So, the Guardian posted an interesting article with some graphs from the 2014 World Cup. Even better, linked at the bottom was a spreadsheet with player-specific information for each of the 32 teams. That data can be accessed and downloaded here.
Here’s a set of boxplots showing player ages by country. Each boxplot is color coded to represent the region from which each country qualified (CONCACAF, UEFA, etc).
Portugal boasts the squad with the highest median age (29 years), while Nigeria’s median roster age is the lowest of the qualifying countries (24).
Only 7 squads brought players younger than 20 years, including the United States’ 19-year old Julian Green.
The oldest player on a 2014 World Cup roster is Columbian goal-keeper Faryd Mondragon. You can follow Faryd on Instagram here.
Here’s a graph of player ages by position. Goalies, not surprisingly, tend to be older than players at other positions.
This post was inspired by Greg’s Olympic boxplots here.
StatsbyLopez 