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Entries Tagged as 'Major Events'

50 Years Ago In Sport – Reflecting on the World Sporting Events of 1974

April 12th, 2024 · Comments Off on 50 Years Ago In Sport – Reflecting on the World Sporting Events of 1974 · Major Events

The sporting landscape has changed a lot over the last 50 years. For many of you, it is more than a lifetime ago. I was just 8 at the time and a budding sports enthusiast.

One of the most notable events of 1974 was the FIFA World Cup held in West Germany. It was the first time my home country Australia had qualified, and soccer (as we called it) was making a rare appearance in the news. West Germany emerged victorious, defeating the Netherlands in the final match to claim their second World Cup title (Australia not scoring a goal in their three matches).

world-cup-1974-netherlands-v-uruguay
1974 FIFA World Cup Netherlands v Uruguay 2-0 set piece

In tennis, the Grand Slam tournaments continued to showcase the talents of legendary players such as Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert. Connors dominated the men’s circuit, winning three out of the four Grand Slam titles, while Evert asserted her dominance in the women’s game with victories at the French Open and the US Open. It was a period of excellence and competitiveness in professional tennis.

The Commonwealth Games was held in Christchurch, New Zealand, providing a platform for athletes from across the Commonwealth to showcase their abilities. Memorable performances included Tanzanian athlete Filbert Bayi’s stunning victory in the 1500 meters, setting a new world record in the process.

Reflecting on these events, it’s evident that the sporting landscape of 1974 was characterized by intense competition, exceptional athleticism, and moments of triumph and inspiration. All without the monetary compensation and notoriety that modern athletes achieve. There are other notable changes in the world of sports. Technological advancements, increased globalization, and evolving training methods have transformed the way athletes prepare and compete.

Looking back on the world sporting events of 1974 provides valuable insights into the evolution of sports and the enduring impact of athletic achievements. The growth of women’s sports and the emphasis on inclusivity and diversity have expanded the scope of athletic participation and representation. T

This is just a sample of the highlights from 1974. On our sports timeline, you can read more details of the sporting results from 1974.

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How to watch the FIFA World Cup Live stream in the USA

November 10th, 2022 · Comments Off on How to watch the FIFA World Cup Live stream in the USA · FIFA World Cup, Football (Soccer)

World Cup is the biggest and most-watched sports event in the world, and it’s the only showcase event, drawing massive global attention. No matter what everyone calls it, no other sporting event comes close to equating the extreme passion for the beautiful game.

Nothing beats the feeling of being the best in the most sought-after sport in the world, and getting crowned champion with a beautiful trophy! What else does a nation want, this tournament has a way of enabling people to puff out their chest by giving them license to say ‘this is our team’ and having some pride in their nation,

This time around, spectacular moments like these will be witnessed from the ‘Land of Arabs’ for the first time in the history of the world cup. The tournament commences on November 20 and will continue till December 18, 2022.

If you want to watch the FIFA World Cup live online and don’t know how to go about it, we have you covered. In this blog, we will teach you how to watch the FIFA world cup Qatar 2022 live stream from anywhere in the world:

football fans around the world are eagerly waiting for the next World Cup

Where to watch the FIFA World Cup 2022 live stream 

Sling TV

Sling TV is the best option to stream the FIFA world cup inside the US if you don’t have cable. The streaming service offers you the cheapest subscription with a 7 days free trial, so you can’t miss any moment of the exciting tournament live without worrying about the cable. The best part is you could even use Sling TV from outside UK, by using a VPN to connect to a US server and directly stream FIFA World Cup

BBCi iPlayer

BBC iPlayer is the official broadcaster in the UK for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and will broadcast every fixture from the tournament. However, the in-demand streaming service only works inside the UK due to certain geo-restrictions.

Fortunately, to access BBC iPlayer from anywhere, you need to have a UK IP address and this is where a high-speed VPN can help. Just follow these simple steps to stream the FIFA World Cup live on BBC iPlayer:

  1. Get a VPN subscription.
  2. Download the app for your device and connect to a UK server.
  3. Go to BBC iPlayer and log into your account or sign up.
  4. Enjoy live streaming the FIFA World Cup 2022 for free from anywhere!

