2010 FIFA World Cup: After the Final Whistle

At this World Cup I have been following:

• Goal scoring patterns.
• Game outcome in relation to FIFA Ranking (May 2010).
• Referees for each game.

The official web site for the World Cup has provided enormous detail about each game and the tournament.
I have collected all my posts at this page. After 64 Games at the 2010 World Cup here are some observations:

• 145 goals were scored in the tournament. 101 goals in the Group Stage. 44 goals in the Knockout Stages.
• 59 goals were scored in the first halves of games, 84 in the second halves and 2 in extra time.
• In 54 out of 57 games the team that scored first did not lose (the remaining games were 0-0 draws).
• Nigeria, Cameroon and Brazil were the only teams to score first and lose.
• In 51 out of 64 games the higher FIFA ranked team (May 2010) won.
• The higher ranked teams that lost were: Greece (v Korea), Serbia (v Ghana), Cameroon (v Japan), Spain (v Switzerland), France (v Mexico), Germany (v Serbia), Cameroon (v Denmark), France (v South Africa), Serbia (v Australia), Italy (v Slovakia), Denmark (v Japan), USA (v Ghana), Brazil (v Netherlands).
• There were two penalty shoot outs. The higher ranking team won both shoot outs. The team that took the first penalty in these shoot outs won. The team that scored the first penalty won in both games.
• 24 referees officiated at the World Cup.
• No yellow or red cards were given in the Germany v Spain semi-final.

Next stop is Brazil in 2014.

Photo Credits
World Cup Stadium 2010
Lonely Traveller