The 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup kicks off in two weeks. As a part of our countdown to the biggest singular sporting competition, here are some facts about the FIFA World Cup.
• Did you know that over 3.2 billion (half of the world’s population) watched the 2014 FIFA World Cup held in Brazil
• Did you know that one of the venues for the 2018 World Cup, Fisht Stadium in Sochi, is the same stadium that hosted the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2014 Winter Games. The Fisht stadium will host four group games, a Round of 16 match and a quarter-final match
• Did you know the distance between the easternmost host city Ekaterinburg and the westernmost host city Kaliningrad at the 2018 World Cup is over 1500 miles. This is about the same distance as Moscow to London
• Did you know that the highest scoring game in World Cup history was in 1954, when Austria defeated Switzerland 7-5
• Did you know that Russian striker Oleg Salenko holds the record for most goals scored in a single World Cup match. In 1994 during a group game versus Cameroon, Salenko knocked in five goals. His goals helped Russia comfortably win the match at 6-1
• Did you know that French striker Just “Justo” Fontaine claims the record for most goals scored in a single World Cup tournament. He knocked in an unbelievable 13 goals in just 6 goals played
• Did you know that Brazilian superstar Pelé is the only player to have won three World Cup titles. His 1958 World Cup debut resulted in a number of long-standing records; youngest goal scorer, youngest player to score a hat trick and the youngest play to appear in a final, at the tender age of 17 years and 249 days
• Did you know that since the 1966 World Cup held in England, the most dribbles completed in a World Cup match was done by Jay Jay Okocha in the second round match between Nigeria and Italy at the 1994 World Cup
• Did you know that the highest average attendance of 68,991 was at the FIFA World Cup in USA 1994
• Did you know that the all-time top scorer at the FIFA World Cup Miroslav Klose scored his 16 goals across four tournaments? He scored five in 2002, five in 2006, four at the 2010 finals and two in 2014
• Did you know that 171 goals is the highest scored at any FIFA World Cup. These figures were attained in two editions (France 1998 and Brazil 2014)
• Did you know that only three players have attended five World Cup editions. Mexico’s Antonio Carbajal (1950, 1954, 1958,1962, 1966), Germany’s Lothar Matthaeus (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998) and Gianluigi Buffon (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014)
The World Cup opening game is between host – Russia and Saudi Arabia on 14 June 2018.
Predict and win big during the FIFA World Cup by visiting Babaijebu.ng