Football Club | Nationality: Mexico | Born: March 1, 1989

In his debut MLS season, Vela helped LAFC to the most points ever by an expansion club behind his 14 goals and 13 assists, ranking as one of 11 players across the league to register double digits in each category. A crucial member of the Mexico National Team, Vela has played in two World Cups (2010, 2018) and has won the Concacaf Gold Cup on two occasions. Before coming to LAFC, Vela played for such teams as Arsenal and Real Sociedad.

Zlatan Ibrahimović | Forward | LA Galaxy | Nationality: Sweden | Born: October 3, 1981

Signing with the Galaxy earlier this year, Ibrahimović stormed into the league with two late goals during his LA Galaxy debut on March 31. For 2018, he tallied 22 goals and 10 assists, becoming only the third player in league history to record a 20-goal, 10-assist season. His 32 combined goals and assists this season tie for the sixth highest total in MLS annals. Ibrahimović has won title with European giants including FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan, among others. Sweden’s all-time leading goal scorer with 62 goals in 116 games, Ibrahimović has participated in two FIFA World Cups (2002, 2006).

Josef Martínez | Forward | Atlanta United | Nationality: Venezuela | Born: May 19, 1993

Josef Martínez had a wondrous 2018 season in which he shattered the MLS single-season scoring record with 31 goals, winning the Golden Boot and helping Atlanta United to a second-place finish in the Eastern Conference. In only two seasons in the league, Martínez has broken the MLS career hat trick mark, scoring three goals in six different instances. The 37 combined goals and assists by Martínez this season are the second most in MLS history. A member of the Venezuela Men’s National Team, the 25-year-old Martínez makes his second appearance on the MLS Best XI squad.

Wayne Rooney | Forward | D.C. United | Nationality: England | Born: October 24, 1985

Arriving to MLS after a midseason transfer, Rooney pushed D.C. United from the bottom of the league to fourth place in the Eastern Conference behind 12 goals and seven assists in 20 games played, helping the club to a 12-4-4 record in matches he played during the regular season. Rooney ranks as the second all-time leading scorer in the English Premier League history with 208 goals with both Everton and Manchester United. A participant in three FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014), Rooney is England’s all-time leading scorer with 53 goals for the national team.

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Major League Soccer’s biggest stars named to 2018 MLS Best XI was originally published on 365 Football

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ultrasfcb-blog · 6 years ago

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World Cup 2018: Everything you need to know in seven charts

2018 Fifa World Cup on the BBC Host: Russia Dates: 14 June – 15 July Live: Coverage across BBC TV, BBC Radio and BBC Sport website with further coverage on Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app.

Are Germany really that good at penalties? How important is home advantage? And which Mexican defender has the same World Cup scoring record as Cristiano Ronaldo?

As World Cup fever sets in, we answer all that and more…

1. Who has won the World Cup?

Brazil are top of the table, with five tournament wins. Their last was in 2002. They hosted in 2014, but their home tournament came to a crashing end with a 7-1 semi-final humiliation by Germany.

No country outside Europe or South America has won the tournament, and victories for Germany, Spain and Italy in the past three finals mean Europe leads with 11 victories to South America’s nine.

2. Who has scored the most goals?

German goal machine Miroslav Klose tops the chart with 16 across four World Cups. He retired in 2016, but will be going to Russia as a member of his country’s backroom staff.

Brazilian Ronaldo is second with 15 goals, eight of which came in their 2002 triumph.

France’s Just Fontaine holds the record for the most goals in a single tournament. He scored 13 in six games in the 1958 tournament.

3. What about current players?

Of the players to have scored 10 or more World Cup goals, only Germany’s Thomas Muller will be heading to Russia as a player.

To join his compatriot Klose at the top of the list, Muller would have to beat his previous record of five goals in a single tournament.

Colombia forward James Rodriguez won the Golden Boot last time out, so a repeat performance this time will put him among the best.

Rafael Marquez, the only defender on the list, is going into his fifth World Cup for Mexico with the same scoring record as Cristiano Ronaldo.

4. Teams aren’t shooting as much as they used to

The last World Cup was a record low in terms of shots per game since at least 1966 – the first year football experts Opta hold data for.

Despite this, the average of 2.7 goals in each 2014 game was the highest since Spain 1982.

