World Cup 2010 Final Countdown: Who has scored the most goals from outside the box?

Goal.com counts down to the final...

7 Jul 2010 09:50:00

By James Daly

More On :  Brazil, England, Germany, Poland, Uruguay
Diego Forlan celebrates his equaliser during Uruguay's 3-2 defeat to the Netherlands (Getty Images)
From now until the end of World Cup 2010, Goal.com UK will be counting down to the final on July 11 with a range of statistics relevant to the number of days remaining in the tournament.

Yesterday we concentrated on the number five, but today Goal.com UK is only concerned with number four, as we edge ever closer to the final of South Africa 2010.
Don't Miss

  1. Diego Forlan's belter in the semi-final against Netherlands was his fourth goal from outside the box at a World Cup. Only Brazil's Rivelino has scored more (five) since 1966.
  2. The German machine has been kicking into gear this World Cup and scoring plenty of goals. In fact, Die Mannschaft are the first team since Brazil in 1970 to score four goals three times at a World Cup finals.
  3. Ernest Wilimowski must be one of the unluckiest players in World Cup history - the Polish striker netted four times against Brazil in Strasbourg in 1938 but still ended up on the losing side, the Poles going down 6-5. Unlucky.
  4. That man Pele is at it again, this time holding the record for the most World Cup tournaments with a goal, four in total (1958 to 1970. He shares it with West Germany's Uwe Seeler who also netted four times between the same dates.
  5. Peter Crouch holds a record and it isn't height related: the England striker is the joint quickest player to come off the substitute's bench when he replaced the crocked Michael Owen after just four minutes in 2006 against Sweden. Italy's Giuseppe Bergomi shares the record with Crouch (almost certainly the only statistic they will ever share), coming on for Alessandro Nesta against Austria 1998.
  6. Referee Valentin Ivanov must have got out of the wrong side of bed the day he took charge of Portugal's knockout round clash with the Netherlands in 2006, because he went on to dish out four red cards, a World Cup record (two for each side).
  7. There must be something scary about Argentina's Sergio Goycochea, because he has managed to thwart the most penalties ever, four in total, all coming in one tournament - the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Germany's Harald Schumacher is also scary - having made four saves in two World Cups (1982 and 1986) - but then that's because knocks opposition forwards unconscious.
No trip to South Africa is complete without a visit to its most beautiful and sunniest city. Durban offers much more than sandy beaches, safaris, casinos and the World Cup, for information on what to do and see, please click here.


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