'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The 2014 FIFA World Cup has finally come to an end after a month of exciting and scintillating football asGermany became the first European team to secure the grandest trophy of all on South American soil after defeating Argentina 1-0 in Brazil.The tournament has seen several goals, assists, passes and saves made, but which team and player performed at the highest level. Taking a look at the numbers of game, we bring you the most important statistics of the tournament that mattered.Heres a look at how all the teams and players fared in Brazil:
#1 Who had the best attack?
Trending
This year’s FIFA World Cup is the joint-highest scoring World Cup in the tournament’s history with 171 goals with France who had scored the same number of goals in 1998.
Colombia’s James won the golden boot with 6 goals from five matches despite his team’s elimination in the quarterfinals, while Thomas Muller holds onto the second spot with five goals spear-heading Germany’s attack in their victorious campaign.
| Player | Nation | Matches played | Goals scored |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Rodriguez | Colombia | 5 | 6 |
| Thomas Muller | Germany | 7 | 5 |
| Neymar | Brazil | 5 | 4 |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | 7 | 4 |
| Robin van Persie | Netherlands | 6 | 4 |
| Karim Benzema | France | 5 | 3 |
| Andre Schuerrle | Germany | 6 | 3 |
| Arjen Robben | Netherlands | 7 | 3 |
| Enner Valencia | Ecuador | 3 | 3 |
| Xherdan Shaqiri | Switzerland | 4 | 3 |
Champions Germany were the tournament’s most consistent team throughout, and their contribution to the tournament’s goal tally was the highest in number with 18 goals scored in total. They were also one of the most successful teams from set pieces.
| Teams | Matches Played | Goals Scored | Open-play goals | Set piece goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 7 | 18 | 15 | 3 |
| Netherlands | 7 | 15 | 13 | 2 |
| Colombia | 5 | 12 | 9 | 3 |
| Brazil | 7 | 11 | 8 | 3 |
| France | 5 | 8 | 8 | 2 |
| Argentina | 7 | 7 | 7 | 1 |
| Algeria | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 |
| Switzerland | 4 | 7 | 5 | 2 |
| Croatia | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Chile | 4 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
#2 Who had the best defence?
Brazil playmaker Oscar had a successful campaign this year with his all-around performance, however, it wasn’t enough to save Brazil’s sinking boat who were also the team to have conceded the highest number of goals.
Like they say, “Goals can win you matches, but defence will win you the goal tournament,” and Javier Mascherano’s consistent top-notch performances throughout the tournament have been stellar as he finds himself with the second highest number of tackles won.
| Player | Nation | Matches Played | Tackles won | Recovered balls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oscar | Brazil | 7 | 11 | 23 |
| Javier Mascherano | Argentina | 7 | 10 | 49 |
| Kyle Beckerman | United States | 3 | 8 | 14 |
| Luiz Gustavo | Brazil | 6 | 8 | 42 |
| Fernandinho | Brazil | 5 | 7 | 28 |
| Jorge Claros | Honduras | 3 | 7 | 15 |
| Valon Behrami | Switzerland | 4 | 7 | 22 |
| Brayan Beckeles | Honduras | 3 | 6 | 16 |
| Pablo Zabaleta | Argentina | 7 | 6 | 32 |
| Marcelo | Brazil | 6 | 6 | 35 |
Costa Rica were one of the surprise packages of the tournament, and their well-organized offside traps were one of the primary reasons behind them being the team to conceded the least number of goals.
| Teams | Matches Played | Goals Conceded |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Rica | 5 | 2 |
| France | 5 | 3 |
| Belgium | 5 | 3 |
| Mexico | 4 | 3 |
| Ecuador | 3 | 3 |
| Russia | 3 | 3 |
| Italy | 3 | 3 |
| Iran | 3 | 4 |
| Germany | 7 | 4 |
| Colombia | 5 | 4 |
#3 Who had the worst defensive record?
↵
Thiago Silva amassed the highest number of yellow cards throughout the tournament that saw him missing Brazil’s semi-final encounter.
Here are the players who have been issued a yellow card for the highest number of time:
| Player | Nation | Matches Played | Yellow cards | Fouls committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thiago Silva | Brazil | 6 | 3 | 5 |
| Marcos Rojo | Argentina | 6 | 2 | 7 |
| Diego Lugano | Uruguay | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Tim Cahill | Australia | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| Didier Zokora | Ivory Coast | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Sulley Muntari | Ghana | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Klaas Jan Huntelaar | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Mile Jedinak | Australia | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Francisco Silva | Chile | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| Jonathan de Guzman | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Mario Balotelli | Italy | 3 | 2 | 8 |
Here are the players who have been issued a red card for the highest number of time:
| Player | Nation | Matches Played | Red cards | Fouls committed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antonio Valencia | Ecuador | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| Pepe | Portugal | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Maximiliano Pereira | Uruguay | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Claudio Marchisio | Italy | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Ante Rebic | Croatia | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Steven Defour | Belgium | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Alexandre Song | Cameroon | 2 | 1 | 3 |
The game of football is very simple. Whichever team finds the back of the net for the most number of time, wins the match.And where scoring the maximum amount of goals is important, it is also rather imperative for a team to concede as less goals possible.