There appears to have been a decline in the number of shots from long range. A good example is comparing the last World Cup final with the first one for which Opta has shots data – England’s triumph in 1966.

In the 1966 final there were twice as many shots from outside the box than inside, but of the 20 shots in the 2014 final, more were taken from inside the penalty area.

5. England may struggle but the Premier League dominates

Since that win in 1966, England have only got past the quarter-finals once. But that hasn’t stopped other countries filling their squads with players from the English leagues.

Even with players such as Leroy Sane, Marcos Alonso and David Luiz left at home, the Premier League still supplied more players than any other.

There were 130 World Cup players registered to clubs from England’s top three leagues when the squads were announced, compared with 81 from Spain and 67 from German sides. Uruguay, Panama, Saudi Arabia and Russia are the only countries that have not called up any players based in England.

England is also the one country where all 23 players in the squad are from teams in the same league. Sweden and Senegal are at the other end of the spectrum – they’re the only two countries without any players from their local league.

6. How does the host team do?

No-one in Brazil will need reminding of the two times they’ve hosted the World Cup. Losing the title to Uruguay in 1950 and going out 7-1 to Germany in 2014 were national embarrassments.

But most other countries perform better when they’re boosted by home support. Russia will hope they can follow the trend and get out of their group alongside one of Uruguay, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

If they do, South Africa will remain as the only host nation to have been eliminated in the first round.

7. Paying the penalty

No World Cup report would be complete without it ending on penalties.

Only one German has ever missed from the spot at a World Cup, and they’ve won all four shootouts they’ve been in. Since then they’ve scored 15 in a row in a record dating back to 1982.

And in a surprise to no-one, England are the worst team in World Cup penalty shootout history, having lost three without winning any… yet.

Italy have also been eliminated in the most cruel way three times, including the 1994 final when star player Roberto Baggio famously blasted the ball over the bar. But their 2006 final win against France probably went some way to repairing Italian feelings about the format.

Graphic design by Joy Roxas and Sandra Rodriguez Chillida

Methodolody

For the ‘Home team tends to get more points’ graphic, the data we’ve taken from Fifa counts the result as a draw if a knockout tie was resolved on penalties and as a win or loss if the result happened in extra time. We’ve awarded three points for a win and one for a draw in knockout games as well as group-stage ones.

The ‘average’ is just from those countries that have hosted tournaments, rather than an average across all World Cup competitors in history.

For the ‘homegrown talent’ graphic we included the 11 countries that had the highest number of players playing in their home countries. The clubs that players are associated to is taken from the official list produced by Fifa on 4 June.

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This Week in MLS - June 25, 2018

Kelvin Kuo-USA Today Sports Images

June 25, 20182:48PM EDT

This Week in MLS – June 25, 2018

Mexico’s MLS trio to face Sweden’s Svensson in final World Cup group stage match

MLS Cascadia clash to follow World Cup Group Stage on FOX

Timbers Goalkeeper Publishing “Nursery Rhymes with a Sports Emphasis”

2018 MLS All-Star Fan XI heavy on World Cup, National Team talent, League award winners

MLS Referees shining in World Cup competition

MLS Week 18: Match Notes

Mexico’s MLS trio to face Sweden’s Svensson in final World Cup group stage match

Mexico and Sweden have produced two of the most dramatic moments at the 2018 FIFA World Cup with MLS players featuring for both sides in the tournament’s thrilling play. The two nations will face off in a decisive final match of group play on Wednesday (10 a.m. ET, FOX / Telemundo), with both sides needing a positive result to secure advancement into the Round of 16. An MLS player from either country is guaranteed to advance into the next round, while both countries could advance pending results of Germany’s match against South Korea kicking off simultaneously.

Los Angeles Football Club midfielder Carlos Vela has shined in the World Cup, starting both of Mexico’s matches and scoring the first goal in a 2-1 victory over South Korea with a penalty kick in the 26th minute. Vela subbed out in the 77th minute in favor of LA Galaxy midfielder Giovani dos Santos, who appeared in his third World Cup and helped Mexico close out South Korea to remain perfect in the tournament. LA Galaxy midfielder Jonathan dos Santos, meanwhile, could see his first World Cup action against Sweden.

