10 Incredible World Cup Facts You Never Knew

                                                                                                                          

10 Incredible World Cup Facts You Never Knew                             The World Cup, the world’s biggest football festival has kicked off with all the frenzy that goes with the football fiesta, with fans, friends and foes meet to do battle on the pitch for the coveted trophy which is up for grabs. To your amazement, there are 10 World Cup facts you never knew nor took notice of and here they are                                                

1 Brazil are the last team to have reached three consecutive finals where they emerged winners in USA 94, runners up in France 98 and winners in Japan South Korea 2002, they are also the only country to have won it three times out of four, 1958, 1962, 1970.

2 Three defending champions were beaten in the opening match of the World Cup, Argentina were beaten 1-0 by Cameroun in Italia 90, France were beaten 1-0 by first timers Senegal and Spain were beaten 5-1 by Holland whom they defeated four years earlier in South Africa 2010

3 Italy came third when they hosted the World Cup in 1990 with then West Germany becoming the tournament winners, sixteen years later Germany hosted the tournament where they came third and Italy emerged champions

4 Diego Maradona’s Hand of God remains the most controversial World Cup goal to be scored

5 Argentina and Germany have met three times at the finals, in 1986, 1990 and 2014. Argentina beat West Germany in Mexico 86 but West Germany avenged their defeat four years later at Italia 90. When both teams crossed paths in Brazil 2014, it was a playback of Italia 90 where Argentina lost by the same margin they did twenty-four years ago 1-0

6 The third place matches since 1982 has been won by European nations

7 Senegal is the only African country to have reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in their first appearance.

8 Nigeria and her next door neighbours Ghana have reached the second round of the tournament on their debut in 1994 and 2006 respectively.

9 Cameroun, Senegal and Ghana are the only African countries to have advanced to the quarter-final stages of the Mundial, Cameroun and Senegal were eliminated by European powerhouses, England and Turkey while Ghana was eliminated by Uruguay.

10 Only four times has the Golden Boot Winner emerged champion, Vava and Garrincha of Brazil  in 1962, Mario Kempes of Argentina in 1978, Paolo Rossi in 1982 and Ronaldo of Brazil in 2002.