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?

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'30s

1930 1934 1938

'50s

'60s

'70s

'80s

'90s

'00s

'10s

'20s

2,420

Players in window

109

Teams

22.2

Avg squad size

Tournaments

1950, 1966, 1982, 1986, 2002

Squads by position

Players in the selected window, split by role

GET /aggregates/players?years=1950,1966,1982,1986,2002

By confederation

Where the players come from

GET /aggregates/players?years=1950,1966,1982,1986,2002

Hemisphere split

Northern vs Southern hemisphere national teams

Northern1,866 (77.1%)

Southern554 (22.9%)

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· Oct

Modal month: Apr — 37 players (11.9%). Range: 17—37.

Defenders

Birth-month distribution + 2 GOAT markers

Franz Beckenbauer· Sep

Fabio Cannavaro· Sep

Modal month: Apr — 73 players (9.7%). Range: 51—73.

Midfielders

Birth-month distribution + 10 GOAT markers

Bobby Charlton· Oct

Diego Maradona· Oct

Michel Platini· Jun

Zico· Mar

Zinedine Zidane· Jun

Ronaldinho· Mar

Kaká· Apr

Andrés Iniesta· May

Xavi Hernández· Jan

Luka Modrić· Sep

Modal month: Jan — 79 players (10.7%). Range: 42—79.

Attackers

Birth-month distribution + 17 GOAT markers

Pelé· Oct

Garrincha· Oct

Eusébio· Jan

Gerd Müller· Nov

Johan Cruyff· Apr

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge· Sep

Paolo Rossi· Sep

Romário· Jan

Ronaldo (R9)· Sep

Cristiano Ronaldo· Feb

Lionel Messi· Jun

Kylian Mbappé· Dec

Neymar· Feb

Robert Lewandowski· Aug

Mohamed Salah· Jun

Karim Benzema· Dec

Vinícius Jr· Jul

Modal month: May — 65 players (10.7%). Range: 33—65.

All players

Every player from the 1950, 1966, 1982, 1986, 2002 squads. Search by name or filter by country, position, birth year or birth month. The C badge marks captains.

