Players analysis, in distribution.
What month were most goalkeepers born? Do attackers cluster differently from defenders? Where do the GOATs (Pelé, Maradona, Cruyff, Messi, CR7, R9…) fall on the curve — on the modal month or as outliers?
Tournament (single-year)
Hemisphere filterteam country's hemisphere
66
Players in window
3
Teams
22.0
Avg squad size
1
Tournaments
1978
Squads by position
Players in the selected window, split by role
GET /aggregates/players?years=1978
By confederation
Where the players come from
GET /aggregates/players?years=1978
Hemisphere split
Northern vs Southern hemisphere national teams
Northern0 (0.0%)
Southern66 (100.0%)
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 + 1 GOAT marker
Lev Yashin· OctModal month: Jul — 3 players (33.3%). Range: 0—3.
Defenders
Birth-month distribution + 2 GOAT markers
Franz Beckenbauer· SepFabio Cannavaro· SepModal month: Jun — 4 players (20.0%). Range: 0—4.
Midfielders
Birth-month distribution + 10 GOAT markers
Bobby Charlton· OctDiego Maradona· OctMichel Platini· JunZico· MarZinedine Zidane· JunRonaldinho· MarKaká· AprAndrés Iniesta· MayXavi Hernández· JanLuka Modrić· SepModal month: Jun — 4 players (19.0%). Range: 0—4.
Attackers
Birth-month distribution + 17 GOAT markers
Pelé· OctGarrincha· OctEusébio· JanGerd Müller· NovJohan Cruyff· AprKarl-Heinz Rummenigge· SepPaolo Rossi· SepRomário· JanRonaldo (R9)· SepCristiano Ronaldo· FebLionel Messi· JunKylian Mbappé· DecNeymar· FebRobert Lewandowski· AugMohamed Salah· JunKarim Benzema· DecVinícius Jr· JulModal month: Jun — 4 players (25.0%). Range: 0—4.
All players· Southern hemisphere only
Every player from the 1978 squad on Southern-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 | WCs | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kempes | Argentina | Attacker | 1954-07-15 | Jul | 1 | 6 |
 Teófilo Cubillas | Peru | Midfielder | 1949-03-08 | Mar | 1 | 5 |
| Leopoldo Luque | Argentina | Attacker | 1949-05-03 | May | 1 | 4 |
| Dirceu | Brazil | Midfielder | 1952-06-15 | Jun | 1 | 3 |
| Roberto Dinamite | Brazil | Attacker | 1954-04-13 | Apr | 1 | 3 |
| Daniel Bertoni | Argentina | Attacker | 1955-03-14 | Mar | 1 | 2 |
| Nelinho | Brazil | Defender | 1950-07-26 | Jul | 1 | 2 |
| Alberto Tarantini | Argentina | Defender | 1955-12-03 | Dec | 1 | 1 |
| César Cueto | Peru | Midfielder | 1952-06-16 | Jun | 1 | 1 |
| Daniel PassarellaC | Argentina | Defender | 1953-05-25 | May | 1 | 1 |
| José Velásquez | Peru | Midfielder | 1952-06-04 | Jun | 1 | 1 |
| Reinaldo | Brazil | Attacker | 1957-01-11 | Jan | 1 | 1 |
| René Houseman | Argentina | Attacker | 1953-07-19 | Jul | 1 | 1 |
| Zico | Brazil | Midfielder | 1953-03-03 | Mar | 1 | 1 |
| Abel | Brazil | Defender | 1952-09-01 | Sep | 1 | — |
| Alfredo Quesada | Peru | Midfielder | 1949-09-22 | Sep | 1 | — |
| Amaral | Brazil | Defender | 1954-12-25 | Dec | 1 | — |
| Américo Gallego | Argentina | Midfielder | 1955-04-25 | Apr | 1 | — |
| Batista | Brazil | Midfielder | 1955-03-08 | Mar | 1 | — |
| Carlos | Brazil | Goalkeeper | 1956-03-04 | Mar | 1 | — |
| Chicão | Brazil | Midfielder | 1949-01-30 | Jan | 1 | — |
| Daniel Killer | Argentina | Defender | 1949-12-21 | Dec | 1 | — |
| Edinho | Brazil | Defender | 1955-06-05 | Jun | 1 | — |
| Ernesto Labarthe | Peru | Midfielder | 1956-06-02 | Jun | 1 | — |
| Germán Leguía | Peru | Midfielder | 1954-01-02 | Jan | 1 | — |
| Gil | Brazil | Attacker | 1950-12-24 | Dec | 1 | — |
| Guillermo La Rosa | Peru | Attacker | 1952-06-06 | Jun | 1 | — |
| Héctor Baley | Argentina | Goalkeeper | 1950-11-16 | Nov | 1 | — |
| Héctor ChumpitazC | Peru | Defender | 1944-04-12 | Apr | 1 | — |
| Hugo Sotil | Peru | Attacker | 1949-05-18 | May | 1 | — |
| Jaime Duarte | Peru | Defender | 1955-02-27 | Feb | 1 | — |
| Jorge Mendonça | Brazil | Attacker | 1954-06-06 | Jun | 1 | — |
| Jorge Olguin | Argentina | Defender | 1952-05-17 | May | 1 | — |
| José Daniel Valencia | Argentina | Midfielder | 1955-10-03 | Oct | 1 | — |
| José Navarro | Peru | Defender | 1948-09-24 | Sep | 1 | — |
| Juan Cáceres | Peru | Goalkeeper | 1949-12-27 | Dec | 1 | — |
| Juan Carlos Oblitas | Peru | Attacker | 1951-02-16 | Feb | 1 | — |
