The Search for the Most Linguistically-Similar World Cup Group in History
A non-scientific study!
*Edit: A previous version of this article asserted that Uruguay had never lost a language buddy game, but it was pointed out that they lost to Costa Rica 2-1 in 2014. The correction has been made.*
As a language teacher, it’s always been fascinating to me that soccer is known as “The World’s Game,” and that almost every student I’ve had, no matter where they come from, has some pretty strong opinions about it.
The pinnacle, at least as far as the game’s worldliness is concerned, has to be the World Cup, when teams from all six confederations come together to see which European or South American team will win.
Trash talk has certainly always held a hallowed place in sport, and soccer is certainly not immune from players gallivanting around, telling “yo mamma” jokes. However, wouldn’t this be incredibly difficult in the World Cup, given that competing teams come from countries that are generally tens of thousands of miles apart, with different cultures, customs, and, most importantly, languages? There’s also the not-so-small matter of tactics, given that players certainly would not want to be openly conversing about their plans in a language their competitors understand! (You need to be very careful around Emmanuel Eboue, especially.)
These questions set me on the path of looking at all the historical World Cup groups to find the most linguistically-alike of them all. Here, we will refer to linguistically-alike countries as “language buddies.”
World Cup Groups with at least 2 countries acting as language buddies:
Denotes Winner
Denotes Finalist
1930 Group 3 (Uruguay, Romania, Peru) SPANISH
Uruguay 1-0 Peru
Only one team would qualify from this group, and that would be the Uruguayans. They won the whole enchilada!
1950 Group 2 (Spain, England, Chile, USA) ENGLISH, SPANISH
Spain 2-0 Chile
USA 1-0 England
The USA scored a shock upset over England but still crashed out in last.
1950 Group 4! (Uruguay, Bolivia) SPANISH
Uruguay 8-0 Bolivia
France were supposed to play in this group, but dropped out before the tournament began, leaving a group of two. Uruguay won the whole thing again.
1954 Group 4 (England, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium) ITALIAN
Switzerland 2-1 Italy
Playoff: Switzerland 4-1 Italy
Note: The Belgians and Swiss did not play at this tournament. Only two group games were played in the 1954 edition of the World Cup.
1962 Group 1 (Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Uruguay, Colombia) SPANISH
Uruguay 2-1 Colombia
Uruguay and Colombia crashed out, leaving the Spanish-speaking world humiliated.
1962 Group 2 (West Germany, Chile, Italy, Switzerland) GERMAN, ITALIAN
West Germany 2-1 Switzerland
Italy 3-0 Switzerland
The West Germans carried the group while the Italians and Swiss went home early. West Germany bowed out to Yugoslavia in the quarters.
1962 Group 3 (Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Mexico, Spain) SPANISH
Spain 1-0 Mexico
Mexico and Spain couldn’t escape eventual-winners Brazil.
1966 Group 1 (England, Uruguay, Mexico, France) SPANISH
Mexico 0-0 Uruguay
Uruguay got the better of Western-Hemisphere pals Mexico.
1966 Group 2 (West Germany, Argentina, Spain, Switzerland) GERMAN, SPANISH
West Germany 5-0 Switzerland
Argentina 2-1 Spain
West Germany and Argentina would leave their language buddies behind, both escaping this Group of Death. They would both lose to champs England.
1966 Group 3 (Portugal, Hungary, Brazil, Bulgaria) PORTUGUESE 1/1
Portugal 3-1 Brazil
The colonizers would once again prevail as Portugal leaves Brazil in the dust.
1970 Group 1 (Soviet Union, Mexico, Belgium, El Salvador) SPANISH 1/1
Mexico 4-0 El Salvador
Mexico gets out while Central America amigos El Salvador crash out of one of their only two World Cup appearances.
1974 Group 1 (East Germany, West Germany, Chile, Australia) GERMAN 2/0
East Germany 1-0 West Germany
Both halves of the German friendship necklace make the next round, with the westernmost Deutschers going on to win the whole thing!
*1974 Group 4 (Poland, Argentina, Italy, Haití) ITALIAN 1/1
Argentina 1-1 Italy
Los Argentinos vienen de los barcos, y se van a la próxima ronda
*1978 Group 1 (Italy, Argentina, France, Hungary) ITALIAN 2/0
Italy 1-0 Argentina
Again, we have to kind of imagine that Argentina is an Italian-speaking country… it’s not. They would win the whole thing, bringing joy and everlasting peace to the military junta.
1978 Group 4 (Peru, Netherlands, Scotland, Iran) ENGLISH 1/1
Scotland 3-2 Netherlands
Dutch people mostly speak English. That’s why this works. Don’t at me. They lost to Argentina in the final.
1982 Group 2 (West Germany, Austria, Algeria, Chile) GERMAN 2/0
West Germany 1-0 Austria
Both West Germany and lil brother Austria glide into the next round.
1982 Group 3 (Belgium, Argentina, Hungary, El Salvador) SPANISH 1/1
Argentina 2-0 El Salvador
Argentina advance at language-buddy El Salvador’s expense. Hungary finish with a +10 GD but fail to qualify in 3rd place.
1982 Group 5 (Northern Ireland, Spain (H), Yugoslavia, Honduras) SPANISH 1/1
Spain 1-1 Honduras
Spain slips through but Central American teams continue to flounder.
