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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1,233
Players in window
56
Teams
22.0
Avg squad size
2
Tournaments
1994, 1998

Squads by position

Players in the selected window, split by role
GET /aggregates/players?years=1994,1998

By confederation

Where the players come from
GET /aggregates/players?years=1994,1998

Hemisphere split

Northern vs Southern hemisphere national teams
Northern1,012 (82.1%)
Southern221 (17.9%)
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
GK
Lev Yashin· Oct
Modal month: Aug25 players (15.3%). Range: 925.

Defenders

Birth-month distribution + 2 GOAT markers
DF
Franz Beckenbauer· Sep
Fabio Cannavaro· Sep
Modal month: Aug49 players (12.2%). Range: 2649.

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: Sep46 players (11.4%). Range: 2446.

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: Dec30 players (11.3%). Range: 1230.

All players

Every player from the 1994, 1998 squads. Search by name or filter by country, position, birth year or birth month. The C badge marks captains.

1,080 / 1,080
PlayerCountryPositionDOBBirth monthWCsGoals
Gabriel BatistutaArgentinaAttacker1969-02-01Feb29
Jürgen KlinsmannCGermanyAttacker1964-07-30Jul28
Roberto BaggioItalyAttacker1967-02-18Feb27
BebetoBrazilAttacker1964-02-16Feb26
Dennis BergkampNetherlandsAttacker1969-05-10May26
Hristo StoichkovBulgariaAttacker1966-02-08Feb26
Davor ŠukerCroatiaAttacker1968-01-01Jan16
Oleg SalenkoRussiaAttacker1969-10-25Oct16
Christian VieriItalyAttacker1973-07-12Jul15
Kennet AnderssonSwedenAttacker1967-10-06Oct15
RomárioBrazilAttacker1966-01-29Jan15
RonaldoBrazilAttacker1976-09-18Sep24
Florin RăducioiuRomaniaAttacker1970-03-17Mar14
Luis HernándezMexicoAttacker1968-12-22Dec14
Marcelo SalasChileAttacker1974-12-24Dec14
Martin DahlinSwedenAttacker1968-04-16Apr14
Fernando HierroSpainMidfielder1968-03-23Mar23
Gheorghe HagiCRomaniaMidfielder1965-02-05Feb23
César SampaioBrazilMidfielder1968-03-31Mar13
José Luis CamineroSpainMidfielder1967-11-08Nov13
Oliver BierhoffGermanyAttacker1968-05-01May13
RivaldoBrazilMidfielder1972-04-19Apr13
Thierry HenryFranceAttacker1977-08-17Aug13
Tomas BrolinSwedenAttacker1969-11-29Nov13
Adolfo ValenciaColombiaAttacker1968-02-06Feb22
Alberto García AspeCMexicoMidfielder1967-05-11May22
Ariel OrtegaArgentinaMidfielder1974-03-04Mar22
Dan PetrescuRomaniaDefender1967-12-22Dec22
Daniel AmokachiNigeriaAttacker1972-12-30Dec22
Dino BaggioItalyMidfielder1971-07-24Jul22
Fuad AnwarSaudi ArabiaMidfielder1972-10-13Oct22
Hong Myung-boSouth KoreaDefender1969-02-12Feb22
Ilie DumitrescuRomaniaAttacker1969-01-06Jan22
Kjetil RekdalNorwayMidfielder1968-11-06Nov22
Luis EnriqueSpainAttacker1970-05-08May22
Luis GarcíaMexicoAttacker1969-06-01Jun22
Marc WilmotsBelgiumMidfielder1969-02-22Feb22
Ronald de BoerNetherlandsMidfielder1970-05-15May22
Sami Al-JaberSaudi ArabiaAttacker1972-12-11Dec22
