Soccer Statistics During the World Cup

Background Information FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association Uruguay hosted the first World Cup in 1930 Only 4 European teams attended The second tournament was held in Italy The entire tournament was ‘do-or-die’ In FIFA’s mission statement, their goal is “to improve the game of football constantly ...” as well as “[build] a better future for all through football”.

Question Does the average age of players on a team influence their winning percentages, specifically during the World Cup?

Hypothesis I believe that a team with younger players will win more games (average age of players will be lower).

Germany 2006 South Africa 2010 Teams: 32 When: June 9, 2006 to July 9, 2006 Matches: 64 Goals Scored: 147 (average 2.3/match) Attendance: 3359439 (average 52491) Teams: 32 When: June 11, 2010 to July 11, 2010 Matches: 64 Goals Scored: 145 (average 2.3/match) Attendance: 3178856 (average 49669)

2006 2010

2006 - Germany Mean 26.86 Median 27 Mode 27 Max 40 Min 17 Range 23 Q1 24 Q3 29 Interquartile Range 5 Standard Deviation 3.85   *All in Years*

2010 – South Africa Mean 26.85 Median 27 Mode 25 Max 39 Min 18 Range 21 Q1 24 Q3 29 Interquartile Range 5 Standard Deviation 3.69 *All in years*

Outliers 2006 2010 4 players @ 37 years 1 players @ 40 years 1 player @ 39 years

Extraneous Variables Referees Injuries Coaching Location

Every convenience brings its own inconveniences along with it. Bias Sample Bias Convenience Technique Every convenience brings its own inconveniences along with it. (Proverb)

Modifications Data collection method Investigate more tournaments

Conclusions In both tournaments that were analyzed, a very, very weak negative trend was apparent. According to the general trends, teams with a lower average age of players have higher winning percentages.

Citations History of FIFA - The first FIFA World Cup. (2014). In FIFA.com. Retrieved June 5, 2014, from http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/history/fifa/first-fifa-world-cup.html Mission and Statutes. (2014). In FIFA.com. Retrieved June 5, 2014, from http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/organisation/mission.html