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

3,261

Players in window

144

Teams

22.6

Avg squad size

Tournaments

1958, 1970, 1974, 2002, 2014, 2018

Squads by position

Players in the selected window, split by role

GET /aggregates/players?years=1958,1970,1974,2002,2014,2018

By confederation

Where the players come from

GET /aggregates/players?years=1958,1970,1974,2002,2014,2018

Hemisphere split

Northern vs Southern hemisphere national teams

Northern2,628 (80.6%)

Southern633 (19.4%)

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 — 49 players (11.5%). Range: 27—49.

Defenders

Birth-month distribution + 2 GOAT markers

Franz Beckenbauer· Sep

Fabio Cannavaro· Sep

Modal month: Feb — 114 players (10.9%). Range: 66—114.

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: Feb — 103 players (10.2%). Range: 65—103.

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: Feb — 77 players (9.9%). Range: 54—77.

All players

Every player from the 1958, 1970, 1974, 2002, 2014, 2018 squads. Search by name or filter by country, position, birth year or birth month. The C badge marks captains.

NameCountryPositionBirth yearBirth month

3,005 / 3,005

Player	Country	Position	DOB	Birth month	WCs	Goals
Gerd Müller	West Germany	Attacker	1945-11-03	Nov	2	14
Just Fontaine	France	Attacker	1933-08-18	Aug	1	13
Pelé	Brazil	Attacker	1940-10-23	Oct	2	10
Jairzinho	Brazil	Attacker	1944-12-25	Dec	2	9
Ronaldo	Brazil	Attacker	1976-09-18	Sep	1	8
Miroslav Klose	Germany	Attacker	1978-06-09	Jun	2	7
Grzegorz Lato	Poland	Attacker	1950-04-08	Apr	1	7
James Rodríguez	Colombia	Midfielder	1991-07-12	Jul	2	6
Mario Mandžukić	Croatia	Attacker	1986-05-21	May	2	6
Neymar	Brazil	Attacker	1992-02-05	Feb	2	6
Rivellino	Brazil	Midfielder	1946-01-01	Jan	2	6
Harry KaneC	England	Attacker	1993-07-28	Jul	1	6
Helmut Rahn	West Germany	Attacker	1929-08-16	Aug	1	6
Cristiano RonaldoC	Portugal	Attacker	1985-02-05	Feb	2	5
Ivan Perišić	Croatia	Attacker	1989-02-02	Feb	2	5
Lionel MessiC	Argentina	Attacker	1987-06-24	Jun	2	5
Romelu Lukaku	Belgium	Attacker	1993-05-13	May	2	5
Thomas Müller	Germany	Attacker	1989-09-13	Sep	2	5
Uwe SeelerC	West Germany	Attacker	1936-11-05	Nov	2	5
Andrzej Szarmach	Poland	Attacker	1950-10-03	Oct	1	5
Denis Cheryshev	Russia	Midfielder	1990-12-26	Dec	1	5
Johan Neeskens	Netherlands	Midfielder	1951-09-15	Sep	1	5
Peter McParland	Northern Ireland	Attacker	1934-04-25	Apr	1	5
Rivaldo	Brazil	Midfielder	1972-04-19	Apr	1	5
Teófilo Cubillas	Peru	Attacker	1949-03-08	Mar	1	5
Vavá	Brazil	Attacker	1934-11-12	Nov	1	5
Ahmed Musa	Nigeria	Attacker	1992-10-14	Oct	2	4
Antoine Griezmann	France	Attacker	1991-03-21	Mar	2	4
Edinson Cavani	Uruguay	Attacker	1987-02-14	Feb	2	4
Luis Suárez	Uruguay	Attacker	1987-01-24	Jan	2	4
Xherdan Shaqiri	Switzerland	Midfielder	1991-10-10	Oct	2	4
Agne Simonsson	Sweden	Attacker	1935-10-19	Oct	1	4
Anatoliy Byshovets	Soviet Union	Attacker	1946-04-23	Apr	1	4
Christian Vieri	Italy	Attacker	1973-07-12	Jul	1	4
Johnny Rep	Netherlands	Attacker	1951-11-25	Nov	1	4
Jon Dahl Tomasson	Denmark	Attacker	1976-08-29	Aug	1	4
Kurt Hamrin	Sweden	Midfielder	1934-11-19	Nov	1	4
Kylian Mbappé	France	Attacker	1998-12-20	Dec	1	4
Lajos Tichy	Hungary	Attacker	1935-03-21	Mar	1	4
