Bluffer's Guide to World Cup Soccer

Here are a few facts that not everyone know

Almost everyone knows that India pulled away from the 1950 World Cup because the players were not allowed to play without shoes. Here are a few facts that not everyone know:

The Soccer winners
Brazil. They have won the FIFA World Cup five times. Uruguay won the first FIFA World Cup in 1930. They beat Argentina 4-2 in the final in Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay. The outfield of soccer is 100 to 130 yards long and 50 to 100 yards wide. A single soccer player runs about 7 miles during an entire game.

Top goal scorer
The overall top goalscorer in World Cups is Brazil's Ronaldo, scorer of 15 goals in three tournaments. West Germany's Gerd Mller is second, with 14 goals in two tournaments. The third placed goalscorer, France's Just Fontaine, holds the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup. All his 13 goals were scored in the 1958 tournament.

Money power
The total prize money on offer for the tournament was confirmed by FIFA as $420 million (including payments of $40m to domestic clubs), a 60% increase on the 2006 tournament. Before the tournament, all 32 entrants receive $1 million for preparation costs. Once at the tournament, the 16 teams exiting after the group stage receive $8 million. The final winner will get $30 million and the runner up will get $24 million.

Zakumi, the leopard
The official mascot for the 2010 World Cup is Zakumi, an anthropomorphised leopard with green hair, presented on 22 September 2008. His name comes from "ZA" (the international abbreviation for South Africa) and the term kumi, which means "ten" in various African languages. The mascot's colours reflect those of the host nation's playing strip yellow and green.

Kicking the Jabulani
The match ball for the 2010 World Cup, manufactured by Adidas, is named the Jabulani, which means "bringing joy to everyone" in Zulu. It features eleven colours, representing each player of a team on the pitch and the eleven official languages of South Africa. A special match ball with gold panels, called the Jo'bulani, will be used at the final. to be held in Johannesburg.

Kobe 10 Mentality


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