FIFA World Cup 2022 – Groups

  • Group A. Qatar. Ecuador. Senegal. Netherlands
  • Group B. England, Iran, USA, Wales
  • Group C. Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
  • Group D. France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
  • Group E. Spain, New Zealand OR Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
  • Group F. Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
  • Group G. Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
  • Group H. Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea

Final Words

Watch the FIFA World Cup 2022 live without any worry, no matter where you are in the world by accessing BBC iPlayer or SlingTV with the help of VPN. By switching your virtual location to the UK or US, you can access BBC iPlayer or SlingTV hassle-free to stream your favorite FIFA World Cup matches live online. Over 140+ broadcasters will cover the FIFA World Cup 2022 in different countries. For instance, BBC and ITV are going to show the tournament in the UK, while MatchTV and Channel One are the official broadcasters in Russia. However, the end goal is to enjoy and cherish the thrilling moments of the world cup by supporting your national team.

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Inspiring 2022 World Cup Team Nicknames

September 15th, 2022 · Comments Off on Inspiring 2022 World Cup Team Nicknames · FIFA World Cup, Football (Soccer)

I am loving seeing the Socceroos listed on the Team Nicknames of the teams for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, particularly as it is my national team, Australia. It’s a pretty unique name too, unlike some of the other national teams who will be competing at the Qatar World Cup.

There is a group of teams that basically don’t have a nickname, they just have a variation of the term ‘the national team‘ in their respective language (e.g. Germany, Iran, Switzerland). Equally uninspiring, many nicknames are derived from national colors – such as the Blues (France), Blue (Serbia), the Crimsons (Qatar), Orange (Netherlands) and the Tri-Colors (Ecuador, Mexico). At least some add a bit of spice to the color name game, such as the Red Fury (Spain), Red Devils (Belgium), and the Black Stars (Ghana).

football-world-cup-ball

Not all the names are so bland. If you could create a nickname, wouldn’t you want one that would strike fear in the opposition, like the Fiery Boys of Croatia, Danish Dynamite (Denmark) and Samurai Blues (Japan).

If animals strike fear in you, look out for the Eagles of Carthage from Tunisia, the Green Hawks of Saudi Arabia, the Asian Tigers of South Korea, and the Dragons of Wales.

There are also lions to contend with the Three Lions of England, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, the Lions of Teranga from Senegal, and the Atlas Lions of Morocco.

However, a fearsome team nickname does not necessarily equate to success, as one of the most successful teams is commonly known as the Little Canaries (Brazil). Watch out for them!

See our list of All National Football Team Nicknames.

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Drop In and Check Out Skateboarding at the Olympics

July 24th, 2021 · Comments Off on Drop In and Check Out Skateboarding at the Olympics · Olympic Games, Sport

One of the new sports at the Olympics is skateboarding. The Olympics are clearly looking to make the Olympics more appealing to the younger generation, with the addition of sports such as surfing, and sports climbing and 3×3 basketball. The skateboarding event is another.

The Olympics has not seen a sport like skateboarding, though it has been a regular event at the X Games, and has recently made an appearance at the Asian Games.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics there are two events in skateboarding, street and park, for men and women.

Park Skateboarding Event

In the park skateboarding event, skaters perform tricks on a course called a “combination pool,” which is like a familiar skate park containing bowls and pools in a complex combination with ramps and course bends. The smooth bowls have steep curved inclines meaning skaters can achieve massive height and have the freedom to put together a run as they see fit. The competitors perform three 45-second runs, and their best counts as their final round score. Some factors in working out the scores are: degree of difficulty of tricks, height, speed, originality, execution, and the overall routine.

skateboarding

Street Skateboarding

In street skateboarding, the skaters perform tricks on a street-like course with stairs, handrails, curbs, benches, walls, and slopes. They are free to choose whatever route they want around the course. In each round, the skaters will perform two 45-second runs and five tricks. The competitors are scored for the difficulty and the originality of their tricks.

