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 window — click to toggle
2,845
Players in window
128
Teams
22.2
Avg squad size
6
Tournaments
1962, 1966, 1970, 1986, 1994, 2010

Squads by position

Players in the selected window, split by role
GET /aggregates/players?years=1962,1966,1970,1986,1994,2010

By confederation

Where the players come from
GET /aggregates/players?years=1962,1966,1970,1986,1994,2010

Hemisphere split

Northern vs Southern hemisphere national teams
Northern2,220 (78.0%)
Southern625 (22.0%)
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
GK
Lev Yashin· Oct
Modal month: Aug40 players (10.8%). Range: 2440.

Defenders

Birth-month distribution + 2 GOAT markers
DF
Franz Beckenbauer· Sep
Fabio Cannavaro· Sep
Modal month: Jan90 players (9.9%). Range: 6490.

Midfielders

Birth-month distribution + 10 GOAT markers
MF
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: Jan96 players (11.2%). Range: 5796.

Attackers

Birth-month distribution + 17 GOAT markers
FW
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: Jul73 players (10.4%). Range: 4273.

All players

Every player from the 1962, 1966, 1970, 1986, 1994, 2010 squads. Search by name or filter by country, position, birth year or birth month. The C badge marks captains.

2,648 / 2,648
PlayerCountryPositionDOBBirth monthWCsGoals
Gerd MüllerWest GermanyAttacker1945-11-03Nov110
EusébioPortugalAttacker1942-01-25Jan19
Uwe SeelerCWest GermanyAttacker1936-11-05Nov37
JairzinhoBrazilMidfielder1944-12-25Dec27
Helmut HallerWest GermanyAttacker1939-07-21Jul36
PeléBrazilAttacker1940-10-23Oct36
Diego MaradonaCArgentinaMidfielder1960-10-30Oct26
Gary LinekerEnglandAttacker1960-11-30Nov16
Hristo StoichkovBulgariaAttacker1966-02-08Feb16
Oleg SalenkoRussiaAttacker1969-10-25Oct16
Franz BeckenbauerWest GermanyMidfielder1945-09-11Sep25
GarrinchaBrazilAttacker1933-10-28Oct25
Geoff HurstEnglandAttacker1941-12-08Dec25
CarecaBrazilAttacker1960-10-05Oct15
David VillaSpainAttacker1981-12-03Dec15
Diego ForlánUruguayAttacker1979-05-19May15
Emilio ButragueñoSpainAttacker1963-07-22Jul15
Jürgen KlinsmannGermanyAttacker1964-07-30Jul15
Kennet AnderssonSwedenAttacker1967-10-06Oct15
Roberto BaggioItalyAttacker1967-02-18Feb15
RomárioBrazilAttacker1966-01-29Jan15
Teófilo CubillasPeruAttacker1949-03-08Mar15
Thomas MüllerGermanyMidfielder1989-09-13Sep15
Wesley SneijderNetherlandsMidfielder1984-06-09Jun15
Bobby CharltonEnglandAttacker1937-10-11Oct34
Flórián AlbertHungaryAttacker1941-09-15Sep24
Igor ChislenkoSoviet UnionMidfielder1939-09-08Sep24
Leonel SánchezCChileAttacker1936-04-25Apr24
Valeriy PorkujanSoviet UnionAttacker1944-10-04Oct24
Alessandro AltobelliItalyAttacker1955-11-28Nov14
Anatoliy ByshovetsSoviet UnionAttacker1946-04-23Apr14
Dražan JerkovićYugoslaviaAttacker1936-08-06Aug14
Ferenc BeneHungaryAttacker1944-12-17Dec14
Florin RăducioiuRomaniaAttacker1970-03-17Mar14
Gabriel BatistutaArgentinaAttacker1969-02-01Feb14
Gonzalo HiguaínArgentinaAttacker1987-12-10Dec14
Ihor BelanovSoviet UnionMidfielder1960-09-25Sep14
Jorge ValdanoArgentinaAttacker1955-10-04Oct14
Martin DahlinSwedenAttacker1968-04-16Apr14
Miroslav KloseGermanyAttacker1978-06-09Jun14
Preben ElkjærDenmarkAttacker1957-09-11Sep14
Róbert VittekSlovakiaAttacker1982-04-01Apr14
Valentin IvanovSoviet UnionAttacker1934-11-19Nov14
VaváBrazilAttacker1934-11-12Nov14
Lajos TichyHungaryMidfielder1935-03-21Mar23
Roger HuntEnglandAttacker1938-07-20Jul23
TostãoBrazilMidfielder1947-01-25Jan23
Adolf SchererCzechoslovakiaAttacker1938-05-05May13
AmarildoBrazilAttacker1939-06-29Jun13
Asamoah GyanGhanaAttacker1985-11-22Nov13
BebetoBrazilAttacker1964-02-16Feb13