The Mexican MLS trio will face off against Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Gustav Svensson, who came off the bench to help secure a 1-0 victory over South Korea in the team’s opening match. Sweden narrowly upset Germany on Saturday only for the reigning World Cup champions to strike back with a stoppage-time winner.

Svensson’s Sweden squad will have to hold off a Mexico attack that has been spearheaded by Vela, leading to consecutive World Cup wins for the first time since 2002. A win or draw would guarantee first place in the group for Mexico, while a multi-goal win would place Sweden in prime position to advance to the Round of 16 for the first time since the 2006 World Cup, its last time in the tournament.

MLS Cascadia clash to follow World Cup Group Stage on FOX

World Cup action precedes one of the most storied rivalries in MLS with the 101st all-time meeting between Cascadia foes Seattle Sounders FC and the Portland Timbers at CenturyLink Field on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET on the FOX broadcast network.

Dating back to 1975, this rivalry has had seen some thrillers, and notably some recent magic from Sounders FC forward Clint Dempsey, who last week tied Fredy Montero for the club’s MLS goal-scoring record. Currently sitting on 47 Seattle finishes, Dempsey’s rivalry magic began with a 2014 hat-trick that produced a 4-4 draw off of a down-to-the-wire, 87th-minute finish that sealed the dramatic comeback. Dempsey has a knack for scoring in the rivalry, with his nine goals against Portland over the last four seasons (2014-2017) accounting for more goals than against any other club in his MLS career.

Sounders FC hold an all-time 9-6-6 advantage in addition to an undefeated 7-0-3 home record over the Timbers in MLS heads-to-heads. However, Portland is on a hot streak of 11 games unbeaten in all competitions and nine in MLS regular season action. For a matchup that has drawn four of the five largest home crowds in Sounders FC club history, will Dempsey fuel the resurgence for Sounders FC, or could the Timbers extend their league-leading unbeaten streak?

Timbers Goalkeeper Publishing “Nursery Rhymes with a Sports Emphasis”

Affectionately known as ‘Dadttinella’ to the Timbers Army, Timbers Goalkeeper Jeff Attinella, who has served as the starting goalkeeper for the last eight of Portland’s nine-game MLS unbeaten streak, is expressing his love for sports off the field as well… as an author of children’s books.

The passionate sports fan was looking for a way to capture top sports moments in a format that would resonate with his 18-month-old daughter Remy Rose and as a result, It Had to Be Told was launched.

“I wanted to create an avenue to share what I thought were sports stories that shouldn’t be forgotten,” told The Oregonian in a recent interview. “I’m just trying to tie it all together so that when I’m reading to my daughter, it’s stuff that hopefully we can both connect with. These are stories that I really love and hopefully she really loves in the future.”

And if this story sounds familiar, former MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Kevin Hartman also penned a children’s book during his playing career called “Boots Saves the Day” to use while he worked with children’s literacy programs in Los Angeles.

As Attinella continues to write his ‘nursery rhymes with a sports emphasis’ his focus on the field has led to a career-high four clean sheets this season while posting 31 saves, eight in last night’s match against Atlanta United alone.

Will the Timbers winning streak continue this week against Cascadia rival Seattle Sounders FC? With Attinella and the Timbers traveling to Seattle to face a Sounders side that is desperate for points it will be a tough task… maybe one he’ll write a book about after.

2018 MLS All-Star Fan XI heavy on World Cup talent, League award winners

Major League Soccer announced the 2018 MLS All-Star Fan XI presented by Target on Monday, with the 11 players holding considerable World Cup experience in an impressive array of national team experience among the group. Among the standouts set to face Juventus on August 1 in Atlanta include 10 players with national team experience, five of whom have played at a FIFA World Cup. Los Angeles Football Club boasts Mexico’s Carlos Vela (2010, 2018 World Cup) along with Belgium’s Laurent Ciman (2010). Across town, LA Galaxy’s Zlatan Ibrahimović preps to face his former Juventus team with two World Cups under his belt (2002, 2006), while Sporting Kansas City’s Graham Zusi (2014) and Atlanta United’s Brad Guzan (2010, 2014) both represented the U.S. Men’s National Team on the world’s biggest stage.

