World Cup Update

Yeah, so this entry isn't about giving up on life. I changed my mind.

I just love statistics and useless facts and figures. And in that sense, the World Cup is perfect wank-fodder (NO, I don't literally masturbate to World Cup statistics, if that's what you think I'm implying).

So here are some interesting useless trivia regarding this World Cup:

- In the World Cup finals, 24 teams still have a chance of winning the trophy. The 8 teams who are out are Poland, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Trindad & Tobago, Cote d'Ivoire, Serbia & Montenegro, Iran, and Togo. Believe it or not, Saudi Arabia still have a mathematical chance of escaping from their group, but they have to beat Spain by at least 3 goals and hope Ukraine don't beat Tunisia. I've seen betting agencies giving 4000:1 odds on Saudi Arabia winning the World Cup.

- Of the remaining 24 teams, 12 are from Europe, 4 are from Asia (including Australia), 3 are from South America, 3 are from Africa, and 2 are from North America.

- 4 teams have yet to score a goal so far in the World Cup finals: Trinidad & Tobago (who have finished their 3 group matches), Serbia & Montenegro, Angola, and Croatia. Angola and Croatia still have a chance of getting past the group stage.

- 3 teams have yet to concede a goal in the World Cup finals: Portugal, Brazil, and Switzerland.

- There are many teams who are undefeated so far in the World Cup finals. But, taking preliminaries into account, there are 8 teams who have yet to lose a match thoughout the whole World Cup system:

Germany (the hosts so they didn't have to qualify, 3 wins)
Netherlands (12 wins, 2 draws)
Portugal (11 wins, 3 draws)
France (5 wins, 7 draws)
Spain (8 wins, 6 draws)
Israel (4 wins, 6 draws)
Morocco (5 wins, 5 draws)
Cuba (2 wins, 2 draws)

Amazingly, Israel, Morocco, and Cuba didn't make it to the World Cup finals despite never losing a match in qualifying. Cuba's record is amazing in that they didn't even make it past the first stage of the 3-stage North American qualifying system! Cuba had to play-off against Costa Rica at the very beginning of qualification, and despite drawing both matches, Costa Rica went through to the next stage on away goals. What is even more amazing is that Costa Rica actually went on to qualify for the World Cup! (suggested that Cuba could have done quite well in the latter stages of qualification if it was given the chance).


- The highest-ranked teams (according to FIFA rankings) with no chance of winning the World Cup are Denmark and Nigeria (equal 11th), who both did not make the World Cup finals. There are 14 teams ranked below these nations that still have a chance of winning the trophy.

- The lowest-ranked team that still has a chance of winning the World Cup is Angola (ranked equal 57th). There are 33 teams ranked above Angola who have no chance of winning the trophy.

- Australia is ranked equal 42nd. There are 20 teams ranked above Australia still in contention, and 21 teams ranked above Australia out of contention. There are also 3 teams ranked below Australia who are still in contention (Ukraine, Ghana, and Angola).

- Croatia sucks.


Well, that's all I can think of at the moment. Go Australia!