Haves and Have-Nots
A sobering look at the compiled World Cup table. Unless you’re European or South American.
|
WORLD CUP as of 06/28/06
|
||||||||||
| TEAM | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | Confederation | |
| 1 | Germany |
4
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
10
|
2
|
8
|
12
|
UEFA
|
| 2 | Brazil |
4
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
9
|
1
|
8
|
12
|
CONMEBOL
|
| 3 | Portugal |
4
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
1
|
5
|
12
|
UEFA
|
| 4 | Argentina |
4
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
10
|
2
|
8
|
10
|
CONMEBOL
|
| 5 | Italy |
4
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
6
|
1
|
5
|
10
|
UEFA
|
| 6 | England |
4
|
3
|
1
|
0
|
6
|
2
|
4
|
10
|
UEFA
|
| 7 | Ukraine |
4
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
5
|
4
|
1
|
9
|
UEFA
|
| 8 | France |
4
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
6
|
2
|
4
|
8
|
UEFA
|
| Eliminated in Round of 16 | ||||||||||
| 9 | Spain |
4
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
9
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
UEFA
|
| 10 | Switzerland |
4
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
4
|
7
|
UEFA
|
| 11 | Holland |
4
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
7
|
UEFA
|
| 12 | Ecuador |
4
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
5
|
4
|
1
|
6
|
CONMEBOL
|
| 13 | Ghana |
4
|
2
|
0
|
2
|
4
|
5
|
-1
|
6
|
CAF
|
| 14 | Sweden |
4
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
-1
|
5
|
UEFA
|
| 15 | Mexico |
4
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
5
|
6
|
-1
|
4
|
CONCACAF
|
| 16 | Australia |
4
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
5
|
6
|
-1
|
4
|
OCEANIA
|
| Eliminated in Group Stage | ||||||||||
| 17 | South Korea |
3
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
-1
|
4
|
AFC
|
| 18 | Paraguay |
3
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
3
|
CONMEBOL
|
| 19 | Ivory Coast |
3
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
5
|
6
|
-1
|
3
|
CAF
|
| 20 | Czechs |
3
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
-1
|
3
|
UEFA
|
| 21 | Poland |
3
|
1
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
-2
|
3
|
UEFA
|
| 22 | Croatia |
3
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
-1
|
2
|
UEFA
|
| 23 | Angola |
3
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
-1
|
2
|
CAF
|
| 24 | Tunisia |
3
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
6
|
-4
|
1
|
CAF
|
| 25 | USA |
3
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
6
|
-4
|
1
|
CONCACAF
|
| 26 | Iran |
3
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
6
|
-4
|
1
|
AFC
|
| 27 | T&T |
3
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
0
|
4
|
-4
|
1
|
CONCACAF
|
| 28 | Saudi Arabia |
3
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
7
|
-5
|
1
|
AFC
|
| 29 | Japan |
3
|
0
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
7
|
-5
|
1
|
AFC
|
| 30 | Togo |
3
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
6
|
-5
|
0
|
CAF
|
| 31 | Costa Rica |
3
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
9
|
-6
|
0
|
CONCACAF
|
| 32 | Serbia |
3
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
2
|
10
|
-8
|
0
|
UEFA
|
32 TEAMS
UEFA - Europe, 14 teams, 29-10-13, 67 GF, 43 GA, +24 GD, 6 teams still alive
CONMEBOL - South America, 4 teams, 10-1-4, 26 GF, 9 GA, +17 GD, 2 teams still alive
CAF - Africa, 5 teams, 3-3-10, 14 GF, 25 GA, -12 GD, all teams eliminated
AFC* - Asia, 5 teams, 2-5-9, 14 GF, 30 GA, -16 GD, all teams eliminated
CONCACAF - N & Central America, Caribbean, 4 teams, 1-3-9, 10 GF, 25 GA, -15 GD
* Includes Australia
28th Jun |
According to the Pangaea theory, Brazil and Argentina were once part of UEFA, and split off when their continent left the region in search of arable land for McDonalds and Starbucks Corp., and an area with potential exotic bird trade exports.
I wonder how positive the correlation is between the success of the qualifying body and the continent where the tournament is held. I know that the Lesser Antilles have never held a World Cup, but what about when it was in the US, Korea, Mexico, etc.? Did Concacaf do better in our hemisphere, and AFC in Korea?
Comment by Paul Thompson — Wed, Jun 28th, 2006 @ 11:00 am
The World Cup wasn’t always so open to the “lesser” footballing nations as it was pretty much a chance for Europe to face off against South America. However (it’s a big however) only South American teams have won World Cups held in the Americas (6 in total) and Europeans have won all the World Cups in Europe (8 in total) except 1958, when Brazil won in Sweden. The only “neutral” ground was Korea/Japan, which Brazil won in 2002. Full list of winners and hosts here.
2010 will be held in South Africa and 2014 is supposedly locked for Brazil.
I realize this doesn’t answer the question directly but if I get a moment I’ll go back and do some counting of the last several World Cups. It’s my sense that non-European teams tend to do better in non-European settings but that’s just a guess.
Comment by Trent — Wed, Jun 28th, 2006 @ 2:38 pm