Just the Stats, Ma'am - Through Game 2

I haven't had a chance to aggregate all the Sky stats yet, so we'll start with the FIFA stuff. They don't collect nearly enough info for my tastes (or perhaps it's just that they don't publish all the info, which is perhaps more annoying), but regardless, there's enough there to looks at some very early trends.

Tackle Stats

Player	Team	MP	MinP	TC	TS	FC	FS	YC	RC
YORKE Dwight	TRI	2	180	14	9	4	2	1	0
AZIZ Khaled	KSA	2	180	13	5	3	6	0	0
JUAN	BRA	2	180	13	0	4	2	0	0
LINDEROTH Tobias	SWE	2	167	13	2	2	3	1	0
NUNO VALENTE	POR	2	180	13	4	3	1	1	0
FONSECA Danny	CRC	2	118	12	2	2	4	1	0
NEKOUNAM Javad	IRN	2	180	12	3	3	6	2	0
TYMOSCHUK Anatoliy	UKR	2	180	12	0	4	4	0	0
ZEWLAKOW Michal	POL	2	172	12	4	1	4	0	0
ANDRE	ANG	2	168	11	2	6	3	3	1

Player	Team	MP	MinP	TC	TS	FC	FS	YC	RC
HASHEMIAN Vahid	IRN	2	180	1	19	4	1	0	0
VALDEZ Nelson	PAR	2	180	3	18	2	4	1	0
LUIS FIGO	POR	2	177	3	16	4	16	0	0
MENDONCA	ANG	2	180	6	16	7	7	0	0
TORRES Fernando	ESP	2	180	1	15	0	9	0	0
SMOLAREK Ebi	POL	2	180	3	15	3	7	1	0
IBRAHIMOVIC Zlatan	SWE	2	135	2	15	3	1	0	0
RONALDINHO	BRA	2	180	2	14	3	5	0	0
CRISTIANO RONALDO	POR	2	149	0	13	4	11	1	0
ADEBAYOR Emmanuel	TOG	2	180	2	13	6	7	1	0

What's interesting to me right from the start is that 7 out of the top 10 tacklers are midfield (Juan, Nuno Valente, and Zewlakow are all D), though 11 is tied down to #17 or so, and you get more defenders like Sorin down there. I guess this makes sense, since you don't really want your defenders having to make a lot of tackles, because in a good defensive system you'd rather see your midfielders blow things up before it gets to your D. The other thing I know is that you do NOT want your guys making the tackles to be suffering a lot of tackles, since that sort of thing tends to lead to goals and such, which tends to cause losing. I'm looking at your, Dwight Yorke, and you Khaled Aziz.

Foul Stats

Player	Team	MP	MinP	TC	TS	FC	FS	YC	RC
LUIS FIGO	POR	2	177	3	16	4	16	0	0
TONI Luca	ITA	2	141	2	6	3	13	0	0
CRISTIANO RONALDO	POR	2	149	0	13	4	11	1	0
MARQUEZ Rafael	MEX	2	180	9	1	1	10	0	0
PARK Ji Sung	KOR	2	180	4	8	0	10	0	0
TENORIO Carlos	ECU	2	109	0	11	4	10	0	0
VAN PERSIE Robin	NED	2	180	5	3	7	9	0	0
TORRES Fernando	ESP	2	180	1	15	0	9	0	0
KAKA	BRA	2	180	0	10	4	9	0	0
LJUNGBERG Freddie	SWE	2	180	8	11	1	8	0	0

This sort (Fouls Suffered) is particularly interesting, because it includes almost exclusively attacking players who are on the ball a lot. Suffering a lot of fouls is actually a pretty decent thing, since, depending on where you suffer them, they are likely to put your team into position to get good free kicks and occasionally a PK. It also means you probably have pretty decent skill on the ball. What you would like to see here is a guy who gets fouled a lot, but does not get tackled a lot, since it likely indicates a player is particularly clever or strong on the ball, and they are creating almost exclusively good things. Toni, Marquez, and Van Persie are both highly positive in those ratios and it will be interesting to see how these change as the teams get further into the tournament. What you do not want to see are guys who are suffering a bunch of tackles and not getting fouled at all, since all that means is that they aren't playing well with their teammates and aren't creating anything good out of their ball possession either.

Two special things to note here: First, this list is almost exclusively superstars. I'd be interested in seeing if this carries over into domestic leagues. Second... what exactly is Rafa Marquez doing in this set of players? I have some theories, but nothing I really want to venture at the moment.

Level 12 Warriors

Player	Team	MP	MinP	TC	TS	FC	FS	YC	RC
ONYEWU Oguchi	USA	2	180	2	1	10	5	1	0
DELGADO	ANG	2	180	10	1	8	2	1	0
PAREDES Carlos	PAR	2	180	1	5	8	1	1	0
PARDO Pavel	MEX	2	180	3	2	8	1	0	0
CROUCH Peter	ENG	2	180	2	2	8	1	1	0
VAN PERSIE Robin	NED	2	180	5	3	7	9	0	0
MENDONCA	ANG	2	180	6	16	7	7	0	0
MENDEZ Mario	MEX	2	180	11	7	7	6	0	0
BOKA Arthur	CIV	2	180	5	2	7	5	1	0
BRAVO Omar	MEX	2	180	3	8	7	4	0	0
MUNTARI Sulley	GHA	2	180	6	7	7	4	2	0
SEQUEIRA Douglas	CRC	2	180	6	2	7	2	0	0
ADEBAYOR Emmanuel	TOG	2	180	2	13	6	7	1	0
FIGUEIREDO	ANG	2	151	5	5	6	6	0	0
STANKOVIC Dejan	SCG	2	180	2	5	6	6	1	0

Finally we get to the guys that love to hack and slash. I hypothesized that this list would mostly be defenders and defensive mids, but it's intriguing to see a lot of aggressive attacking players near the top of this list. Not one of the leaders has a red card, and only Muntari has a pair of yellows, so these are guys who seem to foul pretty intelligently. I guess the other thing to note is that most of the defenders on this list are on bubble teams - not sure what that means yet, but it's also something to keep an eye on. Might have to do with the style of football they are forced to play...

Through two games, I was right in my prediction for who would win the Golden Boot. Of course, Klose took the lead immediately thereafter, but at least I was right for a short period of time, right?

More later, including England thoughts, Mexico thoughts, and US v. Ghana predictions.