Players analysis, in distribution.
What month were most goalkeepers born? Do attackers cluster differently from defenders? Where do the GOATs (Michel Platini, Marco van Basten, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi…) fall on the curve — on the modal month or as outliers?
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Tournaments
1988
Squads by position
Players in the selected window, split by role
GET /aggregates/players?years=1988
By confederation
Where the players come from
GET /aggregates/players?years=1988
Hemisphere split
Northern vs Southern hemisphere national teams
Northern160 (100.0%)
Southern0 (0.0%)
ApiTeam.country × hemisphere classification
Birth month, by position
One chart per role. GOAT pin-marks (gold dots above the bars) call out where iconic players sit. Look for the “relative-age effect” — many youth-academy systems privilege Q1 birthdays (Jan-Mar) for early physical development, and you sometimes see the same skew in elite squads.
Goalkeepers
Birth-month distribution + 2 GOAT markers
Gianluigi Buffon· JanIker Casillas· MayModal month: Apr — 3 players (18.8%). Range: 0—3.
Defenders
Birth-month distribution + 1 GOAT marker
Paolo Maldini· JunModal month: Mar — 8 players (14.3%). Range: 2—8.
Midfielders
Birth-month distribution + 8 GOAT markers
Michel Platini· JunAndrés Iniesta· MayXavi· JanZinedine Zidane· JunAntonín Panenka· DecRuud Gullit· SepLothar Matthäus· MarAndrea Pirlo· MayModal month: Mar — 9 players (15.5%). Range: 3—9.
Attackers
Birth-month distribution + 3 GOAT markers
Marco van Basten· OctCristiano Ronaldo· FebLuís Figo· NovModal month: Sep — 7 players (23.3%). Range: 0—7.
All players· Northern hemisphere only
Every player from the 1988 squad on Northern-hemisphere national teams. Search by name or filter by country, position, birth year or birth month. The C badge marks captains. Change the hemisphere filter in the hero above.
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| Player | Country | Position | DOB | Birth month | Club | Ht | WCs | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adri van Tiggelen | Netherlands | Defender | 1957-06-16 | Jun | Anderlecht | — | 1 | — |
| Alessandro Altobelli | Italy | Attacker | 1955-11-28 | Nov | Internazionale | — | 1 | — |
 Anatoliy Demyanenko | Soviet Union | Defender | 1959-02-19 | Feb | Dynamo Kyiv | — | 1 | — |
| Andoni Zubizarreta | Spain | Goalkeeper | 1961-10-23 | Oct | Barcelona | — | 1 | — |
 Andreas Brehme | West Germany | Defender | 1960-11-09 | Nov | Bayern Munich | — | 1 | — |
| Arnold Mühren | Netherlands | Midfielder | 1951-05-02 | May | Ajax | — | 1 | — |
| Aron Winter | Netherlands | Midfielder | 1967-03-01 | Mar | Ajax | — | 1 | — |
| Berry van Aerle | Netherlands | Defender | 1962-12-08 | Dec | PSV Eindhoven | — | 1 | — |
 Bjørn Kristensen | Denmark | Defender | 1963-10-10 | Oct | AGF | — | 1 | — |
| Bodo Illgner | West Germany | Goalkeeper | 1967-04-07 | Apr | 1. FC Köln | — | 1 | — |
 Bryan RobsonC | England | Midfielder | 1957-01-11 | Jan | Manchester United | — | 1 | — |
| Carlo Ancelotti | Italy | Midfielder | 1959-06-10 | Jun | Milan | — | 1 | — |