Ralf Edström	Sweden	Attacker	1952-10-07	Oct	1	4
Robin van PersieC	Netherlands	Attacker	1983-08-06	Aug	1	4
Zdeněk Zikán	Czechoslovakia	Attacker	1937-11-10	Nov	1	4
Diego Costa	Spain	Attacker	1988-10-07	Oct	2	3
Eden HazardC	Belgium	Midfielder	1991-01-07	Jan	2	3
Gianni Rivera	Italy	Midfielder	1943-08-18	Aug	2	3
Gigi Riva	Italy	Attacker	1944-11-07	Nov	2	3
Mile JedinakC	Australia	Midfielder	1984-08-03	Aug	2	3
Son Heung-min	South Korea	Attacker	1992-07-08	Jul	2	3
Toni Kroos	Germany	Midfielder	1990-01-04	Jan	2	3
Wolfgang Overath	West Germany	Midfielder	1943-09-29	Sep	2	3
André Schürrle	Germany	Attacker	1990-11-06	Nov	1	3
Arjen Robben	Netherlands	Attacker	1984-01-23	Jan	1	3
Artem Dzyuba	Russia	Attacker	1988-08-22	Aug	1	3
Dušan Bajević	Yugoslavia	Attacker	1948-12-10	Dec	1	3
Enner Valencia	Ecuador	Attacker	1989-11-04	Nov	1	3
Fernando Morientes	Spain	Attacker	1976-04-05	Apr	1	3
Hans SchäferC	West Germany	Attacker	1927-10-19	Oct	1	3
Henrik Larsson	Sweden	Attacker	1971-09-20	Sep	1	3
İlhan Mansız	Turkey	Attacker	1975-08-10	Aug	1	3
Johan CruyffC	Netherlands	Midfielder	1947-04-25	Apr	1	3
Karim Benzema	France	Attacker	1987-12-19	Dec	1	3
Kazimierz DeynaC	Poland	Midfielder	1947-10-23	Oct	1	3
Marc WilmotsC	Belgium	Attacker	1969-02-22	Feb	1	3
Michael Ballack	Germany	Midfielder	1976-09-26	Sep	1	3
Oreste Corbatta	Argentina	Attacker	1936-03-11	Mar	1	3
Papa Bouba Diop	Senegal	Midfielder	1978-01-28	Jan	1	3
Paul Breitner	West Germany	Defender	1951-09-05	Sep	1	3
Pauleta	Portugal	Attacker	1973-04-28	Apr	1	3
Raúl	Spain	Attacker	1977-06-27	Jun	1	3
Raymond Kopa	France	Midfielder	1931-10-13	Oct	1	3
René Houseman	Argentina	Midfielder	1953-07-19	Jul	1	3
Robbie Keane	Republic of Ireland	Attacker	1980-07-08	Jul	1	3
Roger Piantoni	France	Attacker	1931-12-26	Dec	1	3
Todor Veselinović	Yugoslavia	Attacker	1930-10-22	Oct	1	3
Yerry Mina	Colombia	Defender	1994-09-23	Sep	1	3
Ángel Di María	Argentina	Midfielder	1988-02-14	Feb	2	2
Blerim Džemaili	Switzerland	Midfielder	1986-04-12	Apr	2	2
Bryan RuizC	Costa Rica	Attacker	1985-08-18	Aug	2	2
Dries Mertens	Belgium	Attacker	1987-05-06	May	2	2
Fernandinho	Brazil	Midfielder	1985-05-04	May	2	2
Granit Xhaka	Switzerland	Midfielder	1992-09-27	Sep	2	2
Hristo BonevC	Bulgaria	Attacker	1947-02-03	Feb	2	2
Ivica Olić	Croatia	Attacker	1979-09-14	Sep	2	2
Jan Vertonghen	Belgium	Defender	1987-04-24	Apr	2	2
Javier Hernández	Mexico	Attacker	1988-06-01	Jun	2	2
Juan Cuadrado	Colombia	Midfielder	1988-05-26	May	2	2
Juan Fernando Quintero	Colombia	Midfielder	1993-01-18	Jan	2	2
Keisuke Honda	Japan	Midfielder	1986-06-13	Jun	2	2
Kevin De Bruyne	Belgium	Midfielder	1991-06-28	Jun	2	2
Luka ModrićC	Croatia	Midfielder	1985-09-09	Sep	2	2
Marcos Rojo	Argentina	Defender	1990-03-20	Mar	2	2
Marouane Fellaini	Belgium	Midfielder	1987-11-22	Nov	2	2
Mats Hummels	Germany	Defender	1988-12-16	Dec	2	2
Paul Pogba	France	Midfielder	1993-03-15	Mar	2	2
Roberto Boninsegna	Italy	Attacker	1943-11-13	Nov	2	2
Sergio Agüero	Argentina	Attacker	1988-06-02	Jun	2	2
Thiago SilvaC	Brazil	Defender	1984-09-22	Sep	2	2
Tim Cahill	Australia	Attacker	1979-12-06	Dec	2	2
Abdelmoumene Djabou	Algeria	Midfielder	1987-01-31	Jan	1	2
Ahn Jung-hwan	South Korea	Attacker	1976-01-27	Jan	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