Field of 32 By the Numbers

Ever since the initial excitement of the World Cup draw died down back in December, the talk around these parts and a lot of other sites has been primarily focused on Group C.  I'm hesitant to give full previews of all 32 teams before final rosters are released, but I do still want to give some attention to the rest of the field.  So, here are some facts and figures regarding the World Cup field to help fill the gap:

2:

There will be two Korean teams in South Africa, the first time this has happened in World Cup history.  Since the peninsula's division, South Korea has made seven appearances ('54, '86, '90, '94, '98, '02, '06) with their northern neighbors making just one, back in 1966.  Don't expect these political adversaries to meet on the playing field, however; the earliest that they could play each other would be in the semifinals. 

2:

There will also be two teams from Oceania (the geographic region as defined by the UN, not the confederation) for the first time ever.  Australia will be making their third appearance and second in a row, while New Zealand will be returning for the first time since their debut in 1982.

0:

There will be zero debutant associations at this summer's tournament, another World Cup first.  But...

2:

There will be two teams competing for the first time in their current form after previously being part of former nations.  After once playing as Yugoslavia, then Serbia and Montenegro, it will just simply be Serbia taking the field this time around.  Slovakia, meanwhile, will make their first appearance since the split of Czechoslovakia in 1993.

0: 

There will be no teams from the Middle East (per the traditional definition of the region) for the first time since 1974.  From 1978 to 2006, one or more of Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Turkey, and Kuwait were present at FIFA's quadrennial showcase.  This time around, however, the AFC representatives all hail from the far east, with Japan joining the aforementioned Korean duo and Australia.  

2:

There will be two reigning continental champions absent from the tournament.  Both Iraq (2007 Asian Cup) and Egypt (2010 Africa Cup of Nations) will not make the trek to South Africa after previously doing so for last summer's Confederations Cup.  The same happened back in '06, when Egypt and Greece missed out on the World Cup after winning their respective confederation tournaments.

6: 

There will be six African teams at this summer's World Cup, the highest number ever.  After being represented by no more than three teams up until 1994, CAF has sent five teams for the last three tournaments (thanks to the tournament's expansion to 32 teams).  Now, with South Africa earning an automatic berth as the host, that total gets pushed to six, with Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, and Cameroon rounding out the record group.  

309,068,000:

The participating nation with the largest population is none other than the US of A.  If only team ability was directly correlated, then we'd be entertaining serious thoughts of lifting the trophy come July 11.  It does, however, set up an interesting contrast within Group C because...

2,056,340:

Slovenia has the smallest population out of the field of 32.  Of course, when it comes down to it, a national team is made up of just 23 players, not millions, so this massive discrepancy won't play much of a factor when the USMNT and Slovenia square off in their second group stage match.  

101:

There are 101 stars total on the flags of the 32 teams playing in the World Cup.  This stat is utterly useless. 

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As always, feel free to correct me if I made a mistake; I know I'm far from perfect.
 
Stay tuned for another post later today, and enjoy the afternoon, folks.