 Chris Hughton | Republic of Ireland | Defender | 1958-12-11 | Dec | Tottenham Hotspur | — | 1 | — |
| Chris Morris | Republic of Ireland | Defender | 1963-12-24 | Dec |  Celtic | — | 1 | — |
| Chris Waddle | England | Midfielder | 1960-12-14 | Dec | Tottenham Hotspur | — | 1 | — |
| Chris Woods | England | Goalkeeper | 1959-11-14 | Nov | Rangers | — | 1 | — |
| Ciro Ferrara | Italy | Defender | 1967-02-11 | Feb | Napoli | — | 1 | — |
| Dave Watson | England | Defender | 1961-11-20 | Nov | Everton | — | 1 | — |
| David Kelly | Republic of Ireland | Attacker | 1965-11-25 | Nov | Walsall | — | 1 | — |
| Diego Rodríguez Fernández | Spain | Defender | 1960-04-20 | Apr | Real Betis | — | 1 | — |
| Dieter Eckstein | West Germany | Attacker | 1964-03-12 | Mar | 1. FC Nürnberg | — | 1 | — |
| Eike Immel | West Germany | Goalkeeper | 1960-11-27 | Nov | VfB Stuttgart | — | 1 | — |
| Eloy | Spain | Attacker | 1964-07-10 | Jul | Sporting Gijón | — | 1 | — |
| Emilio Butragueño | Spain | Attacker | 1963-07-22 | Jul | Real Madrid | — | 1 | — |
| Erwin Koeman | Netherlands | Midfielder | 1961-09-20 | Sep | KV Mechelen | — | 1 | — |
| Eusebio | Spain | Midfielder | 1964-04-13 | Apr | Atlético Madrid | — | 1 | — |
| Fernando De Napoli | Italy | Midfielder | 1964-03-15 | Mar | Napoli | — | 1 | — |
| Flemming Povlsen | Denmark | Attacker | 1966-12-03 | Dec | 1. FC Köln | — | 1 | — |
| Francesco Romano | Italy | Midfielder | 1960-04-25 | Apr | Napoli | — | 1 | — |
| Francisco Buyo | Spain | Goalkeeper | 1958-01-13 | Jan | Real Madrid | — | 1 | — |
| Franco Baresi | Italy | Defender | 1960-05-08 | May | Milan | — | 1 | — |
| Frank Mill | West Germany | Attacker | 1958-07-23 | Jul | Borussia Dortmund | — | 1 | — |
| Frank Rijkaard | Netherlands | Defender | 1962-09-30 | Sep | Zaragoza | — | 1 | — |
| Frank StapletonC | Republic of Ireland | Attacker | 1956-07-10 | Jul | Derby County | — | 1 | — |
| Gary Lineker | England | Attacker | 1960-11-30 | Nov | Barcelona | — | 1 | — |
| Gary Stevens | England | Defender | 1963-03-27 | Mar | Everton | — | 1 | — |
| Genar Andrinúa | Spain | Defender | 1964-05-09 | May | Athletic Bilbáo | — | 1 | — |
| Gerald Vanenburg | Netherlands | Midfielder | 1964-03-05 | Mar | PSV Eindhoven | — | 1 | — |
| Gerry Peyton | Republic of Ireland | Goalkeeper | 1956-05-20 | May | Bournemouth | — | 1 | — |
| Gianluca Vialli | Italy | Attacker | 1964-07-09 | Jul | Sampdoria | — | 1 | — |
| Giovanni Francini | Italy | Defender | 1963-08-03 | Aug | Napoli | — | 1 | — |
| Giuseppe BergomiC | Italy | Defender | 1963-12-22 | Dec | Internazionale | — | 1 | — |
| Giuseppe Giannini | Italy | Midfielder | 1964-08-20 | Aug | Roma | — | 1 | — |
| Glenn Hoddle | England | Midfielder | 1957-10-27 | Oct | Monaco | — | 1 | — |
| Guido Buchwald | West Germany | Defender | 1961-01-24 | Jan | VfB Stuttgart | — | 1 | — |
| Gunnar Sauer | West Germany | Defender | 1964-06-11 | Jun | Werder Bremen | — | 1 | — |
| Hans Dorfner | West Germany | Midfielder | 1965-07-03 | Jul | Bayern Munich | — | 1 | — |
