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

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'50s

'60s

'70s

'80s

'90s

'00s

'10s

'20s

1,824

Players in window

Teams

22.8

Avg squad size

Tournaments

1978, 2002, 2010

Squads by position

Players in the selected window, split by role

GET /aggregates/players?years=1978,2002,2010

By confederation

Where the players come from

GET /aggregates/players?years=1978,2002,2010

Hemisphere split

Northern vs Southern hemisphere national teams

Northern1,413 (77.5%)

Southern411 (22.5%)

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 — 26 players (10.9%). Range: 15—26.

Defenders

Birth-month distribution + 2 GOAT markers

Franz Beckenbauer· Sep

Fabio Cannavaro· Sep

Modal month: Feb — 57 players (9.6%). Range: 38—57.

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: Mar — 63 players (10.6%). Range: 31—63.

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: Jan — 41 players (10.3%). Range: 25—41.

All players

Every player from the 1978, 2002, 2010 squads. Search by name or filter by country, position, birth year or birth month. The C badge marks captains.

NameCountryPositionBirth yearBirth month

1,758 / 1,758

Player	Country	Position	DOB	Birth month	WCs	Goals
Miroslav Klose	Germany	Attacker	1978-06-09	Jun	2	9
Ronaldo	Brazil	Attacker	1976-09-18	Sep	1	8
Diego Forlán	Uruguay	Attacker	1979-05-19	May	2	6
Mario Kempes	Argentina	Attacker	1954-07-15	Jul	1	6
Jon Dahl TomassonC	Denmark	Attacker	1976-08-29	Aug	2	5
Landon Donovan	United States	Attacker	1982-03-04	Mar	2	5
David Villa	Spain	Attacker	1981-12-03	Dec	1	5
Rivaldo	Brazil	Midfielder	1972-04-19	Apr	1	5
Rob Rensenbrink	Netherlands	Attacker	1947-07-03	Jul	1	5
Teófilo Cubillas	Peru	Midfielder	1949-03-08	Mar	1	5
Thomas Müller	Germany	Midfielder	1989-09-13	Sep	1	5
Wesley Sneijder	Netherlands	Midfielder	1984-06-09	Jun	1	5
Christian Vieri	Italy	Attacker	1973-07-12	Jul	1	4
Gonzalo Higuaín	Argentina	Attacker	1987-12-10	Dec	1	4
Hans Krankl	Austria	Attacker	1953-02-14	Feb	1	4
Leopoldo Luque	Argentina	Attacker	1949-05-03	May	1	4
Róbert Vittek	Slovakia	Attacker	1982-04-01	Apr	1	4
Samuel Eto'oC	Cameroon	Attacker	1981-03-10	Mar	2	3
Asamoah Gyan	Ghana	Attacker	1985-11-22	Nov	1	3
Dirceu	Brazil	Midfielder	1952-06-15	Jun	1	3
Ernie Brandts	Netherlands	Defender	1956-02-03	Feb	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
Johnny Rep	Netherlands	Attacker	1951-11-25	Nov	1	3
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	West Germany	Attacker	1955-09-25	Sep	1	3
Luís Fabiano	Brazil	Attacker	1980-11-08	Nov	1	3
Luis Suárez	Uruguay	Attacker	1987-01-24	Jan	1	3
Marc WilmotsC	Belgium	Attacker	1969-02-22	Feb	1	3
Michael Ballack	Germany	Midfielder	1976-09-26	Sep	1	3
Paolo Rossi	Italy	Attacker	1956-09-23	Sep	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
Roberto Dinamite	Brazil	Attacker	1954-04-13	Apr	1	3
Ahn Jung-hwan	South Korea	Attacker	1976-01-27	Jan	2	2
Carles Puyol	Spain	Defender	1978-04-13	Apr	2	2
Cuauhtémoc BlancoC	Mexico	Attacker	1973-01-17	Jan	2	2
Dennis Rommedahl	Denmark	Midfielder	1978-07-22	Jul	2	2