Check it out

Day 2: Sunday 25 July 2021 – Men’s street Prelims Heats/Final
Day 3: Monday 26 July 2021 – Women’s street Prelims Heats/Final

Day 12: Wednesday 4 August 2021 – Women’s park Prelims Heats/Final
Day 13: Thursday 5 August 2021 – Men’s park Prelims Heats/Final

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No Chop for Karate

May 21st, 2021 · Comments Off on No Chop for Karate · Olympic Games, Sport

Karate is a new sport on the Olympic program, making its debut at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games along with four other new sports. It is no surprise that this Japanese sport has been able to slip into the Olympics in Tokyo, but its time on the program may be short-lived.

Karate is a martial art originally from Japan, which involves punching, kicking, knee strikes, elbow strikes, and some open-hand techniques like knife-hands, spear-hands, and palm-heel strikes.

For some, karate may seem similar to the Korean martial art of taekwondo, which is also on the Olympic program. There seems to be a high number of combat sports on the Olympic program: karate joins boxing, Judo, taekwondo, fencing and wrestling. For fans of martial arts, and there are lots of them around the world, that may not be a problem.

karate chop

What it involves

There are two karate competitions at the 2021 Olympic Games, kumite and kata. There will be eight gold medals up for grabs: six in kumite and two for kata. There will be sixty competitors competing in the kumite competition, and twenty in the kata competition.

In a kumite match, two athletes face each other with small gloves and foot protection, with the goal of scoring points using kicks, punches, strikes, throws and sweeps over a three minutes period. There are three weight classes (men: <67 kg, −75 kg, +75 kg, women: <55 kg, −61 kg, +61 kg). The winner is the first to score eight points more than their opponent, or the fighter with the most points at the end. In the matter of a tie, the contestant that scored the first unopposed point wins. Don’t expect lots of hits, it is not a full-contact sport, the competitors show full self-control in each technique enabling them to stop the motion suddenly only millimetres before coming into contact.

The competitors in each weight category will advance through an elimination round to reach the semi-final, and eventually the gold medal bout.

In the kata competition, competitors are judged on the power and correctness of their techniques. Competitors take turns in demonstrating his or her kata. The result is judged by a panel of judges, each awarding a score based on technical and athletic performance. The two highest and lowest scores are discarded to determine the winner. 

Where to see it

The karate competition will be held at the Nippon Budokan on August 5-7, 2021. The indoor venue located in Tokyo’s Kitanomaru Park hosted judo events at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Make sure you have a look as karate might not be appearing at the Olympics again. The sport has not been included on the program for the 2024 Paris Olympics. It looks like it is literally getting the karate chop.

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Olympic Surfing

May 13th, 2021 · Comments Off on Olympic Surfing · Olympic Games, Sport

Virtual Surfing

With no international spectators at this year’s Olympic Games in Japan, there will be lots of online internet surfing to watch the sporting events and get results. Some sports are even being held online, with an esports demonstration event sanctioned by the IOC, called the Olympic Virtual Series (OVS). The event will involve five sports – baseball, cycling, rowing, sailing and motorsport. It will be an online mass participation event aimed to generate excitement in the build-up to the Olympics. It will take place from 13th May to 23 June 2021, and is available for viewing on the Olympic channel.

Olympic Surfing

Actual Surfing

Yes, there will be actual surfing at the Olympics! For the first time, the sport of surfing will be part of the Olympics. Another new Olympic sport skateboarding was created by surfers, so it seems only right to have surfing in the Olympics too. These new sports are in line with the IOC drive to appeal to the younger generation.

Who is involved?

The Surfing competition at Tokyo 2020 will feature 20 men and 20 women. Of the 40 places available, 18 are reserved for WSL Championship Tour (CT) surfers (10 men and 8 women), with the remaining 22 places determined at the 2019 and 2020 ISA World Surfing Games, the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, and a single slot (each for men and women) for the host nation.

Where to See It

The surfing competition will take place on natural waves at Shidashita Beach, or “Shida”, 64km from Tokyo on the Chiba peninsula, and about 100km away from the Olympic Stadium. There is no set date for the competition, as the program includes a waiting period of 16 days so they can wait for adequate quality waves. Once the event starts, it will take two days to finish.