| Hans Pflügler | West Germany | Defender | 1960-03-27 | Mar | Bayern Munich | — | 1 | — |
| Hans van Breukelen | Netherlands | Goalkeeper | 1956-10-04 | Oct | PSV Eindhoven | — | 1 | — |
| Hendrie Krüzen | Netherlands | Midfielder | 1964-11-24 | Nov | Den Bosch | — | 1 | — |
| Hennadiy Lytovchenko | Soviet Union | Midfielder | 1963-09-11 | Sep | Dynamo Kyiv | — | 1 | — |
| Ihor Belanov | Soviet Union | Attacker | 1960-09-25 | Sep | Dynamo Kyiv | — | 1 | — |
| Ivan Nielsen | Denmark | Defender | 1956-10-09 | Oct | PSV Eindhoven | — | 1 | — |
| Ivan Vyshnevskyi | Soviet Union | Defender | 1957-02-21 | Feb | Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk | — | 1 | — |
| Jan Heintze | Denmark | Defender | 1963-08-17 | Aug | PSV Eindhoven | — | 1 | — |
| Jan Wouters | Netherlands | Midfielder | 1960-07-17 | Jul | Ajax | — | 1 | — |
| Jesper Olsen | Denmark | Midfielder | 1961-03-20 | Mar | Manchester United | — | 1 | — |
| John Aldridge | Republic of Ireland | Attacker | 1958-09-18 | Sep | Liverpool | — | 1 | — |
| John Anderson | Republic of Ireland | Defender | 1959-10-07 | Oct | Newcastle United | — | 1 | — |
| John Barnes | England | Midfielder | 1963-11-07 | Nov | Liverpool | — | 1 | — |
| John Bosman | Netherlands | Attacker | 1965-02-01 | Feb | Ajax | — | 1 | — |
| John Byrne | Republic of Ireland | Attacker | 1961-02-01 | Feb | Le Havre | — | 1 | — |
| John Eriksen | Denmark | Attacker | 1957-11-20 | Nov | Servette | — | 1 | — |
| John Helt | Denmark | Midfielder | 1959-12-29 | Dec | Lyngby | — | 1 | — |
| John Jensen | Denmark | Midfielder | 1965-05-03 | May | Brøndby | — | 1 | — |
| John Sheridan | Republic of Ireland | Midfielder | 1964-10-01 | Oct | Leeds United | — | 1 | — |
| John Sivebæk | Denmark | Defender | 1961-10-25 | Oct | Saint-Étienne | — | 1 | — |
| John van 't Schip | Netherlands | Midfielder | 1963-12-30 | Dec | Ajax | — | 1 | — |
| Joop Hiele | Netherlands | Goalkeeper | 1958-12-25 | Dec | Feyenoord | — | 1 | — |
| José Antonio CamachoC | Spain | Defender | 1955-06-08 | Jun | Real Madrid | — | 1 | — |
| José Mari Bakero | Spain | Midfielder | 1963-02-11 | Feb | Real Sociedad | — | 1 | — |
| Julio Salinas | Spain | Attacker | 1962-09-11 | Sep | Atlético Madrid | — | 1 | — |
| Jürgen Klinsmann | West Germany | Attacker | 1964-07-30 | Jul | VfB Stuttgart | — | 1 | — |
| Jürgen Kohler | West Germany | Defender | 1965-10-06 | Oct | 1. FC Köln | — | 1 | — |
| Kenny Sansom | England | Defender | 1958-09-26 | Sep | Arsenal | — | 1 | — |
| Kevin Moran | Republic of Ireland | Defender | 1956-04-29 | Apr | Manchester United | — | 1 | — |
| Kevin Sheedy | Republic of Ireland | Midfielder | 1959-10-21 | Oct | Everton | — | 1 | — |
| Kim Vilfort | Denmark | Midfielder | 1962-11-15 | Nov | Brøndby | — | 1 | — |
| Klaus Berggreen | Denmark | Midfielder | 1958-02-03 | Feb | Torino | — | 1 | — |
| Lars Olsen | Denmark | Defender | 1961-02-02 | Feb | Brøndby | — | 1 | — |
| Liam O'Brien | Republic of Ireland | Midfielder | 1964-09-05 | Sep | Manchester United | — | 1 | — |
| Lothar MatthäusC | West Germany | Midfielder | 1961-03-21 | Mar | Bayern Munich | — | 1 | — |
