WorldCup
17:31, 16-Jul-2018
Some numbers that help you understand 2018 FIFA World Cup
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17:05, 19-Jul-2018
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The 2018 FIFA World Cup ended on July 15 as France took their second trophy of the tournament with a 4-2 win against Croatia, a country that just entered the World Cup final for the first time in history. Six-four matches were played in the past 32 days among 32 countries at 12 stadiums in 11 cities in Russia.
According to FIFA, there were 169 goals scored in total by 110 players. England’s Harry Kane won the Golden Boot with six goals. Other than that, five scored four goals, seven made three goals, 13 had two goals, and 84 had one goal on their records. Twenty-two penalties were given to 16 teams with England and France topping the list with three for each. Australia and Sweden got two while another 12 teams received one.
Belgium scored 16 goals, ranking No.1 of the tournament, followed by France and Croatia that both made 14 goals. England was No.3 with 12 goals. The four countries also bagged the four seats of the semi-finals, which did not seem like a coincident. Russia went behind the best four with 11 goals.
England's Harry Kane won the Golden Boot with six goals. /VCG Photo
England's Harry Kane won the Golden Boot with six goals. /VCG Photo
As for disciplinary, 219 yellow and four red cards were raised. Considering the more matches a team plays, the more likely they may commit more fouls which could lead to cards. It’s no surprise that Croatia and France, the two countries in the final, received the most yellow cards with respectively 15 and 12. Belgium, Argentina and Panama followed with 11 yellow cards.
Interestingly, South Korea that has been blamed for playing “dirty” got 10 yellow cards. The number seemed normal, but since the team only played three matches, the criticism was not pointless. Saudi Arabia, Germany and Spain received the fewest yellow cards of respectively one, two and two, though two of them were knocked out during the group stage.
Croatia became a "non-stopping machine" at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. /VCG Photo
Croatia became a "non-stopping machine" at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. /VCG Photo
On offense, Croatia surpassed the most scoring Belgium and ranked No.1 on shooting attempts with 115. No.2 to No.5 were Belgium (106), Brazil (103), England (96) and France (83). Although tiki-taka teams that relied on controlling and passing the ball did not do well at this World Cup, the 32 teams made in total 49,652 passes. England, to many people’s surprises, made the most 3,336 passes of all 32 teams.
Individually, Brazil’s Neymar made the most 27 shooting attempts with only two goals. His teammate, Philippe Coutinho came in second with 22. By contrast, it only took Harry Kane 14 attempts to make six goals.
Three players from Croatia, Ivan Perisic, Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric all covered distances of more than 72 kilometers in the field, making their team a “non-stopping machine” in all seven matches they have played. Spain’s Sergio Ramos finished 485 passes, which was the most of all 736 players in Russia.