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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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)

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)