| Luca Fusi | Italy | Midfielder | 1963-06-07 | Jun | Sampdoria | — | 1 | — |
| Luigi De Agostini | Italy | Midfielder | 1963-04-07 | Apr | Juventus | — | 1 | — |
| Manuel Sanchís | Spain | Defender | 1965-03-23 | Mar | Real Madrid | — | 1 | — |
| Marco van Basten | Netherlands | Attacker | 1964-10-31 | Oct | Milan | — | 1 | — |
| Mark Hateley | England | Attacker | 1961-11-07 | Nov | Monaco | — | 1 | — |
| Mark Wright | England | Defender | 1963-08-01 | Aug | Derby County | — | 1 | — |
| Matthias Herget | West Germany | Defender | 1955-11-14 | Nov | KFC Uerdingen | — | 1 | — |
| Michael Laudrup | Denmark | Midfielder | 1964-06-15 | Jun | Juventus | — | 1 | — |
| Míchel | Spain | Midfielder | 1963-03-23 | Mar | Real Madrid | — | 1 | — |
| Mick McCarthy | Republic of Ireland | Defender | 1959-02-07 | Feb | Celtic | — | 1 | — |
| Miquel Soler | Spain | Defender | 1965-03-13 | Mar | Espanyol | — | 1 | — |
| Morten OlsenC | Denmark | Defender | 1949-08-14 | Aug | 1. FC Köln | — | 1 | — |
| Neil Webb | England | Midfielder | 1963-07-30 | Jul | Nottingham Forest | — | 1 | — |
| Niall Quinn | Republic of Ireland | Attacker | 1966-10-06 | Oct | Arsenal | — | 1 | — |
| Olaf Thon | West Germany | Midfielder | 1966-05-01 | May | Schalke 04 | — | 1 | — |
| Oleh Kuznetsov | Soviet Union | Defender | 1963-03-22 | Mar | Dynamo Kyiv | — | 1 | — |
| Oleh Protasov | Soviet Union | Attacker | 1964-02-04 | Feb | Dynamo Kyiv | — | 1 | — |
| Oleksandr Zavarov | Soviet Union | Midfielder | 1961-04-26 | Apr | Dynamo Kyiv | — | 1 | — |
GOAT reference
Curated. Inclusion in this list isn't a championship ranking — it's a span of Ballon-d'Or winners + nominees + commonly-cited GOATs across eras, used for the overlay above.
14 / 14
| Player | Country | Position | DOB | Birth month | Club | Ht | WCs | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michel Platini | France | Midfielder | 1955-06-21 | Jun | — | — | 0 | — |
| Marco van Basten | Netherlands | Attacker | 1964-10-31 | Oct | — | — | 0 | — |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Attacker | 1985-02-05 | Feb | — | — | 0 | — |
| Andrés Iniesta | Spain | Midfielder | 1984-05-11 | May | — | — | 0 | — |
| Xavi | Spain | Midfielder | 1980-01-25 | Jan | — | — | 0 | — |
| Zinedine Zidane | France | Midfielder | 1972-06-23 | Jun | — | — | 0 | — |
| Antonín Panenka | Czechoslovakia | Midfielder | 1948-12-02 | Dec | — | — | 0 | — |
| Ruud Gullit | Netherlands | Midfielder | 1962-09-01 | Sep | — | — | 0 | — |
| Luís Figo | Portugal | Attacker | 1972-11-04 | Nov | — | — | 0 | — |
| Gianluigi Buffon | Italy | Goalkeeper | 1978-01-28 | Jan | — | — | 0 | — |
| Paolo Maldini | Italy | Defender | 1968-06-26 | Jun | — | — | 0 | — |
| Lothar Matthäus | Germany | Midfielder | 1961-03-21 | Mar | — | — | 0 | — |
| Andrea Pirlo | Italy | Midfielder | 1979-05-19 | May | — | — | 0 | — |
| Iker Casillas | Spain | Goalkeeper | 1981-05-20 | May | — | — | 0 | — |
Hat-tricks (3+ goals in a match)
Every individual 3+ goal performance in World Cup history. Oleg Salenko's 5-goal haul in 1994 v Cameroon is the all-time single-match record.
