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| World Cup 2014 squads – broken down by club, age and caps | World Cup 2014 squads – broken down by club, age and caps |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Fifa has published the finalised World Cup squads on their website ahead of next week's kick-off. There are 736 players in the 32 teams, picked from leagues in over 51 countries. | Fifa has published the finalised World Cup squads on their website ahead of next week's kick-off. There are 736 players in the 32 teams, picked from leagues in over 51 countries. |
| The players have amassed 24,447 international appearances and 3,283 international goals between them. We decided to look at the wealth of data behind all this in a little more detail … | The players have amassed 24,447 international appearances and 3,283 international goals between them. We decided to look at the wealth of data behind all this in a little more detail … |
| Martín Demechelis, Hugo Campagnaro and Maxi Rodríguez are all 33 and all playing in the Argentinian squad. Despite the trio only being the joint 32nd oldest players in the tournament, the South American country's average age of 28.5 is higher than any other side. | Martín Demechelis, Hugo Campagnaro and Maxi Rodríguez are all 33 and all playing in the Argentinian squad. Despite the trio only being the joint 32nd oldest players in the tournament, the South American country's average age of 28.5 is higher than any other side. |
| Ghana are the World Cup's most youthful squad. The team have an average age of 24.9, with Milan's Michael Essien the only squad member over 30. | Ghana are the World Cup's most youthful squad. The team have an average age of 24.9, with Milan's Michael Essien the only squad member over 30. |
| Oldest player: Faryd Mondragon (GK), Colombia – 43 | Oldest player: Faryd Mondragon (GK), Colombia – 43 |
| Youngest player: Fabrice Olinga (FW), Cameroon –18 | Youngest player: Fabrice Olinga (FW), Cameroon –18 |
| Average age of World Cup player – 26.9 | Average age of World Cup player – 26.9 |
| For Spain, the winners of the 2010 World Cup, experience is important and that shows in the overall number of international caps for their team. The champions' 1,375 caps is 243 more than second placed Uruguay. England's relatively new squad have a low-ish 626 overall caps (18 on average) while Algeria have the least with 364. Algeria's most capped player is Madjid Bougherra with 61 international appearances, compare that to Spain who have five with over 100. | |
| Most capped player –Iker Casillas (GK), Spain – 153 | Most capped player –Iker Casillas (GK), Spain – 153 |
| Least capped player –28 players with 0 appearances | Least capped player –28 players with 0 appearances |
| Average number of caps – 33 | Average number of caps – 33 |
| Why do Germany top the list for overall number of international goals? One big reason is the World Cup's joint-second scorer of all time Miroslav Klose (he's currently drawing with fellow German Gerd Müller on 14). There's a good chance the 36 year old will be able to score the two goals he needs to beat Brazilian Ronaldo to the all-time top spot. Klose's 68 international goals and Lukas Podolski's impressive 46 give them more goals than all of England's squad combined. | Why do Germany top the list for overall number of international goals? One big reason is the World Cup's joint-second scorer of all time Miroslav Klose (he's currently drawing with fellow German Gerd Müller on 14). There's a good chance the 36 year old will be able to score the two goals he needs to beat Brazilian Ronaldo to the all-time top spot. Klose's 68 international goals and Lukas Podolski's impressive 46 give them more goals than all of England's squad combined. |
| Be careful with these numbers though because goals on their own give little indication of danger in front of goal without being contextualised by overall time played and how many of them were penalties. | Be careful with these numbers though because goals on their own give little indication of danger in front of goal without being contextualised by overall time played and how many of them were penalties. |
| There are 11 clubs with more than 10 players in the tournament and five of them are from the Premier League. Despite struggling this season Manchester United only have one fewer player (14) in the World Cup than top team Bayern Munich. Paris Saint-Germain gets some French representation onto the top list with 10. However, it's overwhelmingly clubs in the English league system that come top as the next chart shows … | There are 11 clubs with more than 10 players in the tournament and five of them are from the Premier League. Despite struggling this season Manchester United only have one fewer player (14) in the World Cup than top team Bayern Munich. Paris Saint-Germain gets some French representation onto the top list with 10. However, it's overwhelmingly clubs in the English league system that come top as the next chart shows … |
| 114 players based in England are taking part in the World Cup (119 if you include Swansea and Cardiff). That means around 16% of players have played in the Premiership or in the Football League. | 114 players based in England are taking part in the World Cup (119 if you include Swansea and Cardiff). That means around 16% of players have played in the Premiership or in the Football League. |
| While some of the big clubs have been covered above, there is some representation from the lower tiers too. Both Middlesbrough and Watford have two players with call-ups, while a few other Championship teams have at least one of their squad in Brazil. Going even further down the pyramid, Swindon Town's Massimo Luongo and Preston North End's Bailey Wright have both been selected for the Australian side. | While some of the big clubs have been covered above, there is some representation from the lower tiers too. Both Middlesbrough and Watford have two players with call-ups, while a few other Championship teams have at least one of their squad in Brazil. Going even further down the pyramid, Swindon Town's Massimo Luongo and Preston North End's Bailey Wright have both been selected for the Australian side. |
| Greg Dyke's concern about not enough English footballers playing abroad seems to have some foundation when you look at where each country's players are based. 22 out of 23 in the England squad are from a side in the English league, with Celtic keeper Forster being the sole exception. Russia have a clean sweep of 23 while Ghana, Uruguay, Bosnia & Herzegovina and the Ivory Coast only have one player from a side in their country. | Greg Dyke's concern about not enough English footballers playing abroad seems to have some foundation when you look at where each country's players are based. 22 out of 23 in the England squad are from a side in the English league, with Celtic keeper Forster being the sole exception. Russia have a clean sweep of 23 while Ghana, Uruguay, Bosnia & Herzegovina and the Ivory Coast only have one player from a side in their country. |
| We've put each country in a table, so you can sort them by some of these rankings and see how your own side fares. We've also included all of the players in a spreadsheet. Can you do anything with this data? Let us know via Twitter or using the email address below. | We've put each country in a table, so you can sort them by some of these rankings and see how your own side fares. We've also included all of the players in a spreadsheet. Can you do anything with this data? Let us know via Twitter or using the email address below. |
| Update: There appears to be some issues with the height data provided on the Fifa website. We have removed it until we can get the correct information. It has also been corrected to say Michael Essien, rather than Martin and that Madjid Bougherra is Algeria's most capped player. | |
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