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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352
Players in window
16
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
Northern286 (81.3%)
Southern66 (18.8%)
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: Feb — 9 players (19.1%). Range: 1—9.
Defenders
Birth-month distribution + 2 GOAT markers
Franz Beckenbauer· SepFabio Cannavaro· SepModal month: Oct — 15 players (13.6%). Range: 4—15.
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: Oct — 19 players (18.1%). Range: 3—19.
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: Jul — 11 players (12.4%). Range: 4—11.
All players
Every player from the 1978 squad. Search by name or filter by country, position, birth year or birth month. The C badge marks captains.
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| Player | Country | Position | DOB | Birth month | WCs | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mario Kempes | Argentina | Attacker | 1954-07-15 | Jul | 1 | 6 |
| Rob Rensenbrink | Netherlands | Attacker | 1947-07-03 | Jul | 1 | 5 |
 Teófilo Cubillas | Peru | Midfielder | 1949-03-08 | Mar | 1 | 5 |
 Hans Krankl | Austria | Attacker | 1953-02-14 | Feb | 1 | 4 |
| Leopoldo Luque | Argentina | Attacker | 1949-05-03 | May | 1 | 4 |
| Dirceu | Brazil | Midfielder | 1952-06-15 | Jun | 1 | 3 |
| Ernie Brandts | Netherlands | Defender | 1956-02-03 | Feb | 1 | 3 |
| Johnny Rep | Netherlands | Attacker | 1951-11-25 | Nov | 1 | 3 |
| Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany | Attacker | 1955-09-25 | Sep | 1 | 3 |
| Paolo Rossi | Italy | Attacker | 1956-09-23 | Sep | 1 | 3 |
| Roberto Dinamite | Brazil | Attacker | 1954-04-13 | Apr | 1 | 3 |
 Archie Gemmill | Scotland | Midfielder | 1947-03-24 | Mar | 1 | 2 |
| Arie Haan | Netherlands | Midfielder | 1948-11-16 | Nov | 1 | 2 |
| Daniel Bertoni | Argentina | Attacker | 1955-03-14 | Mar | 1 | 2 |
| Dieter Müller | West Germany | Attacker | 1954-04-01 | Apr | 1 | 2 |
| Grzegorz Lato | Poland | Attacker | 1950-04-08 | Apr | 1 | 2 |
| Heinz Flohe | West Germany | Midfielder | 1948-01-28 | Jan | 1 | 2 |
| Nelinho | Brazil | Defender | 1950-07-26 | Jul | 1 | 2 |
| Roberto Bettega | Italy | Attacker | 1950-12-27 | Dec | 1 | 2 |
| Zbigniew Boniek | Poland | Midfielder | 1956-03-03 | Mar | 1 | 2 |
| Alberto Tarantini | Argentina | Defender | 1955-12-03 | Dec | 1 | 1 |
 Ali Kaabi | Tunisia | Defender | 1953-11-15 | Nov | 1 | 1 |
 Andranik Eskandarian | Iran | Defender | 1951-12-31 | Dec | 1 | 1 |
 András Tóth | Hungary | Attacker | 1949-09-05 | Sep | 1 | 1 |
| Andrzej Szarmach | Poland | Attacker | 1950-10-03 | Oct | 1 | 1 |
 Arturo Vázquez AyalaC | Mexico | Defender | 1949-06-26 | Jun | 1 | 1 |
| Bernard Lacombe | France | Attacker | 1952-08-15 | Aug | 1 | 1 |
| Bernd Hölzenbein | West Germany | Attacker | 1946-03-09 | Mar | 1 | 1 |
| Berti VogtsC | West Germany | Defender | 1946-12-30 | Dec | 1 | 1 |
| César Cueto | Peru | Midfielder | 1952-06-16 | Jun | 1 | 1 |
| Christian Lopez | France | Defender | 1953-03-15 | Mar | 1 | 1 |
| Dani | Spain | Attacker | 1951-06-28 | Jun | 1 | 1 |
| Daniel PassarellaC | Argentina | Defender | 1953-05-25 | May | 1 | 1 |
| Dick Nanninga | Netherlands | Attacker | 1949-01-17 | Jan | 1 | 1 |
| Dominique Rocheteau | France | Midfielder | 1955-01-14 | Jan | 1 | 1 |
| Erich Obermayer | Austria | Defender | 1953-01-23 | Jan | 1 | 1 |
| Franco Causio | Italy | Midfielder | 1949-02-01 | Feb | 1 | 1 |
| Hansi Müller | West Germany | Midfielder | 1957-07-27 | Jul | 1 | 1 |
| Hassan Rowshan | Iran | Attacker | 1955-06-02 | Jun | 1 | 1 |
| Iraj Danaeifard | Iran | Midfielder | 1951-03-11 | Mar | 1 | 1 |
| Joe Jordan | Scotland | Attacker | 1951-12-15 | Dec | 1 | 1 |
| José Velásquez | Peru | Midfielder | 1952-06-04 | Jun | 1 | 1 |
| Juan Manuel Asensi | Spain | Midfielder | 1949-09-23 | Sep | 1 | 1 |