| # | Player | Team | Opponent | Stage | Year | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Oleg Salenko | Russia |  Cameroon | Group | 1994 | 5 |
| 2 |  Ernst Wilimowski | Poland |  Brazil | Round of 16 | 1938 | 4 |
| 3 | Ademir | Brazil |  Sweden | Final round | 1950 | 4 |
| 4 |  Sándor Kocsis | Hungary | West Germany | Group | 1954 | 4 |
| 5 | Eusébio | Portugal |  North Korea | Quarter-final | 1966 | 4 |
| 6 | Emilio Butragueño | Spain | Denmark | Round of 16 | 1986 | 4 |
| 7 |  Bert Patenaude | United States |  Paraguay | Group | 1930 | 3 |
| 8 |  Pedro Cea | Uruguay |  Yugoslavia | Semi-final | 1930 | 3 |
| 9 |  Guillermo Stábile | Argentina |  Mexico | Group | 1930 | 3 |
| 10 | Edmund Conen | Germany |  Belgium | Round of 16 | 1934 | 3 |
| 11 | Angelo Schiavio | Italy | United States | Round of 16 | 1934 | 3 |
| 12 | Oldřich Nejedlý | Czechoslovakia | Germany | Semi-final | 1934 | 3 |
| 13 | Leônidas | Brazil | Poland | Round of 16 | 1938 | 3 |
| 14 | Gyula Zsengellér | Hungary |  Dutch East Indies | Round of 16 | 1938 | 3 |
| 15 | Harry Andersson | Sweden |  Cuba | Quarter-final | 1938 | 3 |
| 16 | Gustav Wetterström | Sweden | Cuba | Quarter-final | 1938 | 3 |
| 17 | Oscar Míguez | Uruguay |  Bolivia | Group | 1950 | 3 |
| 18 | Estanislao Basora | Spain | Uruguay | Final round | 1950 | 3 |
| 19 | Sándor Kocsis | Hungary |  South Korea | Group | 1954 | 3 |
| 20 |  Erich Probst | Austria | Czechoslovakia | Group | 1954 | 3 |
| 21 | Carlos Borges | Uruguay | Scotland | Group | 1954 | 3 |
| 22 |  Suat Mamat | Turkey | South Korea | Group | 1954 | 3 |
| 23 |  Josef Hügi | Switzerland | Austria | Quarter-final | 1954 | 3 |
| 24 | Just Fontaine | France | Paraguay | Group | 1958 | 3 |
| 25 | Just Fontaine | France | West Germany | Third place | 1958 | 3 |
| 26 | Pelé | Brazil | France | Semi-final | 1958 | 3 |
| 27 | Florian Albert | Hungary |  Bulgaria | Group | 1962 | 3 |
| 28 | Geoff Hurst | England | West Germany | Final | 1966 | 3 |
| 29 | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | Switzerland | Group | 1966 | 3 |
| 30 | Helmut Haller | West Germany | Switzerland | Group | 1966 | 3 |
| 31 | Eusébio | Portugal | Brazil | Group | 1966 | 3 |
| 32 | Gerd Müller | West Germany | Bulgaria | Group | 1970 | 3 |
| 33 | Gerd Müller | West Germany |  Peru | Quarter-final | 1970 | 3 |
| 34 | Andrzej Szarmach | Poland |  Haiti | Group | 1974 | 3 |
| 35 | Dušan Bajević | Yugoslavia |  Zaire | Group | 1974 | 3 |
| 36 | Robbie Rensenbrink | Netherlands |  Iran | Group | 1978 | 3 |
| 37 | Teófilo Cubillas | Peru | Iran | Group | 1978 | 3 |
| 38 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany |  Chile | Group | 1982 | 3 |
| 39 | Zbigniew Boniek | Poland | Belgium | Second round | 1982 | 3 |
| 40 | László Kiss | Hungary |  El Salvador | Group | 1982 | 3 |
| 41 | Paolo Rossi | Italy | Brazil | Second round | 1982 | 3 |
| 42 | Gary Lineker | England | Poland | Group | 1986 | 3 |
| 43 | Igor Belanov | Soviet Union | Belgium | Round of 16 | 1986 | 3 |
| 44 | Tomáš Skuhravý | Czechoslovakia |  Costa Rica | Round of 16 | 1990 | 3 |
| 45 | Míchel | Spain | South Korea | Group | 1990 | 3 |
| 46 | Gabriel Batistuta | Argentina |  Greece | Group | 1994 | 3 |
| 47 | Gabriel Batistuta | Argentina |  Jamaica | Group | 1998 | 3 |
| 48 | Miroslav Klose | Germany |  Saudi Arabia | Group | 2002 | 3 |
| 49 | Pauleta | Portugal | Poland | Group | 2002 | 3 |
| 50 | Gonzalo Higuaín | Argentina | South Korea | Group | 2010 | 3 |
| 51 | Thomas Müller | Germany | Portugal | Group | 2014 | 3 |
| 52 | Xherdan Shaqiri | Switzerland |  Honduras | Group | 2014 | 3 |
| 53 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Spain | Group | 2018 | 3 |
| 54 | Harry Kane | England |  Panama | Group | 2018 | 3 |
| 55 | Gonçalo Ramos | Portugal | Switzerland | Round of 16 | 2022 | 3 |
| 56 | Kylian Mbappé | France | Argentina | Final | 2022 | 3 |
56 hat-tricks · 6with 4+ goals · Salenko's 5 (1994) is the only 5-goal haul on record