Dennis BergkampNetherlandsAttacker1969-05-10May13
Gheorghe HagiCRomaniaMidfielder1965-02-05Feb13
Gigi RivaItalyAttacker1944-11-07Nov13
Jan CeulemansCBelgiumMidfielder1957-02-28Feb13
Jesper OlsenDenmarkMidfielder1961-03-20Mar13
José AugustoPortugalMidfielder1937-04-13Apr13
José Luis CamineroSpainMidfielder1967-11-08Nov13
José TorresPortugalAttacker1938-09-08Sep13
Landon DonovanUnited StatesMidfielder1982-03-04Mar13
Luis ArtimeArgentinaAttacker1938-12-02Dec13
Luís FabianoBrazilAttacker1980-11-08Nov13
Luis SuárezUruguayAttacker1987-01-24Jan13
Milan GalićCYugoslaviaMidfielder1938-03-08Mar13
Nico ClaesenBelgiumAttacker1962-10-07Oct13
RivellinoBrazilMidfielder1946-01-01Jan13
Rudi VöllerWest GermanyAttacker1960-04-13Apr13
Tomas BrolinSwedenAttacker1969-11-29Nov13
Gianni RiveraItalyMidfielder1943-08-18Aug32
Enzo ScifoBelgiumMidfielder1966-02-19Feb22
Giacomo BulgarelliItalyMidfielder1940-10-24Oct22
Jaime RamírezChileAttacker1931-08-14Aug22
Javier HernándezMexicoMidfielder1961-08-01Aug22
José SasíaUruguayAttacker1933-12-27Dec22
Julio SalinasSpainAttacker1962-09-11Sep22
Kálmán MészölyHungaryDefender1941-07-16Jul22
Luis CubillaUruguayAttacker1940-03-28Mar22
Martin PetersEnglandMidfielder1943-11-08Nov22
Nasko SirakovBulgariaAttacker1962-04-26Apr22
Ron FlowersEnglandMidfielder1934-07-28Jul22
Abderrazak KhairiMoroccoAttacker1962-11-20Nov12
Adolfo ValenciaColombiaAttacker1968-02-06Feb12
Adrian KnupSwitzerlandAttacker1968-07-02Jul12
Alberto GallardoPeruMidfielder1940-11-28Nov12
Anatoliy BanishevskiySoviet UnionAttacker1946-02-23Feb12
Andrés IniestaSpainMidfielder1984-05-11May12
Arjen RobbenNetherlandsAttacker1984-01-23Jan12
Brett HolmanAustraliaAttacker1984-03-27Mar12
Carlos TevezArgentinaAttacker1984-02-05Feb12
Claudio CaniggiaArgentinaAttacker1967-01-09Jan12
Daniel AmokachiNigeriaAttacker1972-12-30Dec12
Dino BaggioItalyMidfielder1971-07-24Jul12
Eduard MalofeyevSoviet UnionAttacker1942-06-02Jun12
Eladio RojasChileMidfielder1934-11-08Nov12
ElanoBrazilMidfielder1981-06-14Jun12
Emmanuel AmunikeNigeriaMidfielder1970-12-25Dec12
Fernando QuirarteMexicoDefender1956-05-17May12
Florea DumitracheRomaniaAttacker1948-05-22May12
Fuad AnwarSaudi ArabiaMidfielder1972-10-13Oct12
Hong Myung-boSouth KoreaDefender1969-02-12Feb12

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.

30 / 30
PlayerCountryPositionDOBBirth monthWCsGoals
PeléBrazilAttacker1940-10-23Oct0
GarrinchaBrazilAttacker1933-10-28Oct0
EusébioPortugalAttacker1942-01-25Jan0
Bobby CharltonEnglandMidfielder1937-10-11Oct0
Lev YashinSoviet UnionGoalkeeper1929-10-22Oct0
Gerd MüllerWest GermanyAttacker1945-11-03Nov0
Johan CruyffNetherlandsAttacker1947-04-25Apr0
Franz BeckenbauerWest GermanyDefender1945-09-11Sep0
Diego MaradonaArgentinaMidfielder1960-10-30Oct0
Michel PlatiniFranceMidfielder1955-06-21Jun0
ZicoBrazilMidfielder1953-03-03Mar0
Karl-Heinz RummeniggeWest GermanyAttacker1955-09-25Sep0
Paolo RossiItalyAttacker1956-09-23Sep0
RomárioBrazilAttacker1966-01-29Jan0
Ronaldo (R9)BrazilAttacker1976-09-22Sep0
Zinedine ZidaneFranceMidfielder1972-06-23Jun0
RonaldinhoBrazilMidfielder1980-03-21Mar0
KakáBrazilMidfielder1982-04-22Apr0
Fabio CannavaroItalyDefender1973-09-13Sep0
Andrés IniestaSpainMidfielder1984-05-11May0
Xavi HernándezSpainMidfielder1980-01-25Jan0
Cristiano RonaldoPortugalAttacker1985-02-05Feb0
Lionel MessiArgentinaAttacker1987-06-24Jun0
Luka ModrićCroatiaMidfielder1985-09-09Sep0
Kylian MbappéFranceAttacker1998-12-20Dec0
NeymarBrazilAttacker1992-02-05Feb0
Robert LewandowskiPolandAttacker1988-08-21Aug0
Mohamed SalahEgyptAttacker1992-06-15Jun0
Karim BenzemaFranceAttacker1987-12-19Dec0
Vinícius JrBrazilAttacker2000-07-12Jul0