Four to five surfers will compete in heats lasting 20-25 minutes, though only one rider may ride a wave at any given time. Later rounds the surfers will go head-to-head, one-on-one. The surfers will be judged by a panel of judges, scoring each wave ride on a scale between 1 to 10. They will be judging each manoeuvre on speed, power, and flow, and the degree of difficulty of each manoeuvre will also be factored into it. Their top two scores will be used to determine the best two surfers from each heat who will continue to the next round.

It is sure to be exciting with most of the world’s top surfers attending. Make sure you tune in or surf the web to see history in the making.

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Street Basketball Comes To The Olympics

April 30th, 2021 · Comments Off on Street Basketball Comes To The Olympics · Basketball, Olympic Games

The Olympics are looking for some street cred. The addition of sports such as skateboarding, surfing, and sports climbing is clearly an attempt to make the Olympics more appealing to the younger generation. The basketball event of 3×3 basketball is another. Without needing to go through the voting process of applying to get a new sport included, basketball has just added another event for Tokyo 2020 and doubled the number of medals available in their sport.

Basketball has been played at the Olympic Games since 1936 in Berlin, though there was a demonstration of basketball in St. Louis in 1904, and again in Paris in 1924. Major milestones in the history of Olympic basketball are the addition of a women’s basketball tournament in 1976, allowing professional players and the original US dream team in 1992, and now the addition of this new exciting version of basketball for men and women.

street basketball game

3×3 basketball (also called streetball or street basketball) is a variation of basketball that is played widely all around the world. The 3×3 form of the game is played with two teams of three players (plus one sub), on half a standard court and with just one hoop. The rules are essentially the same as for full-court basketball, the biggest change is in the scoring. Every successful shot from inside the arc of the court is given a point, from outside the arc is worth two points. The first team to score 21 points, or the team with the most points after 10 minutes, wins. If the score is tied after 10 minutes, the game goes into overtime with the first team to score two points is declared the winner. There are just 12 seconds on the shot clock, and play does not stop after a successful shot, making for fast-paced exciting games that will undoubtedly be a popular addition to the Tokyo Games.

Check it out

At Tokyo 2020 there will be an 8-team tournament, for men and women. All games will be held at the Aomi Urban Sports Park. Pool games will be followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals then a bronze medal and gold medal game.

Schedule

  • 24-27 July pool games
  • 27 July quarter-finals
  • 28 July semi-finals
  • 29 July bronze medal game, gold medal game

Related Pages on Topend Sports

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Sports Climbing – A New Olympic Sport?

March 23rd, 2021 · Comments Off on Sports Climbing – A New Olympic Sport? · Olympic Games

There are 33 sports on the program for the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games – with five of them new to the Olympics. With the Tokyo Games fast approaching, it is time to get up to speed with these new sports. The first I will be featuring is sport climbing. You might be familiar with outdoor rock climbing, however, the Olympic “sport climbing” event is a little different, being performed indoors on an artificial climbing wall, but requiring much the same skills.

sport climbing

Is it really the first time climbing has been at the Olympics?

After lobbying for inclusion into the Olympic Games for many years, sport climbing was finally accepted onto the program for 2020. But it is not really the first time that climbing has been part of the Olympics. In the early years of the Olympics, there was another climbing event as part of the gymnastics program – rope climbing. In this event, the competitors climbed a suspended vertical rope as fast as possible using only their hands. It was not just a one-off event either, rope climbing was part of the official Olympic program in 1896, 1904, 1906, 1924 and 1932.

There have been more Olympic climbing, though not as a medal event. Back in 1924, there was a mountain climbing prize. There was no actual competition, the Olympic “Alpinism Prize” was awarded for the most notable alpinism feat accomplished during the previous four years. And probably best forgotten, is the pole climbing competition that was part of the racist 1904 Anthropology Days, where men from indigenous populations competed in various events so that anthropologists could see how they compared to the white man.

So really, it is not the first time climbing has been part of the Olympics, but it is the first time in this current competitive format.

What Does Sport Climbing Involve?

The sport climbing event that will make its debut in Tokyo requires great feats of strength, speed and flexibility and a lot of skill. It will be exciting to watch. Climbers use a range of hand and footholds of different shapes and sizes to scale a vertical wall. The wall can feature both positive and negative angles. The competitors must climb using only their bare hands and climbing shoes, though in some disciplines safety gear may be worn.