| Juan Muñante | Peru | Attacker | 1948-06-12 | Jun | 1 | — |
| Leão | Brazil | Goalkeeper | 1949-07-11 | Jul | 1 | — |
| Luis Galván | Argentina | Defender | 1948-02-24 | Feb | 1 | — |
| Miguel Oviedo | Argentina | Midfielder | 1950-10-12 | Oct | 1 | — |
| Norberto Alonso | Argentina | Midfielder | 1953-01-04 | Jan | 1 | — |
| Omar Larrosa | Argentina | Midfielder | 1947-11-18 | Nov | 1 | — |
| Oscar | Brazil | Defender | 1954-06-20 | Jun | 1 | — |
| Oscar Ortiz | Argentina | Attacker | 1953-04-08 | Apr | 1 | — |
| Osvaldo Ardiles | Argentina | Midfielder | 1952-08-03 | Aug | 1 | — |
| Ottorino Sartor | Peru | Goalkeeper | 1945-09-18 | Sep | 1 | — |
| Percy Rojas | Peru | Midfielder | 1949-09-16 | Sep | 1 | — |
| Polozzi | Brazil | Defender | 1955-10-01 | Oct | 1 | — |
| Ramón Quiroga | Peru | Goalkeeper | 1950-07-23 | Jul | 1 | — |
| Raúl Gorriti | Peru | Midfielder | 1956-10-10 | Oct | 1 | — |
| Ricardo La Volpe | Argentina | Goalkeeper | 1952-02-06 | Feb | 1 | — |
| Ricardo Villa | Argentina | Midfielder | 1952-08-18 | Aug | 1 | — |
| RivellinoC | Brazil | Attacker | 1946-01-01 | Jan | 1 | — |
| Roberto Mosquera | Peru | Attacker | 1956-06-21 | Jun | 1 | — |
| Roberto Rojas | Peru | Defender | 1955-10-26 | Oct | 1 | — |
| Rodolfo Manzo | Peru | Defender | 1949-06-05 | Jun | 1 | — |
| Rodrigues Neto | Brazil | Defender | 1949-12-06 | Dec | 1 | — |
| Rubén Galván | Argentina | Midfielder | 1952-04-07 | Apr | 1 | — |
| Rubén Pagnanini | Argentina | Defender | 1949-01-31 | Jan | 1 | — |
| Rubén Toribio Díaz | Peru | Defender | 1952-04-17 | Apr | 1 | — |
| Toninho | Brazil | Defender | 1948-06-07 | Jun | 1 | — |
| Toninho Cerezo | Brazil | Midfielder | 1955-04-21 | Apr | 1 | — |
| Ubaldo Fillol | Argentina | Goalkeeper | 1950-07-21 | Jul | 1 | — |
| Waldir Peres | Brazil | Goalkeeper | 1951-02-02 | Feb | 1 | — |
| Zé Sérgio | Brazil | Attacker | 1957-03-08 | Mar | 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.
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| Player | Country | Position | DOB | Birth month | WCs | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pelé | Brazil | Attacker | 1940-10-23 | Oct | 0 | — |
| Garrincha | Brazil | Attacker | 1933-10-28 | Oct | 0 | — |
| Eusébio | Portugal | Attacker | 1942-01-25 | Jan | 0 | — |
| Bobby Charlton | England | Midfielder | 1937-10-11 | Oct | 0 | — |
| Lev Yashin | Soviet Union | Goalkeeper | 1929-10-22 | Oct | 0 | — |
| Gerd Müller | West Germany | Attacker | 1945-11-03 | Nov | 0 | — |
| Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Attacker | 1947-04-25 | Apr | 0 | — |
| Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | Defender | 1945-09-11 | Sep | 0 | — |
| Diego Maradona | Argentina | Midfielder | 1960-10-30 | Oct | 0 | — |
| Michel Platini | France | Midfielder | 1955-06-21 | Jun | 0 | — |
| Zico | Brazil | Midfielder | 1953-03-03 | Mar | 0 | — |
| Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany | Attacker | 1955-09-25 | Sep | 0 | — |
| Paolo Rossi | Italy | Attacker | 1956-09-23 | Sep | 0 | — |
| Romário | Brazil | Attacker | 1966-01-29 | Jan | 0 | — |
| Ronaldo (R9) | Brazil | Attacker | 1976-09-22 | Sep | 0 | — |
| Zinedine Zidane | France | Midfielder | 1972-06-23 | Jun | 0 | — |
| Ronaldinho | Brazil | Midfielder | 1980-03-21 | Mar | 0 | — |
| Kaká | Brazil | Midfielder | 1982-04-22 | Apr | 0 | — |
| Fabio Cannavaro | Italy | Defender | 1973-09-13 | Sep | 0 | — |
| Andrés Iniesta | Spain | Midfielder | 1984-05-11 | May | 0 | — |
| Xavi Hernández | Spain | Midfielder | 1980-01-25 | Jan | 0 | — |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Attacker | 1985-02-05 | Feb | 0 | — |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | Attacker | 1987-06-24 | Jun | 0 | — |
| Luka Modrić | Croatia | Midfielder | 1985-09-09 | Sep | 0 | — |
| Kylian Mbappé | France | Attacker | 1998-12-20 | Dec | 0 | — |
| Neymar | Brazil | Attacker | 1992-02-05 | Feb | 0 | — |
| Robert Lewandowski | Poland | Attacker | 1988-08-21 | Aug | 0 | — |
| Mohamed Salah | Egypt | Attacker | 1992-06-15 | Jun | 0 | — |
| Karim Benzema | France | Attacker | 1987-12-19 | Dec | 0 | — |
| Vinícius Jr | Brazil | Attacker | 2000-07-12 | Jul | 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