| Károly Csapó | Hungary | Midfielder | 1952-02-23 | Feb | 1 | 1 |
| Kazimierz DeynaC | Poland | Midfielder | 1947-10-23 | Oct | 1 | 1 |
| Kenny Dalglish | Scotland | Attacker | 1951-03-04 | Mar | 1 | 1 |
| Marc Berdoll | France | Attacker | 1953-04-06 | Apr | 1 | 1 |
| Michel Platini | France | Midfielder | 1955-06-21 | Jun | 1 | 1 |
| Mokhtar Dhouieb | Tunisia | Defender | 1952-03-23 | Mar | 1 | 1 |
| Néjib Ghommidh | Tunisia | Midfielder | 1953-03-12 | Mar | 1 | 1 |
| Reinaldo | Brazil | Attacker | 1957-01-11 | Jan | 1 | 1 |
| Renato Zaccarelli | Italy | Midfielder | 1951-01-18 | Jan | 1 | 1 |
| René Houseman | Argentina | Attacker | 1953-07-19 | Jul | 1 | 1 |
| René van de Kerkhof | Netherlands | Midfielder | 1951-09-16 | Sep | 1 | 1 |
| Romeo Benetti | Italy | Midfielder | 1945-10-20 | Oct | 1 | 1 |
| Rüdiger Abramczik | West Germany | Attacker | 1956-02-18 | Feb | 1 | 1 |
| Sándor Zombori | Hungary | Midfielder | 1951-10-31 | Oct | 1 | 1 |
 Thomas Sjöberg | Sweden | Attacker | 1952-07-06 | Jul | 1 | 1 |
| Víctor Rangel | Mexico | Attacker | 1957-03-11 | Mar | 1 | 1 |
| Walter Schachner | Austria | Attacker | 1957-02-01 | Feb | 1 | 1 |
| Willy van de Kerkhof | Netherlands | Midfielder | 1951-09-16 | Sep | 1 | 1 |
| Zico | Brazil | Midfielder | 1953-03-03 | Mar | 1 | 1 |
| Abderraouf Ben Aziza | Tunisia | Attacker | 1953-09-23 | Sep | 1 | — |
| Abel | Brazil | Defender | 1952-09-01 | Sep | 1 | — |
| Adam Nawałka | Poland | Midfielder | 1957-10-23 | Oct | 1 | — |
| Adrie van Kraay | Netherlands | Defender | 1953-08-01 | Aug | 1 | — |
| Alan Rough | Scotland | Goalkeeper | 1951-11-25 | Nov | 1 | — |
| Aldo Maldera | Italy | Defender | 1953-10-14 | Oct | 1 | — |
| Alfredo Quesada | Peru | Midfielder | 1949-09-22 | Sep | 1 | — |
| Alfredo Tena | Mexico | Defender | 1956-11-21 | Nov | 1 | — |
| Ali ParvinC | Iran | Midfielder | 1946-10-12 | Oct | 1 | — |
| Ali Shojaei | Iran | Midfielder | 1953-03-23 | Mar | 1 | — |
| Alireza Ghashghaean | Iran | Defender | 1954-02-27 | Feb | 1 | — |
| Amaral | Brazil | Defender | 1954-12-25 | Dec | 1 | — |
| Américo Gallego | Argentina | Midfielder | 1955-04-25 | Apr | 1 | — |
| Amor Jebali | Tunisia | Defender | 1956-12-24 | Dec | 1 | — |
| Anders Linderoth | Sweden | Midfielder | 1950-03-21 | Mar | 1 | — |
| András Törőcsik | Hungary | Attacker | 1955-05-01 | May | 1 | — |
| Andrzej Iwan | Poland | Attacker | 1959-11-10 | Nov | 1 | — |
| Antonello Cuccureddu | Italy | Defender | 1949-10-04 | Oct | 1 | — |
| Antoni Szymanowski | Poland | Defender | 1951-01-13 | Jan | 1 | — |
| Antonio Biosca | Spain | Defender | 1948-12-08 | Dec | 1 | — |
| Antonio Cabrini | Italy | Defender | 1957-10-08 | Oct | 1 | — |
| Antonio de la Cruz | Spain | Defender | 1947-05-07 | May | 1 | — |
| Antonio de la Torre | Mexico | Midfielder | 1951-09-21 | Sep | 1 | — |
| Antonio Guzmán | Spain | Midfielder | 1953-12-02 | Dec | 1 | — |
| Antonio Olmo | Spain | Defender | 1954-01-18 | Jan | 1 | — |
| Asa Hartford | Scotland | Midfielder | 1950-10-24 | Oct | 1 | — |
| Bahram Mavaddat | Iran | Goalkeeper | 1950-01-30 | Jan | 1 | — |
| Batista | Brazil | Midfielder | 1955-03-08 | Mar | 1 | — |
| Behtash Fariba | Iran | Attacker | 1955-02-11 | Feb | 1 | — |
| Béla Várady | Hungary | Attacker | 1953-04-12 | Apr | 1 | — |
| Benny Wendt | Sweden | Attacker | 1950-11-04 | Nov | 1 | — |
| Bernard Dietz | West Germany | Defender | 1948-03-22 | Mar | 1 | — |
| Bernhard Cullmann | West Germany | Midfielder | 1949-11-01 | Nov | 1 | — |
| Björn NordqvistC | Sweden | Defender | 1942-10-06 | Oct | 1 | — |
| Bo Larsson | Sweden | Midfielder | 1944-05-05 | May | 1 | — |
| Bobby Clark | Scotland | Goalkeeper | 1945-09-26 | Sep | 1 | — |
| Bohdan Masztaler | Poland | Midfielder | 1949-09-19 | Sep | 1 | — |
| Bruce RiochC | Scotland | Midfielder | 1947-09-06 | Sep | 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