Along with the World Cup veterans are current national team players Miguel Almirón (Paraguay), Josef Martínez (Venezuela) and Darlington Nagbe (United States). Ezequiel Barco is the only player in the Fan XI to not have national team experience, but the 19-year-old Atlanta United midfielder has eight caps for Argentina’s U-20 squad.

While the Fan XI players have shined for their national teams, it’s what they’ve done with their MLS clubs that garnered the honor to play in the All-Star Game. Among the many accolades accomplished by the group include the reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP Diego Valeri, the 2017 MLS Newcomer of the Year in Almirón and the current Golden Boot leader in Martínez. Ciman, meanwhile, has scored three direct free kick goals this season, fourth-most in a single MLS season and the most ever in one season by a defender.

MLS Referees shining in World Cup competition

With more FIFA World Cup officials than any other league world-wide, MLS and Professional Referee Organization (PRO) have five officials achieving the global standard on the world’s biggest stage.

Mark Geiger leads the group with seven World Cup assignments in Russia, including his first call from the middle during Portugal v. Morocco on June 20. His eighth appearance will come from the center on Wednesday during the Group F match between South Korea and Germany, where he will be joined by MLS Assistant Referees Joe Fletcher and Frank Anderson on the sidelines.

MLS Referee Jair Marrufo also served as the man in the middle, leading the officiating team during the Belgium v. Tunisia match on June 23 that featured MLS Assistant Referees Fletcher, Corey Rockwell, and Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Geiger.

Since the start of the tournament, MLS officials have overseen 11 games in various roles, and six games have featured two or more MLS officials. A list of all World Cup assignments for MLS officials can be found here.

MLS Week 18: Match Notes

Friday, June 29, 2018

Minnesota United FC vs. FC Dallas, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Minnesota United suffered a second consecutive defeat, falling 3-2 to the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday evening. Christian Ramírez scored his fourth goal of the season and his third in the past five matches.

FC Dallas saw their four-game winning streak, and seven-game undefeated run, come to a crashing halt, falling 3-0 to the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on Saturday evening.

The teams met twice in Minnesota United FC’s inaugural campaign, each winning on their home ground. FC Dallas won 2-0 when the clubs first met on April 8 at Toyota Stadium; MNUFC returned the favor with a 4-1 victory on Sept. 23 at TCF Bank Stadium.

Saturday, June 30, 2018

Seattle Sounders FC vs. Portland Timbers, 4:30 p.m. ET (FOX)

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Sebastian Blanco scored the game’s lone goal as the Timbers ground out a 1-0 victory on May 13 at Providence Park, in the 100th meeting all-time between the clubs.

Clint Dempsey scored his first goal of the season as Sounders FC reached a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire on Saturday evening at CenturyLink Field. It was Dempsey’s 47th goal for Sounders FC, tying him with Fredy Montero for the club’s all-time lead in its MLS history.

The Timbers extended their league undefeated streak to nine games with a third consecutive draw, reaching a 1-1 draw with Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Since their first meeting in 1975 in the old North American Soccer League, Seattle has won 50 times and Portland has won 36, with 14 draws. In Major League Soccer league play, Sounders FC have won nine matches, the Timbers have won six, and six have been draws. The Timbers won both meetings in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

Sounders FC are now 7-0-3 all-time at home in regular season games against Portland – though the Timbers did win there in the 2013 MLS Cup Playoffs.

The Timbers have won four of the past five league meetings in Portland, with one draw, over the last two seasons. Sounders FC last won in Portland in 2014. When the Timbers took a 4-1 win on June 28, 2015, the three-goal victory equaled Portland’s largest margin of victory against the Sounders since 1977.

Atlanta United vs. Orlando City SC, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Atlanta United extended their undefeated streak to five games with a third draw in that time, reaching a 1-1 result with the Portland Timbers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Orlando City SC saw their MLS club-record losing streak extended to seven games, falling 2-0 to the Montréal Impact in the back end of their home-and-home series Saturday evening at Orlando City Stadium.

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Josef Martínez and Ezequiel Barco each scored goals in the first half as Atlanta United took a 2-1 win on May 13 at Orlando City Stadium, putting an end to Orlando City’s six-game winning streak.

The teams met three times a year ago in Atlanta United’s inaugural campaign – and the expansion side did not lose to their neighbors to the south. ATLUTD claimed one victory – a 1-0 win in the first meeting between the teams, July 21 at Orlando City Stadium.

