FIFA World Cup - Statistics & Trivia

The first round of FIFA world cup is over. Half of the teams made it to the second – Knock Out – round while the other half is preparing to go back. So far there wasn’t any major upsets in this world cup. There wasn’t any spectacular individual performance. The big guns, touted as the main attractions, so far failed to fire while smaller teams with less known faces made some progress. Here is the pick of this world cup.
Teams
Ghana – The UN general secretary Kofi Annan’s natives gave a stellar performance that put more famed teams to shame. They are into the second ground. Will Pele’s prediction of an African team winning the word cup come true this time?
Ecuador - No one gave an outside chance to them. Being in a group of powerhouses like Germany & Poland, they were extremely resolute and played total football. Once again proved that Big names are just that. Big names.
Goals
Only a handful of teams produced good scoring matches. The rest were so content in defending and not letting score! As a result, the average goal per match is a measly 1.2! This is despite all the efforts from FIFA, from rule changing to new design of ball, to make way for more goals. Even the top teams played defensively. And the inability of stars to score compound the problems. The lesser known teams were adopting a more defensive strategy and marking the leading players very hardly. Look at Ronaldo, Owen, Rooney just to name a few. All struggled to break free from the strangle hold of the defenders.
Team, Goals Scored & goals conceded, in that order
A
Germany 8 2
Poland 2 4
Costa Rica 3 9
Ecuador 5 3
B
England 5 2
T & T 0 4
Sweden 3 2
Paraguay 2 2
C
Argentina 8 1
Holland 3 1
Ivory Coast 5 6
Serb & Mont 2 10
D
Mexico 4 3
Angola 1 2
Portugal 5 1
Iran 2 6
E
USA 2 6
Italy 5 1
Czech 3 4
Ghana 4 3
F
Australia 5 5
Brazil 7 1
Japan 2 7
Coratia 2 3
G
S. Korea 3 4
France 3 1
Togo 1 6
Switzerland 4 0
H
Spain 8 1
Tunisia 3 6
Ukrain 5 4
KSA 2 7

Most goals scored is 8, by three teams, Germany, Argentina & Spain.
Serbia & Montenegro has the dubvious distinctions of letting in the most number of goals, 10. Costa Rica is just behind with 9 goals.

Three groups scored the most number of goals in a group, A, C & H. 18 goals
The least goals is in Group B, 10.
None of the asian teams made it to the second round, Iran, KSA, S. Korea & Japan were ousted in the first round itself.
One African team made it, GHANA
There was one bloody moment when Italy’s De Rossi elbowed American Brian McBride and the latter had to receive treatment for a bleeding wound.

PS:
There was this robot fortune-teller invented by an Indian software company, who was accurate in predicting everything. So a few people went to him as asked him the following query.
A Brazilian;
"Robot, When will Brazil win World Cup?"
Robot (In a machine-like voice)
"Brazil will win every alternate world cup"
An argentina Fan;
"Robot, When will my team win the world cup?"
Robot;
Next Edition"
so on..
So this Sardar went to him an asked thus;
"Robot Mahasay, Will India ever hold the world cup?"
The Robot said "Possible"
Excited he asked robot "great! But when?"
Robot;
"can't say! An Indian have to steal it!!"