NameCountryPositionBirth yearBirth month

2,303 / 2,303

Player	Country	Position	DOB	Birth month	WCs	Goals
Ademir	Brazil	Attacker	1922-11-06	Nov	1	9
Eusébio	Portugal	Attacker	1942-01-25	Jan	1	9
Ronaldo	Brazil	Attacker	1976-09-18	Sep	1	8
Diego MaradonaC	Argentina	Midfielder	1960-10-30	Oct	2	7
Karl-Heinz RummeniggeC	West Germany	Attacker	1955-09-25	Sep	2	6
Paolo Rossi	Italy	Attacker	1956-09-23	Sep	2	6
Gary Lineker	England	Attacker	1960-11-30	Nov	1	6
Helmut Haller	West Germany	Attacker	1939-07-21	Jul	1	6
Alessandro Altobelli	Italy	Attacker	1955-11-28	Nov	2	5
Careca	Brazil	Attacker	1960-10-05	Oct	1	5
Emilio Butragueño	Spain	Attacker	1963-07-22	Jul	1	5
Miroslav Klose	Germany	Attacker	1978-06-09	Jun	1	5
Oscar Míguez	Uruguay	Attacker	1927-12-05	Dec	1	5
Rivaldo	Brazil	Midfielder	1972-04-19	Apr	1	5
Jorge Valdano	Argentina	Attacker	1955-10-04	Oct	2	4
Michel PlatiniC	France	Midfielder	1955-06-21	Jun	2	4
SócratesC	Brazil	Midfielder	1954-02-19	Feb	2	4
Zbigniew BoniekC	Poland	Attacker	1956-03-03	Mar	2	4
Zico	Brazil	Midfielder	1953-03-03	Mar	2	4
Alcides Ghiggia	Uruguay	Attacker	1926-12-22	Dec	1	4
Chico	Brazil	Attacker	1922-01-07	Jan	1	4
Christian Vieri	Italy	Attacker	1973-07-12	Jul	1	4
Estanislau Basora	Spain	Attacker	1926-11-18	Nov	1	4
Ferenc Bene	Hungary	Attacker	1944-12-17	Dec	1	4
Franz Beckenbauer	West Germany	Midfielder	1945-09-11	Sep	1	4
Geoff Hurst	England	Attacker	1941-12-08	Dec	1	4
Ihor Belanov	Soviet Union	Midfielder	1960-09-25	Sep	1	4
Jon Dahl Tomasson	Denmark	Attacker	1976-08-29	Aug	1	4
Preben Elkjær	Denmark	Attacker	1957-09-11	Sep	1	4
Telmo Zarra	Spain	Attacker	1921-01-20	Jan	1	4
Valeriy Porkujan	Soviet Union	Attacker	1944-10-04	Oct	1	4
Alain Giresse	France	Midfielder	1952-08-02	Aug	2	3
Bernard Genghini	France	Midfielder	1958-01-18	Jan	2	3
Dominique Rocheteau	France	Attacker	1955-01-14	Jan	2	3
Falcão	Brazil	Midfielder	1953-10-16	Oct	2	3
Gerry Armstrong	Northern Ireland	Attacker	1954-05-23	May	2	3
Jan CeulemansC	Belgium	Midfielder	1957-02-28	Feb	2	3
Bobby Charlton	England	Midfielder	1937-10-11	Oct	1	3
Fernando Morientes	Spain	Attacker	1976-04-05	Apr	1	3
Henrik Larsson	Sweden	Attacker	1971-09-20	Sep	1	3
İlhan Mansız	Turkey	Attacker	1975-08-10	Aug	1	3
Jesper Olsen	Denmark	Midfielder	1961-03-20	Mar	1	3
José Augusto	Portugal	Midfielder	1937-04-13	Apr	1	3
José Torres	Portugal	Attacker	1938-09-08	Sep	1	3
Juan Alberto Schiaffino	Uruguay	Attacker	1925-07-28	Jul	1	3
Karl-Erik Palmér	Sweden	Attacker	1929-04-17	Apr	1	3
László Kiss	Hungary	Attacker	1956-03-12	Mar	1	3
Luis Artime	Argentina	Attacker	1938-12-02	Dec	1	3
Marc WilmotsC	Belgium	Attacker	1969-02-22	Feb	1	3
Michael Ballack	Germany	Midfielder	1976-09-26	Sep	1	3
Nico Claesen	Belgium	Attacker	1962-10-07	Oct	1	3
Papa Bouba Diop	Senegal	Midfielder	1978-01-28	Jan	1	3
Pauleta	Portugal	Attacker	1973-04-28	Apr	1	3
Raúl	Spain	Attacker	1977-06-27	Jun	1	3
Robbie Keane	Republic of Ireland	Attacker	1980-07-08	Jul	1	3
Roger Hunt	England	Attacker	1938-07-20	Jul	1	3
Rudi Völler	West Germany	Attacker	1960-04-13	Apr	1	3
Stig Sundqvist	Sweden	Attacker	1922-07-19	Jul	1	3
Júnior	Brazil	Defender	1954-06-29	Jun	3	2
Billy Hamilton	Northern Ireland	Attacker	1957-05-09	May	2	2
Bryan RobsonC	England	Midfielder	1957-01-11	Jan	2	2
Daniel PassarellaC	Argentina	Defender	1953-05-25	May	2	2
Erwin Vandenbergh	Belgium	Attacker	1959-01-26	Jan	2	2
Marco Tardelli	Italy	Midfielder	1954-09-24	Sep	2	2
Pierre Littbarski	West Germany	Midfielder	1960-04-16	Apr	2	2
Salah Assad	Algeria	Attacker	1958-03-13	Mar	2	2
Włodzimierz Smolarek	Poland	Attacker	1957-07-16	Jul	2	2
Abderrazak Khairi	Morocco	Attacker	1962-11-20	Nov	1	2
Ahn Jung-hwan	South Korea	Attacker	1976-01-27	Jan	1	2
Anatoliy Banishevskiy	Soviet Union	Attacker	1946-02-23	Feb	1	2
Antonín Panenka	Czechoslovakia	Midfielder	1948-12-02	Dec	1	2
Atilio Cremaschi	Chile	Attacker	1923-03-08	Mar	1	2
Baltazar	Brazil	Attacker	1926-01-14	Jan	1	2
Brian McBride	United States	Attacker	1972-06-19	Jun	1	2
Daniel Bertoni	Argentina	Attacker	1955-03-14	Mar	1	2
Didier Six	France	Attacker	1954-08-21	Aug	1	2
Éder	Brazil	Attacker	1957-05-25	May	1	2
Eduard Malofeyev	Soviet Union	Attacker	1942-06-02	Jun	1	2
Enzo Scifo	Belgium	Midfielder	1966-02-19	Feb	1	2
Fernando HierroC	Spain	Defender	1968-03-23	Mar	1	2
Fernando Quirarte	Mexico	Defender	1956-05-17	May	1	2
Gábor Pölöskei	Hungary	Attacker	1960-10-11	Oct	1	2
Hasan Şaş	Turkey	Attacker	1976-08-01	Aug	1	2
Hasse Jeppson	Sweden	Attacker	1925-05-10	May	1	2
Henri Camara	Senegal	Attacker	1977-05-10	May	1	2
Igor Chislenko	Soviet Union	Midfielder	1939-01-04	Jan	1	2
Jacques Fatton	Switzerland	Attacker	1925-12-19	Dec	1	2
Jair	Brazil	Attacker	1921-03-21	Mar	1	2
Jared Borgetti	Mexico	Attacker	1973-08-14	Aug	1	2
Jean-Pierre Papin	France	Attacker	1963-11-05	Nov	1	2
John Wark	Scotland	Midfielder	1957-08-04	Aug	1	2
Jorge Burruchaga	Argentina	Midfielder	1962-10-09	Oct	1	2
Josimar	Brazil	Defender	1961-09-19	Sep	1	2
Julio César Romero	Paraguay	Midfielder	1960-08-28	Aug	1	2
Junichi Inamoto	Japan	Midfielder	1979-09-18	Sep	1	2
Kálmán Mészöly	Hungary	Defender	1941-07-16	Jul	1	2
Klaus Allofs	West Germany	Attacker	1956-12-05	Dec	1	2
Klaus Fischer	West Germany	Attacker	1949-12-27	Dec	1	2
Kosta Tomašević	Yugoslavia	Attacker	1923-07-25	Jul	1	2
Landon Donovan	United States	Attacker	1982-03-04	Mar	1	2