The teams played to a pair of draws, both in Atlanta – a 1-1 result on July 29 at Bobby Dodd Stadium, then a 3-3 deadlock on Sept. 16 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Montreal Impact vs. Sporting Kansas City, 7:30 p.m. ET (TVA Sports, TSN, ESPN+)

The Impact won their second consecutive game against Orlando City, winning both sides of their home-and-home series around the World Cup recess, claiming a 2-0 victory at Orlando City Stadium on Saturday evening.

Ignacio Piatti scored his eighth goal of the season, his third in the past two games. The Impact have scored 14 goals since April 21; Piatti has netted seven of those. Montréal scored five goals in the two wins vs. Orlando City – three from Piatti, and two via own goals.

Sporting extended their undefeated streak to seven games, coming back from two goals down for a 3-2 win against the Houston Dynamo at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday evening. Sporting extended their home undefeated streak to eight games.

Daniel Salloí scored a goal and added a pair of assists; of the past 10 goals Sporting have scored, since May 5, Salloí has played a part in six (four goals, two assists).

Sporting have a six-game undefeated streak alive in the series. The teams have reached draws each of the past two seasons, including a 1-1 result in last year’s lone meeting, June 10 at Children’s Mercy Park, Sporting having won the previous four games.

SKC has won three of the five games all-time in the series in Montréal. The last victories in the series by the Impact both came in 2013, winning once at each ground.

Columbus Crew SC vs. Real Salt Lake, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Crew SC suffered a second consecutive defeat on the heels of an eight-game undefeated run, falling 2-0 to the Los Angeles Football Club at Banc of California Stadium on Saturday evening. Crew SC have been shut out at the attacking end in consecutive games for the first time this season.

RSL had their six-game home winning streak put to an end, but still stretched their undefeated run at Rio Tinto Stadium to seven games, following their 1-1 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday evening.

The teams met once a year ago, a 2-2 draw on July 29 at Rio Tinto Stadium. It was the second consecutive draw between the teams in Sandy, with Real undefeated in the past three meetings between the clubs on their home ground.

RSL have not won in Columbus in league play since 2006, the Crew having won seven of the past eight regular-season meetings there, including a wild 4-3 victory on May 28, 2016, in the last meeting at Mapfre Stadium. Real did win the second leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series between the teams in 2009 in Columbus, on their way to an MLS Cup title.

New England Revolution vs. D.C. United, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

The Revolution return to action after more than two weeks away from league play, extending their undefeated streak to five games in their last match, a 2-2 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium on June 13. Diego Fagundez scored a goal and added an assist; he has two goals and three assists in the last five matches.

D.C. United also return to play after more than two weeks away in MLS action, seeing their league winless run extended to three games with a second draw in that time last time out, playing to a wild 4-4 draw with Toronto FC on June 13 at BMO Field.

The teams have reached draws in each of the past three seasons in the lone matchups at Gillette Stadium, including a 2-2 result last April 22 in the only game in Foxborough. The Revolution have a six-game undefeated streak alive at home in the series in league play (2-0-4); United’s last win there came in 2012.

United won the final five league meetings at RFK Stadium between the MLS Original clubs, including a 1-0 win last Aug. 26 in the final matchup on East Capitol Street.

The teams have also met four times in the MLS Cup Playoffs, with United winning three of the four series all-time, last a 2-1 win at RFK Stadium in the Knockout Round in 2015.

Los Angeles Football Club vs. Philadelphia Union, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

LAFC won for a second consecutive match following a four-game winless run, getting two goals in the opening eight minutes on their way to a 2-0 win against Columbus Crew SC at Banc of California Stadium on Saturday evening.

Adama Diomandé scored for a third consecutive match, his fourth goal over that span, while Laurent Ciman scored his third goal this season – all directly from free kicks, the most direct free kick goals by a defender in one season in MLS history (since records available in 2003).

The Union snapped their two-game losing slide in emphatic fashion, rolling to a 4-0 win against Vancouver Whitecaps FC at Talen Energy Stadium on Saturday evening. Borek Dockal netted a pair of goals, his first multiple-goal game in MLS.

The teams are meeting for the first time in LAFC’s inaugural MLS season.