Brazil were awful in the final stages of the tournament, and finished their campaign with the worst defensive record of any side in the history of the World Cup.
| Teams | Matches Played | Goals Conceded |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 7 | 14 |
| Cameroon | 3 | 9 |
| Australia | 3 | 9 |
| Honduras | 3 | 8 |
| Algeria | 4 | 7 |
| Switzerland | 4 | 7 |
| Spain | 3 | 7 |
| Portugal | 3 | 7 |
#4 Who completed the highest number of passes?
Passing is the most important aspect of the game, and these players have mastered the art of passing.
Here are the best passers of the tournament, and don’t be surprised that there isn’t any Spaniard in the list as they were eliminated way early in the tournament.
| Players | Teams | Matches Played | Passes Completed | Crosses completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philipp Lahm | Germany | 7 | 562 | 6 |
| Toni Kroos | Germany | 7 | 537 | 13 |
| Javier Mascherano | Argentina | 7 | 536 | 0 |
| Bastian Schweinsteiger | Germany | 6 | 412 | 2 |
| Jerome Boateng | Germany | 7 | 379 | 5 |
| Daley Blind | Netherlands | 7 | 351 | 3 |
| Stefan De Vrij | Netherlands | 7 | 351 | 0 |
| Ezequiel Garay | Argentina | 7 | 338 | 0 |
| Per Mertesacker | Germany | 6 | 321 | 0 |
| Fernando Gago | Argentina | 6 | 316 | 0 |
Here are the players with the highest number of assists:
| Players | Teams | Matches Played | Assists | Average passes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Cuadrado | Colombia | 5 | 4 | 25.8 |
| Daley Blind | Netherlands | 7 | 3 | 48.9 |
| Thomas Müller | Germany | 7 | 3 | 37.3 |
| Toni Kroos | Germany | 7 | 3 | 86.4 |
| Abel Aguilar | Colombia | 3 | 2 | 41.7 |
| Christian Bolaños | Costa Rica | 5 | 2 | 23.6 |
| Daryl Janmaat | Netherlands | 5 | 2 | 28.2 |
| Eden Hazard | Belgium | 5 | 2 | 34.4 |
| Eduardo Vargas | Chile | 4 | 2 | 18.5 |
| Emmanuel Emenike | Nigeria | 4 | 2 | 20 |
This is how the teams rate when it comes to passing as a whole team:
| Teams | Matches played | Successful passes | Pass completion rate | Successful crosses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 7 | 4157 | 82% | 25.8 |
| Argentina | 7 | 3344 | 77% | 48.9 |
| Netherlands | 7 | 3000 | 78% | 37.3 |
| Brazil | 7 | 2731 | 76% | 86.4 |
| France | 5 | 2183 | 79% | 41.7 |
| Belgium | 5 | 1992 | 75% | 23.6 |
| Chile | 4 | 1850 | 77% | 28.2 |
| Costa Rica | 5 | 1590 | 71% | 34.4 |
| USA | 4 | 1676 | 77% | 18.5 |
| Spain | 3 | 1703 | 82% | 20 |
#5 Who covered the highest distance?
In a list dominated by German, Dutch and Argentine players,Thomas Muller emerges as the player with the highest distance covered on the pitch, while his German team-mates Toni Kroos and Philipp Lahm follow him closely.
Junior Diaz of Costa Rica was, however, the fastest player of the tournament having reached a top speed of 33.
| Players | Teams | Matches played | Distance Covered | Top speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Muller | Germany | 7 | 84.0km | 30.5km/h |
| Toni Kroos | Germany | 7 | 82.6km | 29.8km/h |
| Javier Mascherano | Argentina | 7 | 81.2km | 30.3km/h |
| Philipp Lahm | Germany | 7 | 81.0km | 28.7km/h |
| Benedikt Hoewedes | Germany | 7 | 80.4km | 30.5km/h |
| Arjen Robben | Netherlands | 7 | 79.3km | 32.2km/h |
| Pablo Zabaleta | Argentina | 7 | 79.1km | 29.6km/h |
| Ezequiel Garay | Argentina | 7 | 76.1km | 31.4km/h |
| Daley Blind | Netherlands | 7 | 75.7km | 27.5km/h |
| Ron Vlaar | Netherlands | 7 | 74.6km | 33.0km/h |
#6 Who ran the fastest?
Speed is a desired trait for every footballer, and quite possibly everyone was expecting speed demons like Cristiano Ronaldo and Arjen Robben to break speed barriers in this tournament, however it was Junior Diaz of Costa Rica to record the fastest speed on pitch.
Here are the top 10 fastest footballers in the world.
| Players | Teams | Matches played | Top speed | Distance Covered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Diaz | Costa Rica | 5 | 33.8km/h | 56.2km |
| Serge Aurier | Ivory Coast | 3 | 33.5km/h | 28.8km |
| Alvaro Pereira | Uruguay | 3 | 33.1km/h | 21.4km |
| Gonzalo Higuain | Argentina | 7 | 33.1km/h | 63.6km |
| Darijo Srna | Croatia | 3 | 33.0km/h | 30.7km |
| Mario Balotelli | Italy | 3 | 33.0km/h | 20.8km |
| Angel di Maria | Argentina | 5 | 33.0km/h | 45.8km |
| Ron Vlaar | Netherlands | 7 | 33.0km/h | 74.6km |
| Fabian Johnson | United States | 4 | 33.0km/h | 34.9km |
| Shkodran Mustafi | Germany | 3 | 32.9km/h | 14.6km |