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.

NameCountryPositionBirth yearBirth month

30 / 30

Player	Country	Position	DOB	Birth month	Goals
Pelé	Brazil	Attacker	1940-10-23	Oct	—
Garrincha	Brazil	Attacker	1933-10-28	Oct	—
Eusébio	Portugal	Attacker	1942-01-25	Jan	—
Bobby Charlton	England	Midfielder	1937-10-11	Oct	—
Lev Yashin	Soviet Union	Goalkeeper	1929-10-22	Oct	—
Gerd Müller	West Germany	Attacker	1945-11-03	Nov	—
Johan Cruyff	Netherlands	Attacker	1947-04-25	Apr	—
Franz Beckenbauer	West Germany	Defender	1945-09-11	Sep	—
Diego Maradona	Argentina	Midfielder	1960-10-30	Oct	—
Michel Platini	France	Midfielder	1955-06-21	Jun	—
Zico	Brazil	Midfielder	1953-03-03	Mar	—
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	West Germany	Attacker	1955-09-25	Sep	—
Paolo Rossi	Italy	Attacker	1956-09-23	Sep	—
Romário	Brazil	Attacker	1966-01-29	Jan	—
Ronaldo (R9)	Brazil	Attacker	1976-09-22	Sep	—
Zinedine Zidane	France	Midfielder	1972-06-23	Jun	—
Ronaldinho	Brazil	Midfielder	1980-03-21	Mar	—
Kaká	Brazil	Midfielder	1982-04-22	Apr	—
Fabio Cannavaro	Italy	Defender	1973-09-13	Sep	—
Andrés Iniesta	Spain	Midfielder	1984-05-11	May	—
Xavi Hernández	Spain	Midfielder	1980-01-25	Jan	—
Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	Attacker	1985-02-05	Feb	—
Lionel Messi	Argentina	Attacker	1987-06-24	Jun	—
Luka Modrić	Croatia	Midfielder	1985-09-09	Sep	—
Kylian Mbappé	France	Attacker	1998-12-20	Dec	—
Neymar	Brazil	Attacker	1992-02-05	Feb	—
Robert Lewandowski	Poland	Attacker	1988-08-21	Aug	—
Mohamed Salah	Egypt	Attacker	1992-06-15	Jun	—
Karim Benzema	France	Attacker	1987-12-19	Dec	—
Vinícius Jr	Brazil	Attacker	2000-07-12	Jul	—

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