AS the curtain came down in the 20th edition of football’s biggest spectacle in Brazil, sports enthusiasts will recall several interesting facts about Brazil 2014.
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There are many records that can be drawn from the final match between Germany and Argentina. Germany’s triumph shows that it is the only European nation whose language is not officially spoken in the Western Hemisphere.
Spain, England, Portugal (out in the first round) and even Holland, which had colonies there, did not make it to the final. Three of the semi-finalists have female presidents, except Holland, which is a monarchy.
Other interesting statistics:
A total of 2,457 goals were scored (including the qualifying rounds of 816 matches that started on June 15, 2011, when Belize beat Monteserrat 5-2) in this 20th edition;
JAPAN was the first to qualify (on June 4, 2013) and the last was Uruguay (Nov 20, 2013);
GERMANY’S win now totalled four, equalling Italy’s record, and is only one behind Brazil’s five;
GERMANY now leads Brazil in eight finals to Brazil’s seven;
GERMANY has appeared in 13 semi-finals as against Brazil’s 11. Italy is third with eight;
BRAZIL remains the only country to appear in all 20 editions. Germany is next with 18, followed by Argentina (16);
GERMANY’S win in Brazil is the first for a European country in South America;
HOLLAND is the only country to appear in five semi-finals without winning the Cup (1974,1978,1998, 2010 and 2014);
MIROSLAV Klose’s 24 appearances since 2002 is a record. He also holds the record of having scored 16 goals;
GERMANY played 106 matches in its 18 World Cup appearances as opposed to Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), which only played once (in 1938);
THE oldest player to appear in a World Cup final is Faryd Mondragon (at 43 years old and three days) of Colombia on June 24, 2014 when they played against Japan;
THE 171 goals equalled the 1998 total — the most scored in a single edition;
JULIO Cesar of Brazil conceded 14 goals, the highest in one tournament;
A TOTAL of 3,429,873 spectators paid to watch the 64 matches in Brazil;
OF the 171 goals scored in 2014, 74 were from players’ right foot or knee, 63 from the left, 32 from heading, one from the abdomen and one from the goalkeeper’s left hand (own goal — shown on video for the first time;
BRAZIL’S 1-7 defeat to Germany was their first home defeat in 39 years in competitions on home soil. In five days, they conceded 10 goals — their worst ever in a World Cup;
THE 100th of 2014 was scored by Neymar when Brazil beat Cameroon 4-1;
GERMANY’S record of 224 goals (since 1934) is three more than Brazil’s 221 (from 1930);
THE goal by Muller in Germany’s win over Brazil was the 2,000th goal of Germany in international matches; and,
SIXTY years ago (in 1954), Austria came back from 0-3 down to beat Switzerland 7-5 in a World Cup encounter.
Peter Lim Ah Kor, Teluk Intan, Perak
Source : nst.com.my
