12 Things You May Not Know About 2010 World Cup

After four year-long wait, finally 2010 World Cup has arrived! National teams from 32 countries are ready for standing out to win the title. I know most of you are diehard fans of soccer, but do you know that there are some anecdotes about 2010 World Cup that you might not know? Now, let’s uncover them one by one… 1. Which country has the most fans to 2010 World Cup?

The United States! In this country, people call football “soccer” instead of “football”. However, it wouldn’t stop passion of American fans – it was reported that 160,000 tickets have been sold in the US so far.

2. Which national team comes from the smallest country among 32 competing nations?

Slovenia! With a population of just over two million, Slovenia has an amazing national team: They knocked out Russia and the Czech Republic successively in European playoffs and also will advance bravely in the upcoming matches.

3. Which team is highest scoring qualifier?

England! In European group of six, there were a total of 107 goals scored with England scoring the majority of them with 34.

4. Which team has the best defense in qualifying?

Australia! The Socceroo’s only conceded one goal in eight qualifying games.

5. Who are the highest scorers in qualifying?

Greece’s Theofanis Gekas and Chile’s Humberto Sauzo! They both scored 10 goals in qualifying.

6. Who is the oldest player?

David James! It is the third time that the 39-year-old English goalkeeper attends World Cup.

7. Who is the oldest outfielder player?

The 37-year-old veteran Cuauhtemoc Blanco from Mexico national team. He has appeared in previous World Cups for three times, which would be four if he was absent from 2006 Germany World Cup for injuries.

8. Who is the youngest player?

The 18-year-old Tommy Oar from Australia will be making debut at the World Cup in South Africa.

9. Who is the oldest coach?

The 71-year-old Otto Rehhagel has led the Greeks since the early 21st Century.

10. Who is the youngest coach?

Vladimir Weiss, the 45-year-old coach of Slovakia, played in the 1990 World Cup for Czechoslovakia.

11. Who is the tallest player?

Serbia’s Nikola Zigic at the height of 2.03m is the tallest player in the tournament.

12. Which team earned the most World Cup records?

Definitely Brazil! They have won the most World Cups with five.
They have qualified for the most tournaments, with 19 times (every tournament so far, the only country to do so).
Brazil has appeared in seven finals, the same as Germany but won five finals in comparison to Germany’s three.
Brazil’s 64 wins represent the most wins by a country.
Brazil has scored 201 goals, the most by a single country.