World Cup Facts


Fact #23

U.S. National Team coach Bob Bradley has announced his 30 man pre-World Cup training roster. Bradley will then pick the 23 World Cup players on June 2 from this 30-man roster. To see the complete 30-man roster, visit U.S. Soccer.

Fact #22

Find different facts to get you ready for this summer’s World Cup in South Africa.

Former U.S. National Team coach Bora Milutinovic is the only man to coach five different countries at the World Cup history. He coached the U.S. during the 1994 World Cup.

Fact #21

All six confederations will be represented in 2010. The last time this occurred was in Spain in 1982 when New Zealand qualified for the finals. At the time, Australia was a member of Oceania. The Aussies switched confederation two years ago and are now part of Asia.

Fact #20

ESPN's promotion of its coverage of this summer's World Cup in South Africa is its biggest yet. ESPN's "One Game Changes Everything" includes specials, films on soccer and South Africa and ads featuring U2, actor Djimon Hounsou and jazz legend South African Hugh Masekela and his son.

Fact #19

Sixty-four matches will be played in this summer's finals, whereas the first FIFA World Cup™ in Uruguay in 1930 featured just 18 games. (Courtesy) FIFA.com

Fact #18

Ireland asked FIFA to let it enter the 2010 World Cup as the 33rd team after Thierry Henry's handball helped France qualify for the competition at the expense of the Irish. FIFA denied their request.

Fact #17

Slovakia is the only team making its World Cup debut this summer. Slovakia is playing in Group F, with their opening game on June 15 against New Zealand.

Fact #16

The U.S. Men's National team's leading goal scorer, Landon Donovan, started his playing days in AYSO. The U.S. National team forward began playing at age 5 and continued playing until 14.

Fact #15

Jared Nicol, a U-19 player from AYSO Region 6 in San Pedro, Calif., is one of four grand prize winners for the Sony Shoot for the FIFA World Cup contest. The video of his goal, dubbed "Ronaldo" after the Real Madrid and Portuguese superstar, has won Jared a trip to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. He will also serve as a flag bearer during the USA game against Slovenia on June 18, 2010, in Johannesburg.

Check the video out

Fact #14

100 - The current age of Argentina's Francisco Varallo, the only person to have played in the first World Cup in 1930 who is still living.

Fact #13

12 - The number of goals scored in the highest-scoring World Cup game in history. Austria and Switzerland combined for 12 goals in 1954. Austria won 7-5.

Fact #12

In 2002, Germany's Oliver Kahn became the first goalkeeper to win the Most Valuable Player of the World Cup.

Fact #11

2.4 million - The number of tickets that will be sold for the FIFA World Cup 2010 games this summer in South Africa.

Fact #10

6 - The number of confederations that FIFA breaks up the world into for international competition. The U.S. plays in CONCACAF, which includes North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

Fact #9

30 - The number of referees representing 28 different countries for the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

Fact #8

8 - The number of times that the U.S. has qualified for the FIFA World Cup. The first time the U.S. made a World Cup appearance was in 1930, where the team came in third place.

Fact #7

1958 - The year Brazil's Pelé made his World Cup debut. Pelé was only 17 years old during the games in Sweden, making him the youngest player to to win a World Cup championship. In the same tournament, Pelé became the youngest player to score a goal (Brazil vs. Wales) and a hattrick (Brazil vs. France). Pele was later a teammate of AYSO National Executive Director Rick Davis on the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League.

Fact #6

5 - The most goals scored in one World Cup game by a single player. Russia's Oleg Salenko scored the five goals in a 6-1 win over the African nation of Cameroon in the 1994 World Cup held in the U.S.

Fact #5

17 - The number of different countries that have hosted the FIFA World Cup. Italy, Mexico and France have hosted the World Cup twice, while South Korea and Japan co-hosted the Final in 2002. West Germany hosted the tournament once while the country was still divided, and then as a unified nation in 2006.

Fact #4

The first World Cup goal was scored by a French forward, Lucien Laurent, on July 13, 1930, against Mexico in the opening game of the first World Cup in Uruguay.


Fact #3

24 Weeks Left Until the 2010 FIFA World Cup

The 2010 tournament should be the most competitive World Cup. All seven past World Cup winners have qualified this year for South Africa: Brazil, Italy, Germany, Argentina, Uruguay, England and France. The last time this occurred was Korea/Japan 2002. Brazil has qualified for all 19 finals - the only country to ever do so - and will keep that streak alive as host nation in 2014. (Courtesy of USSoccerPlayers.com)


Fact #2

44 - The number of years that will have passed, by the time World Cup 2010 kicks off in South Africa, since Brazil last failed to progress beyond the first round. A 3-1 defeat by Portugal in their final group game at World Cup 1966 in England condemned the Brazilians to an early exit. (Courtesy of FIFA.com)


Fact #1

The United States played England on June 29, 1950. In the first tournament, England suffered their biggest upset on the world stage when Joe Gaetjens' first-half goal earned a ragtag American team a 1-0 victory in Belo Horizonte. One newspaper in Britain assumed the 0-1 score had to be wrong and printed that England had won 10-1. (Courtesy of FIFA.com)



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