Stats – Weird And Wonderful (81-90)

I bloody love a good random football fact. It’s what at least half of my brain space is taken up with on a daily basis. And so for this post I figured I would try to research and discover some of the most unusual facts, stats and stories from the footballing world.

Despite my best efforts to factcheck all these nuggets of information, I cannot guarantee their validity 100%, however if you want to correct me, why not send me a nicely worded tweet. And should you decide to share any of these with your friends down at the pub… remember nobody likes a know-it-all, as I’ve been told many times before.

Enjoy!

1. Sheffield FC, founded in 1857 in England, is recognized by FIFA as the world’s oldest independent football club still in existence.

2. The first official international football match was played between Scotland and England in 1872, ending 0–0.

3. Dino Zoff is the oldest player to win the World Cup, lifting the trophy as Italy’s captain in 1982 at age 40.

4. Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper ever to win the Ballon d’Or, receiving it in 1963.

5. The fastest red card in a professional match is often credited to Lee Todd, who was sent off after roughly two seconds in 2000 for foul language immediately after kickoff.

6. During the 1950 World Cup, India withdrew because FIFA banned players from playing barefoot, something several Indian players preferred at the time.

7. The 1966 North Korea team was the first Asian team to reach the World Cup quarter-finals, famously beating Italy 1–0 in the group stage.

8. Albania once qualified for Euro 2016 despite scoring only seven goals in their entire qualifying campaign.

9. Before 1912, goalkeepers were allowed to handle the ball anywhere in their own half; the rule limiting handling to the penalty area was introduced that year.

10. The highest-scoring match in international football was Australia 31–0 American Samoa in 2001, a World Cup qualifier.

If you have any weird or wonderful football stats you want to share with the world (or the 2 readers of this blog), get in touch @NextGoalWinBlog on Twitter, or @NextGoalWin on Instagram.