Viorel MoldovanRomaniaAttacker1972-07-08Jul22
Wim JonkNetherlandsMidfielder1966-10-12Oct22
Abdeljalil HaddaMoroccoAttacker1972-03-21Mar12
Adrian KnupSwitzerlandAttacker1968-07-02Jul12
Alan ShearerCEnglandAttacker1970-08-13Aug12
Brian LaudrupDenmarkAttacker1969-02-22Feb12
Claudio CaniggiaArgentinaAttacker1967-01-09Jan12
Emmanuel AmunikeNigeriaMidfielder1970-12-25Dec12
Emmanuel PetitFranceMidfielder1970-09-22Sep12
Fernando MorientesSpainAttacker1976-04-05Apr12
Jon GoikoetxeaSpainMidfielder1965-10-21Oct12
Lilian ThuramFranceDefender1972-01-01Jan12
Michael OwenEnglandAttacker1979-12-14Dec12
Patrick KluivertNetherlandsAttacker1976-07-01Jul12
Philippe AlbertBelgiumDefender1967-08-10Aug12
Phillip CocuNetherlandsMidfielder1970-10-29Oct12
Ricardo PeláezMexicoAttacker1963-03-14Mar12
Robert ProsinečkiCroatiaMidfielder1969-01-12Jan12
Rudi VöllerGermanyAttacker1960-04-13Apr12
Salaheddine BassirMoroccoAttacker1972-09-05Sep12
Shaun BartlettSouth AfricaAttacker1972-10-31Oct12
Siniša MihajlovićFR YugoslaviaDefender1969-02-20Feb12
Slobodan KomljenovićFR YugoslaviaDefender1971-01-02Jan12
Theodore WhitmoreJamaicaMidfielder1972-08-05Aug12
Yordan LetchkovBulgariaMidfielder1967-07-09Jul12
Zinedine ZidaneFranceMidfielder1972-06-23Jun12
Abel BalboArgentinaAttacker1966-06-01Jun21
Andoni ZubizarretaCSpainGoalkeeper1961-10-23Oct21
Andreas MöllerGermanyMidfielder1967-09-02Sep21
Aron WinterNetherlandsMidfielder1967-03-01Mar21
Dan EggenNorwayDefender1970-01-13Jan21
Daniel BorimirovBulgariaMidfielder1970-01-16Jan21
Earnie StewartUnited StatesAttacker1969-03-28Mar21
Emil KostadinovBulgariaAttacker1967-08-12Aug21
Eric WynaldaUnited StatesAttacker1969-06-09Jun21
Finidi GeorgeNigeriaMidfielder1971-04-15Apr21
François Omam-BiyikCCameroonAttacker1966-05-21May21
Ha Seok-juSouth KoreaMidfielder1968-02-20Feb21
Harold LozanoColombiaMidfielder1972-03-30Mar21
Hwang Sun-hongSouth KoreaAttacker1968-07-14Jul21
Lothar MatthäusCGermanyMidfielder1961-03-21Mar21
Luc NilisBelgiumAttacker1967-05-25May21
Marc OvermarsNetherlandsAttacker1973-03-29Mar21
Marcelino BernalMexicoMidfielder1962-05-27May21
Mustapha HadjiMoroccoMidfielder1971-11-16Nov21
Mutiu AdepojuNigeriaMidfielder1970-12-22Dec21
Rashidi YekiniNigeriaAttacker1963-10-23Oct21
Saeed Al-OwairanSaudi ArabiaMidfielder1967-08-19Aug21
Seo Jung-wonSouth KoreaAttacker1970-12-17Dec21
Sunday OlisehNigeriaMidfielder1974-09-14Sep21
Victor IkpebaNigeriaAttacker1973-06-12Jun21
Adrian IlieRomaniaAttacker1974-04-20Apr11
Aitor BegiristainSpainAttacker1964-08-12Aug11
Alain SutterSwitzerlandMidfielder1968-01-22Jan11
Allan NielsenDenmarkMidfielder1971-03-13Mar11
Andi HerzogAustriaMidfielder1968-09-10Sep11
Andrés EscobarColombiaDefender1967-03-13Mar11
Benni McCarthySouth AfricaAttacker1977-11-12Nov11
Bixente LizarazuFranceDefender1969-12-09Dec11
Boudewijn ZendenNetherlandsMidfielder1976-08-15Aug11
BrancoBrazilDefender1964-04-04Apr11

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