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World Cup final trivia
YOKOHAMA, Japan, June 28 (Reuters) - Following is a selection of trivia ahead of Sunday's World Cup final between Germany and Brazil: Germany and Brazil will both be playing in a record seventh World Cup final. Brazil have won a record four titles and Germany have won three. - - - Brazil have played more matches in World Cup finals (86) than any other team. Germany is next on 84 yet the two have never before played each other in the World Cup - - - Brazil are appearing in their third consecutive final -- but have not scored a goal in a final since 1970. In 1994 they won the World Cup in a penalty shootout against Italy after a 0-0 draw and in 1998 lost 3-0 to France. - - - Brazilian captain Cafu will become the first player to appear in three World Cup finals. He was a first half substitute in the 1994 final but played throughout in 1998. - - - Brazil are the only country to have won the World Cup outside their own continent. They beat hosts Sweden 5-2 in the 1958 final. - - - Only three players have scored in two finals -- and they are all Brazilian or German. Vava scored twice for Brazil in 1958 and grabbed another in 1962. Pele also scored two in the 1958 final and was on target in 1970 too. Germany's Paul Breitner scored in the 1974 and 1982 finals. - - - Brazil are the only team to fail to score in two finals (1994 and 1998). The only other teams who have not scored in finals are Argentina (1990) and Italy (1994). - - - The highest scoring final was in 1958 when Brazil beat Sweden 5-2. Some 65 goals have been scored in the 16 finals played so far, an average of more than four goals a game. - - - Four finals have gone in to extra time -- in 1934 (Italy beat Czechoslovakia 2-1), 1966 (England defeated West Germany 4-2), 1978 (Argentina beat Netherlands 3-1) and 1994 (Brazil beat Italy on penalties after a 0-0 draw). - - - The 1994 final is the only one to have been decided in a penalty shootout. Brazil won 3-2 and four players missed their spot kicks -- Marcio Santos for Brazil, Franco Baresi, Daniele Massaro and Roberto Baggio for Italy. - - - If the 2002 final is decided by a golden goal in extra time, it will be the first ever in a final. - - - Brazil's four victories in finals were v Sweden (5-2) in 1958, v Czechoslovakia (3-1) in 1962, v Italy (4-1) in 1970 and v Italy (0-0, 3-2 on pens) in 1994. Their two defeats were v Uruguay (1-2) in 1950 and v France (0-3) in 1998. - - - Germany's three wins were v Hungary (3-2) in 1954, v Netherlands (2-1) in 1974 and v Argentina (1-0) in 1990. Their three defeats were v England (2-4) in 1966, v Italy (1-3) in 1982 and v Argentina (2-3) in 1986. - - - England's Geoff Hurst is the only player to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final. Two of his goals in the 1966 final against West Germany came in extra time. - - - Only three players have been sent off in World Cup finals. Pedro Monzon and Gustavo Dezotti of Argentina in 1990 and Marcel Desailly of France in 1998, the only one to have been on the winning team. - - - Italy's Antonio Cabrini is the only player to miss a regular penalty in a World Cup final. His spot kick against West Germany went wide but Italy still won 3-1. - - - Brazil, who have won all six of their matches at the 2002 tournament, would equal a World Cup finals record of seven consecutive victories if they beat Germany. Italy had a run of seven wins from the 1934 quarter-final to the 1938 final. - - - At five consecutive finals between 1950 and 1966, the team that scored first ended up losing the match. The team scoring first also lost in 1934 and 1974. In 1930 Uruguay scored first but went 2-1 behind to Argentina before winning 4-2. So eight of the first 10 World Cup winners won after going a goal down. - - - The youngest player to appear in a World Cup final was Pele who was 17 when he took the field against Sweden in 1958. He scored twice.
Copyright 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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