Junichi Inamoto	Japan	Midfielder	1979-09-18	Sep	2	2
Park Ji-sungC	South Korea	Midfielder	1981-03-30	Mar	2	2
Andrés Iniesta	Spain	Midfielder	1984-05-11	May	1	2
Archie Gemmill	Scotland	Midfielder	1947-03-24	Mar	1	2
Arie Haan	Netherlands	Midfielder	1948-11-16	Nov	1	2
Arjen Robben	Netherlands	Attacker	1984-01-23	Jan	1	2
Brett Holman	Australia	Attacker	1984-03-27	Mar	1	2
Brian McBride	United States	Attacker	1972-06-19	Jun	1	2
Carlos Tevez	Argentina	Attacker	1984-02-05	Feb	1	2
Daniel Bertoni	Argentina	Attacker	1955-03-14	Mar	1	2
Dieter Müller	West Germany	Attacker	1954-04-01	Apr	1	2
Elano	Brazil	Midfielder	1981-06-14	Jun	1	2
Fernando HierroC	Spain	Defender	1968-03-23	Mar	1	2
Grzegorz Lato	Poland	Attacker	1950-04-08	Apr	1	2
Hasan Şaş	Turkey	Attacker	1976-08-01	Aug	1	2
Heinz Flohe	West Germany	Midfielder	1948-01-28	Jan	1	2
Henri Camara	Senegal	Attacker	1977-05-10	May	1	2
Jared Borgetti	Mexico	Attacker	1973-08-14	Aug	1	2
Javier Hernández	Mexico	Attacker	1988-06-01	Jun	1	2
Kalu Uche	Nigeria	Attacker	1982-11-15	Nov	1	2
Keisuke Honda	Japan	Midfielder	1986-06-13	Jun	1	2
Lee Chung-yong	South Korea	Attacker	1988-07-02	Jul	1	2
Lee Jung-soo	South Korea	Defender	1980-01-08	Jan	1	2
Lukas Podolski	Germany	Midfielder	1985-06-04	Jun	1	2
Michael Owen	England	Attacker	1979-12-14	Dec	1	2
Nelinho	Brazil	Defender	1950-07-26	Jul	1	2
Nelson Cuevas	Paraguay	Attacker	1980-01-10	Jan	1	2
Park Chu-young	South Korea	Attacker	1985-07-10	Jul	1	2
Roberto Bettega	Italy	Attacker	1950-12-27	Dec	1	2
Robinho	Brazil	Attacker	1984-01-25	Jan	1	2
Rónald Gómez	Costa Rica	Attacker	1975-01-24	Jan	1	2
Ronaldinho	Brazil	Midfielder	1980-03-21	Mar	1	2
Tiago	Portugal	Midfielder	1981-05-02	May	1	2
Ümit Davala	Turkey	Midfielder	1973-07-30	Jul	1	2
Zbigniew Boniek	Poland	Midfielder	1956-03-03	Mar	1	2
Beto	Portugal	Defender	1976-05-03	May	2	1
Emile Heskey	England	Attacker	1978-01-11	Jan	2	1
Gerardo Torrado	Mexico	Midfielder	1979-04-30	Apr	2	1
Rafael MárquezC	Mexico	Defender	1979-02-13	Feb	2	1
Roque Santa Cruz	Paraguay	Attacker	1981-08-16	Aug	2	1
Siyabonga Nomvethe	South Africa	Attacker	1977-12-02	Dec	2	1
Agustín Delgado	Ecuador	Attacker	1974-12-23	Dec	1	1
Alberto Tarantini	Argentina	Defender	1955-12-03	Dec	1	1
Alessandro Del Piero	Italy	Attacker	1974-11-09	Nov	1	1
Ali Kaabi	Tunisia	Defender	1953-11-15	Nov	1	1
Álvaro Pereira	Uruguay	Defender	1985-11-28	Nov	1	1
Álvaro Recoba	Uruguay	Midfielder	1976-03-17	Mar	1	1
Anders Svensson	Sweden	Midfielder	1976-07-17	Jul	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
Antolín Alcaraz	Paraguay	Defender	1982-07-30	Jul	1	1
Antonio Di Natale	Italy	Attacker	1977-10-13	Oct	1	1
Arne Friedrich	Germany	Defender	1979-05-29	May	1	1
Arturo Vázquez AyalaC	Mexico	Defender	1949-06-26	Jun	1	1
Benni McCarthy	South Africa	Attacker	1977-11-12	Nov	1	1
Bernard Lacombe	France	Attacker	1952-08-15	Aug	1	1
Bernd Hölzenbein	West Germany	Attacker	1946-03-09	Mar	1	1
Bernd Schneider	Germany	Midfielder	1973-11-17	Nov	1	1
Berti VogtsC	West Germany	Defender	1946-12-30	Dec	1	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.

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