Chicago Fire vs. New York City FC, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

The Fire extended their undefeated streak to four games with a third consecutive draw, reaching a 1-1 result with Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field on Saturday evening.

Aleksandar Katai scored his sixth goal of the season, his seventh consecutive game with either a goal and/or an assist, tying the Fire club record (Ante Razov, 2000).

NYCFC extended their undefeated streak to three games with a second win in that time, remaining undefeated at Yankee Stadium this season following a come-from-behind 2-1 win vs. Toronto FC on Sunday afternoon. Jo Inge Berget scored both NYCFC goals.

NYCFC are undefeated in the past six meetings between the teams, since the Fire won 1-0 on April 24, 2015 in their first ever encounter. NYCFC have won three of those six matches, with three draws.

The teams have split their three meetings at Toyota Park. The Fire won there in the first meeting in 2015, NYCFC took a victory there in the 2016 season opener, then the teams reached a 1-1 last Sept. 30 in the lone matchup in Bridgeview.

The Fire have never won at Yankee Stadium. NYCFC have won the past two meetings between the teams in the Bronx, their first home wins in the series after the first two meetings ended in draws.

San Jose Earthquakes vs. LA Galaxy, 10 p.m. ET (UniMás)

The Quakes saw their winless streak extended to seven games with a second consecutive draw, reaching a 1-1 result with Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday evening. Danny Hoesen scored his 10th goal of the season, his third goal in the last two games, and his eighth goal in the last 10 contests (since April 28).

The Galaxy return to action after two weeks away from league play, their last match a 3-0 win against Real Salt Lake at StubHub Center on June 9. Zlatan Ibrahimović scored a pair of goals, his third multiple-goal game in MLS (in 11 appearances); he has seven goals on the year.

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Romain Alessandrini scored the game’s only goal as the Galaxy claimed the victory May 25 at StubHub Center.

The Quakes have won once in Carson since 2012 – a 3-0 win on Aug. 27, 2017. The Galaxy won 4-2 last May 27 at Avaya Stadium in the last match at San Jose – just their second victory in the last 16 regular season games in northern California, across four stadiums.

Known as the California Clásico, the Galaxy and Earthquakes have met 83 times in all competitions. In regular season play, the Galaxy have won 31 times and the Quakes 22, with 14 draws, since their first meeting April 28, 1996.

The teams have met each of the last six years at Stanford Stadium, and the game has drawn crowds in excess of 50,000 fans on each occasion, drawing 50,617 last year, with an average of 50,371 for the six contests.

Sunday, July 1, 2018

Toronto FC vs. New York Red Bulls, 4:30 p.m. ET (FOX, TSN)

TFC had their three-game undefeated streak put to an end, falling 2-1 to New York City FC at Yankee Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Victor Vásquez scored his fifth goal of the season, his third in the past five games.

The Red Bulls won their second match on the trot after a three-game winless run, easing to a 3-0 win against FC Dallas at Red Bull Arena on Saturday evening. Bradley Wright-Phillips netted his 11th goal of the season, the 97th of his MLS league career, while Kaku collected his league-leading 10th assist.

TFC are undefeated in their past five home league matches vs. the Red Bulls, including a 4-2 win last Sept. 30 at BMO Field in the last meeting between the teams. The Red Bulls last won in Toronto in 2013.

The Red Bulls are now 10-2-2 all-time in home matches vs. Toronto FC. When TFC took a 2-0 win on March 6, 2016, it was the first win ever for Toronto FC at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls were 5-0-1 all-time in Harrison before the TFC win; the triumph also snapped an eight-game home undefeated streak for the Red Bulls vs. TFC (7-0-1), which began Oct. 25, 2009.

The teams also met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last year, with TFC winning on away goals after the teams tied 2-2 on aggregate. Each team won away – TFC winning 2-1 at Red Bull Arena, before the Red Bulls took a 1-0 win in Toronto in a fractious encounter.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Colorado Rapids, 7 p.m. ET (TSN, ESPN+)

Whitecaps FC saw their six-game undefeated streak put to a sudden end, falling 4-0 to the Philadelphia Union at Talen Energy Stadium on Saturday evening.

The Rapids came from behind to put an end to their club-record losing streak after eight games, getting the game-winner from Tommy Smith seven minutes deep into second-half stoppage time for a 3-2 win against Minnesota United FC at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday evening.