The climbing competition at the Olympics is divided into three disciplines – lead climbing, speed climbing, and bouldering.

  1. Speed climbing – two athletes race up a 15-meter wall side-by-side on an identical course. The first to the top wins and progresses to the next round
  2. Bouldering – the competitors attempt to scale fixed routes of varying difficulty on a 4.5m wall in a set time.
  3. Lead Climbing – how high a climber can go in six minutes?

There is one gold medal for male and females up for grabs. The final rankings are determined by multiplying the place in each of the three disciplines, with the athlete with the lowest score winning.

The sport climbing event will be held from Aug 2-5 at the Aomi Urban Sports Park, a temporary venue in the waterfront Aomi district. Make sure you tune in to see history being made.

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The Wonders of Sport

August 15th, 2020 · Comments Off on The Wonders of Sport · Major Events, Sport

I hope that you are staying safe and healthy. Where I live we are slowly getting back to pre-COVID normality, and I hope you are too. For many of us, sport is back on, and the chance to go and see your teams live is hopefully not too far away.

What sporting events are you most looking forward to? Our major events world calendar has taken a beating, many of the events since April 2020 have been cancelled or postponed. We have tried to keep up but plans have been changing regularly. The major postponement was the 2020 Olympic Games, which was due to begin on July 24 this year, but is now due to start nearly a year later (hopefully!)

There are Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, so why not a sporting version? Have you ever considered what might be the best Sporting World Wonders – the stadiums, events and athletes that epitomise what we love about sport?

There already is a sporting wonder!

On the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, one of the wonders had a sporting link, the Statue of Zeus. The ancient Olympic Games were held in honor of their King of gods, Zeus. In the ancient Greek city of Olympia, sculptor Pheidias carved the enormous statue of Zeus, in the 5th century B.C. It was made of gold and ivory and was reputed to be 40 ft high.

And another one added!

A New Seven Wonders of the World was created in 2007, and that new list included another sporting wonder, the Colosseum in Rome. This arena, built in 80 AD, was one of the first great classic stadiums and is considered the father of all modern sporting stadiums. The arena was primarily a stage for combat, which is not unlike the sporting events of today.

We have created a few wonder lists of our own, for venues, events and athletes. As with the previous 7 Wonder lists, the items are listed in no particular order.

Rob at the colosseum in Rome, Italy

Seven Wonders of the Sporting World (Athletes) 

Here are my top 7 athletes of all time. A wonder must dominate in their chosen sport, be a great athlete, a good role model for the sport, and have worldwide appeal so that their profile is known outside of their sporting circles. I think the off-court behaviour is very important when assessing our greatest athletes, though sometimes the performances are so overwhelmingly great it is hard to leave them off (e.g. Tiger Woods and Serena Williams). 

  1. Lionel Messi
  2. Usain Bolt
  3. Muhammad Ali
  4. Roger Federer
  5. Michael Jordan
  6. Don Bradman
  7. Tiger Woods

Although both males and females were considered for the Athlete list of 7 Wonders, the only female that was close to making the top-7 was Serena Williams. Rather than trying to compare the males and females directly, I also created a female-only 7-Wonders list as the best way to highlight the best of women’s sport.

  1. Babe Didrikson Zaharias (golf, track & field)
  2. Jackie Joyner-Kersee (track & field)
  3. Serena Williams (tennis)
  4. Annika Sorenstam (golf)
  5. Martina Navratilova (tennis)
  6. Mia Hamm (football/soccer)
  7. Fanny Blankers-Koen (track & field)

Seven Wonders of the Sporting World (Events) 

Here are the top 7 sporting events from around the world. These events are the mecca of elite world sport, the must-see events of every sports fan.

  1. FIFA World Cup
  2. Summer Olympic Games
  3. Tour de France
  4. NFL Super Bowl
  5. Wimbledon
  6. Monaco Grand Prix
  7. Baseball World Series

As with the athlete list, I created a female sporting events list to highlight the best of women’s sport from around the world. These events are the mecca of elite women’s world sport, the must-see events for all sports fans.

