We’re one week into the 2018 Fifa World Cup, and so far, the sheer talent and motivation displayed on the field have blown us away! In case you’ve missed any of it, we thought we’d highlight 5 impressive stats:
After 6 long decades, Sweden’s first-match curse has finally come to an end. Although this Scandinavian team has qualified for the World Cup 7 times in the last 60 years, they have lost every single opening-match, that is until this year at least. Head coach, Janne Andersson, has been preparing the team to play a strong mental game – let’s see if they can keep it up!
Aleksandr Golovin, the 22-year-old Russian midfielder, showed off his talent in the opening match against Saudi Arabia where he created five-goal scoring opportunities, the highest from a Russia or Soviet Union player in a World Cup game since 1970. Hosts to the World Cup, Russia kicked off in a big way, winning 5-0, the 2nd highest score for an opening match in the history of the World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo is already in line with World Cup stars, Miroslav Klose and Uwe Seeler from Germany, and Brazil’s Pele, after scoring in his fourth World Cup tournament. If Ronaldo keeps this up, he could easily be a top scorer at this year’s competition.
After winning the championship title 2014, Germany was quickly knocked off their pedestal in the 2018 opener, joining Italy (1950), Argentina (1982 and 1990), France (2002) and Spain (2014) on the list of world champions to have kicked off their title defense with a loss. Mexico, on the other hand, is celebrating their first ever win against the former champs.
Unfortunately for many viewers, time zones don’t always work out in our favor, so if you’re only able to tune-in for a few minutes, try making it for the last 10… Why? Out of the first 14 games alone, 36% of them have ended with a deciding goal made after the 80-minute mark. Some notable and dramatic twists witnessed so far include Ronaldo’s hat-trick, resulting in a draw against Spain, and Morocco’s heartbreaking goal against themselves that gave Iran the win.
For more game highlights, fun facts and to follow along with your favorite team, be sure to download Sweetspot for iOS or Android to access our Free World Cup mobile dashboard. No registration is required, just log in and click on “Sports fans try it free!” and you’ll be good to go! So, what are you waiting for? It’s game time!
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