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Cristian Techera and Yordy Reyna each scored first-half goals as Whitecaps FC claimed a 2-1 win on June 1 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

Whitecaps FC have come away with points on each of their three trips to Commerce City, winning twice (in both 2017 and 2018) – just their second and third wins ever at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The only other Whitecaps FC win in Commerce City came in 2012.

The Rapids have not won on their past five trips to Vancouver; their last win there, April 5, 2014, was their second victory ever at BC Place, now in 10 visits all-time.

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This Week in MLS – June 25, 2018 was originally published on 365 Football

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365footballorg-blog · 6 years ago

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All you need to know about the World Cup in seven charts

Are Germany really that good at penalties? How important is home advantage? And which Mexican defender has the same World Cup scoring record as Cristiano Ronaldo?

As World Cup fever sets in, we answer all that and more…

1. Who has won the World Cup?

Brazil are top of the table, with five tournament wins. Their last was in 2002. They hosted in 2014, but their home tournament came to a crashing end with a 7-1 semi-final humiliation by Germany.

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No country outside Europe or South America has won the tournament, and victories for Germany, Spain and Italy in the past three finals mean Europe leads with 11 victories to South America’s nine.

2. Who has scored the most goals?

German goal machine Miroslav Klose tops the chart with 16 across four World Cups. He retired in 2016, but will be going to Russia as a member of his country’s backroom staff.

Brazilian Ronaldo is second with 15 goals, eight of which came in their 2002 triumph.

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France’s Just Fontaine holds the record for the most goals in a single tournament. He scored 13 in six games in the 1958 tournament.

3. What about current players?

Of the players to have scored 10 or more World Cup goals, only Germany’s Thomas Muller will be heading to Russia as a player.

To join his compatriot Klose at the top of the list, Muller would have to beat his previous record of five goals in a single tournament.

Colombia forward James Rodriguez won the Golden Boot last time out, so a repeat performance this time will put him among the best.

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Rafael Marquez, the only defender on the list, is going into his fifth World Cup for Mexico with the same scoring record as Cristiano Ronaldo.

4. Teams aren’t shooting as much as they used to

The last World Cup was a record low in terms of shots per game since at least 1966 – the first year football experts Opta hold data for.

Despite this, the average of 2.7 goals in each 2014 game was the highest since Spain 1982.

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In the 1966 final there were twice as many shots from outside the box than inside, but of the 20 shots in the 2014 final, more were taken from inside the penalty area.

5. England may struggle but the Premier League dominates

Since that win in 1966, England have only got past the quarter-finals once. But that hasn’t stopped other countries filling their squads with players from the English leagues.

Even with players such as Leroy Sane, Marcos Alonso and David Luiz left at home, the Premier League still supplied more players than any other.

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6. How does the host team do?

No-one in Brazil will need reminding of the two times they’ve hosted the World Cup. Losing the title to Uruguay in 1950 and going out 7-1 to Germany in 2014 were national embarrassments.

But most other countries perform better when they’re boosted by home support. Russia will hope they can follow the trend and get out of their group alongside one of Uruguay, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

If they do, South Africa will remain as the only host nation to have been eliminated in the first round.

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7. Paying the penalty

No World Cup report would be complete without it ending on penalties.

Only one German has ever missed from the spot at a World Cup, and they’ve won all four shootouts they’ve been in. Since then they’ve scored 15 in a row in a record dating back to 1982.

And in a surprise to no-one, England are the worst team in World Cup penalty shootout history, having lost three without winning any… yet.

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Graphic design by Joy Roxas and Sandra Rodriguez Chillida

Methodolody

For the ‘Home team tends to get more points’ graphic, the data we’ve taken from Fifa[1] counts the result as a draw if a knockout tie was resolved on penalties and as a win or loss if the result happened in extra time. We’ve awarded three points for a win and one for a draw in knockout games as well as group-stage ones.

The ‘average’ is just from those countries that have hosted tournaments, rather than an average across all World Cup competitors in history.

References

^ the data we’ve taken from Fifa (www.fifa.com)

^ official list produced by Fifa (img.fifa.com)

BBC Sport – Football

All you need to know about the World Cup in seven charts was originally published on 365 Football

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