  1. FIFA Women’s World Cup final
  2. Women’s Singles Final at Wimbledon
  3. Netball World Cup final
  4. Women’s Rugby World Cup final
  5. Gymnastics at the Olympic Games
  6. WNBA final
  7. Women’s Cricket Twenty20 World Cup final

Seven Wonders of the Sporting World (Venues)

Here are the top 7 sporting stadiums from around the world. These are iconic and ‘the’ place to watch the chosen sport. They are unique, architecturally striking and stand out in the world of sport.

  1. Panathenaic Stadium
  2. Bird’s Nest
  3. St Andrews Old Course
  4. Wembley Stadium
  5. Fenway Park
  6. Melbourne Cricket Ground
  7. Maracanã Stadium

You Don’t Agree?

These are just my personal opinions, some food for thought, and I don’t expect to be able to please everyone. I main hope is that these events continue as usual, and we can all go out and enjoy them.

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At the FIFA World Cup, Does Size Matter?

July 13th, 2018 · No Comments · FIFA World Cup, Fitness Testing, Football (Soccer), Sports Nutrition

The FIFA Football World Cup in Russia is coming to its conclusion in a couple of days with the final between France and Croatia. Many of the top teams have been surprisingly knocked out early or not even making the tournament. It is challenging predicting which team will be successful, with none of the top three teams who were predicted to win making the final. What makes a team successful? There is no one factor which determines success; factors such as player skill, speed, agility, game experience, teamwork, coaching, fatigue level and mental focus are just some of the elements. Another factor, body size, may have only a minor effect, but an effect nonetheless.

Prior to the tournament, FIFA released the anthropometric data of the 736 players (squads of 23 from the 32 nations), which gave us the opportunity to compare the body size of players from each team and playing position. We found that out of all the teams, the goalkeepers at the 2018 FIFA World Cup stood out – they tended to be older, taller and heavier than the field players. The youngest players were the forwards, the shortest the midfielders, and the leanest based on BMI were the midfielders. Now that the two teams that are to battle out the final on Sunday are known, we have pulled out their team data and had a look at how they match up.

silhouettes of soccer players

Squads Compared

We compared the body size data of the French and Croatian 23-man squads. The Croatians are on average older (27.9 v 26.0 years), a couple of centimetres (an inch) taller (185.3 v 183.3), but of similar average weight (79.3 v 80.0kg). If we just compare the expected starting 11 players (based on their semi-final match), the age difference is even greater (29.5 v 26.2 years). For both teams, the average weight of the players in the starting 11 is lower than the full squad average (Croatia 79.3 to 77.6kg, France 80.0 to 78.9kg), indicating the top players are leaner. The lower weight was not just because they are shorter, as the Body Mass Index was lower too (Croatia 23.1 to 22.8, France 23.8 to 23.5).

Players Compared

The two goalkeepers expected to play in the final are Danijel Subasic of Croatia and Hugo Lloris of France. The Croatian has a couple of years more experience (aged 33.7 versus 31.5 years), and also has an advantage in size: he is taller (191 v 188cm) and heavier (84 v 82 kg).

Of the starting four defenders, the noteworthy difference is their age. The Croatians are on average more than five years older (28.9 v 23.6 years). If this age difference translates to greater maturity and experience on the field, then they have a distinct advantage.

Comparing the midfielders, the French players are on average quite a bit heavier (76.7 v 70.7 kg) despite being of very similar height. At this level, we don’t expect players to be carrying much excess body fat, so the difference in weight would be mostly due to them being more solidly built, having more muscle and therefore being stronger. If this World Cup final becomes a physical encounter, the French midfield players are going to have a big advantage.

The Croatian forwards are also a couple of inches taller than their French counterparts (187.0 v 181.7cm), which may be an advantage around the goals, particularly for corners and other set pieces.

Conclusion

When it comes to the physical attributes of the two teams, in most cases it has been the Croatian team that has the advantage. Of course, body size is not the most important factor for successful performance in football, though, if all other things are equal then it may be the difference that could win a World Cup for Croatia. However, it may just come down to luck, particularly if it finishes with a penalty shootout.

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