It seems like everywhere you go these days, there is someone talking about the FIFA World Cup. Here at M&S it’s no different. Whether we’re discussing the way Spain went out in the 1st round or how heartbreaking it was to tie Portugal (which is weird to see typed out because before the tournament that would have been a great result), we’ve got a fever and the only cure is more soccer/fútbol/footbal/whatever you call it.

There are so many fantastic story lines at both the personal and national level that it seems hard to not get sucked in by it all. As we have watched the games, a lot of questions have been asked and so we searched for answers. In our quest we came across two sites that we thought you might enjoy. These sites marry two things, soccer and data, in a truly enjoyable way. We hope you have as much fun exploring these links as we did. Then when you get together to watch the next match with friends you’ll have an arsenal of knowledge and some deeper insight with which to dazzle.

Let us know in the comments if you’ve come across more great FIFA World Cup sites that we should know about.

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/statistics/index.html will show you some of the best, the most, the longest, averages, etc. from the tournament so far.

http://www.wsj.com/worldcup has some interesting non-sports data as well as interesting tactical and per match interactive visualizations.

UPDATE: We found some more helpful links for you.

The Clubs That Connect The World Cup
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/20/sports/worldcup/how-world-cup-players-are-connected.html?ref=worldcup

 
How Teams Can Advance to the Next Round
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/19/upshot/world-cup-2014-how-teams-can-advance-to-the-next-round.html?ref=worldcup