They may have not won the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but the U.S. soccer team did finish No. 1 in at least one category during the tournament.
FIFA.com provided plenty of awesome statistics from the World Cup, such as short versus long pass completion percentage and dribbles in the penalty area. The United States weren’t the best in either of those stats, but they did cover the most distance per game of any team.
How does FIFA track this stat? According to a New York Times interview with Mark Vestegen, who covered Germany’s national team, each player wears a monitor in his cleats that tracks mileage, movement, heart rate, stopping and starting points on the field, and many other statistics.
Here’s a list of the top 10 teams who covered the most ground in the tournament:
1. USA — 77.17 miles per game
2. Germany — 75.12 miles per game
3. Chile — 74.75 miles per game
4. Costa Rica — 74.14 miles per game
5. Switzerland — 73.46 miles per game
6. Australia — 73.38 miles per game
7. Netherlands — 75.34 miles per game
8. Argentina — 72.9 miles per game
9. Russia — 71.79 miles per game
10. Algeria — 71.76 miles per game
h/t to Deadspin
Photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports
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