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.

#PlayerTeamOpponentStageYearGoals
1Oleg SalenkoRussiaCameroonGroup19945
2Ernst WilimowskiPolandBrazilRound of 1619384
3AdemirBrazilSwedenFinal round19504
4Sándor KocsisHungaryWest GermanyGroup19544
5EusébioPortugalNorth KoreaQuarter-final19664
6Emilio ButragueñoSpainDenmarkRound of 1619864
7Bert PatenaudeUnited StatesParaguayGroup19303
8Pedro CeaUruguayYugoslaviaSemi-final19303
9Guillermo StábileArgentinaMexicoGroup19303
10Edmund ConenGermanyBelgiumRound of 1619343
11Angelo SchiavioItalyUnited StatesRound of 1619343
12Oldřich NejedlýCzechoslovakiaGermanySemi-final19343
13LeônidasBrazilPolandRound of 1619383
14Gyula ZsengellérHungaryDutch East IndiesRound of 1619383
15Harry AnderssonSwedenCubaQuarter-final19383
16Gustav WetterströmSwedenCubaQuarter-final19383
17Oscar MíguezUruguayBoliviaGroup19503
18Estanislao BasoraSpainUruguayFinal round19503
19Sándor KocsisHungarySouth KoreaGroup19543
20Erich ProbstAustriaCzechoslovakiaGroup19543
21Carlos BorgesUruguayScotlandGroup19543
22Suat MamatTurkeySouth KoreaGroup19543
23Josef HügiSwitzerlandAustriaQuarter-final19543
24Just FontaineFranceParaguayGroup19583
25Just FontaineFranceWest GermanyThird place19583
26PeléBrazilFranceSemi-final19583
27Florian AlbertHungaryBulgariaGroup19623
28Geoff HurstEnglandWest GermanyFinal19663
29Franz BeckenbauerWest GermanySwitzerlandGroup19663
30Helmut HallerWest GermanySwitzerlandGroup19663
31EusébioPortugalBrazilGroup19663
32Gerd MüllerWest GermanyBulgariaGroup19703
33Gerd MüllerWest GermanyPeruQuarter-final19703
34Andrzej SzarmachPolandHaitiGroup19743
35Dušan BajevićYugoslaviaZaireGroup19743
36Robbie RensenbrinkNetherlandsIranGroup19783
37Teófilo CubillasPeruIranGroup19783
38Karl-Heinz RummeniggeWest GermanyChileGroup19823
39Zbigniew BoniekPolandBelgiumSecond round19823
40László KissHungaryEl SalvadorGroup19823
41Paolo RossiItalyBrazilSecond round19823
42Gary LinekerEnglandPolandGroup19863
43Igor BelanovSoviet UnionBelgiumRound of 1619863
44Tomáš SkuhravýCzechoslovakiaCosta RicaRound of 1619903
45MíchelSpainSouth KoreaGroup19903
46Gabriel BatistutaArgentinaGreeceGroup19943
47Gabriel BatistutaArgentinaJamaicaGroup19983
48Miroslav KloseGermanySaudi ArabiaGroup20023
49PauletaPortugalPolandGroup20023
50Gonzalo HiguaínArgentinaSouth KoreaGroup20103
51Thomas MüllerGermanyPortugalGroup20143
52Xherdan ShaqiriSwitzerlandHondurasGroup20143
53Cristiano RonaldoPortugalSpainGroup20183
54Harry KaneEnglandPanamaGroup20183
55Gonçalo RamosPortugalSwitzerlandRound of 1620223
56Kylian MbappéFranceArgentinaFinal20223
56 hat-tricks · 6with 4+ goals · Salenko's 5 (1994) is the only 5-goal haul on record