1982 Group 6 (Brazil, Soviet Union, Scotland, New Zealand) ENGLISH 0/2
Scotland 5-2 New Zealand
Oft-forgotten English-speaking countries Scotland and New Zealand go quietly into that good night.
1986 Group B (Mexico (H), Paraguay, Belgium, Iraq) SPANISH 2/0
Mexico 1-1 Paraguay
It was a good tournament for Spanish-speaking countries, and hosts Mexico and Paraguay both advance.
1986 Group C (Soviet Union, France, Hungary, Canada) FRENCH 1/1
France 1-0 Canada
Canadian school children everywhere shout “Merde!” as France leave Canada behind.
1990 Group E (Spain, Belgium, Uruguay, South Korea) SPANISH 2/0
Uruguay 0-0 Spain
Uruguay advance as a third-place team, and Spain cruise to an easy group win.
1990 Group F (England, Republic of Ireland, Netherlands, Egypt) ENGLISH 3/0
England 1-1 Ireland
England 0-0 Netherlands
Ireland 1-1 Netherlands
All three “English” speaking teams advanced
1994 Group C (Germany, Spain, South Korea, Bolivia) SPANISH
Spain 3-1 Bolivia
Spain advanced only to lose to Italy in the Quarterfinals
1994 Group F (Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Morocco) FRENCH, ARABIC, DUTCH
Belgium 1-0 Morocco
Belgium 1-0 Netherlands
Saudi Arabia 2-1 Morocco
Three out of four in this language-buddy-palooza of a group advanced!
1998 Group D (Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain, Bulgaria) SPANISH
Spain 0-0 Paraguay
Paraguay surprised everyone and advanced ahead of Spain, bowing out to eventual-champions France after extra time in the round of 16.
1998 Group E (Netherlands, Mexico, Belgium, South Korea) DUTCH
Netherlands 0-0 Belgium
Did you know? A lot of Belgian people speak Dutch. The Dutch made it all the way to the semifinal!
2002 Group A (Denmark, Senegal, Uruguay, France) FRENCH
Senegal 1-0 France
France were baaaaaaad. Senegal lost to Turkey on a Golden Goal in the Quarterfinals.
2002 Group B (Spain, Paraguay, South Africa, Slovenia) SPANISH
Spain 3-1 Paraguay
Spain and Paraguay went through, with the Iberians losing to South Korea on penalties in the Quarterfinals.
2002 Group F (Sweden, England, Argentina, Nigeria) ENGLISH
England 0-0 Nigeria
England respectfully lost to Brazil in the Quarterfinals.
2002 Group G (Mexico, Italy, Croatia, Ecuador) SPANISH
Mexico 2-1 Ecuador
Mexico lost dos a cero in the Round of 16 to a certain northern neighbor.
2002 Group H (Japan (H), Belgium, Russia, Tunisia) FRENCH
Tunisia 1-1 Belgium
Belgium bowed out to brazenly brave Brazil. Blueberries.
2006 Group A (Germany (H), Ecuador, Poland, Costa Rica) SPANISH
Ecuador 3-0 Costa Rica
Ecuador went out with a whimper to England in the Round of 16.
2006 Group B (England, Sweden, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago) ENGLISH
England 2-0 Trinidad and Tobago
In true England fashion, they went out to Portugal on penalties in the Quarterfinals.
2006 Group D (Portugal, Mexico, Angola, Iran) PORTUGUESE
Portugal 1-0 Angola
Portugal were shock semifinalists, losing to France.
2006 Group E (Italy, Ghana, Czech Republic, United States) ENGLISH
Ghana 2-1 USA
Ghana were trounced by Brazil in the Round of 16.
2006 Group H (Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia) ARABIC
Tunisia 2-2 Saudi Arabia
There would be no advancement beyond the group for the Arabic-speaking contingent.
2010 Group A (Uruguay, Mexico, South Africa, France) SPANISH
Uruguay 1-0 Mexico
There was a handball, there was Ghana, and there was a semifinal for Uruguay.
2010 Group C (United States, England, Slovenia, Algeria) ENGLISH
England 1-1 USA
The USA lost to old nemesis Ghana in the Round of 16, while England were hilariously denied a Lampard goal and went out to Germany.
2010 Group D (Germany, Ghana, Australia, Serbia) ENGLISH
Ghana 1-1 Australia
For Ghana, See: Uruguay
2010 Group G (Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast, North Korea) PORTUGUESE
Brazil 0-0 Portugal
Brazil brought shame upon their families and exited in the Quarterfinals to the Netherlands. Portugal couldn’t overcome Spain in the Round of 16.
2014 Group B (Netherlands, Chile, Spain, Australia) SPANISH, ENGLISH
Chile 2-0 Spain
Netherlands 3-2 Australia
The Netherlands lost to Argentina on penalties in the semifinals, while Chile lost to Brazil in the Round of 16.
2014 Group D (Costa Rica, Uruguay, Italy, England) SPANISH
Costa Rica 3-1 Uruguay
Costa Rica shocked the world by making the Quarterfinals, losing to the tricky Dutch on penalties. Uruguay lost to Colombia in the Round of 16.
2014 Group E (France, Switzerland, Ecuador, Honduras) FRENCH, SPANISH
France 5-2 Switzerland
Ecuador 2-1 Honduras
France were dumped out 1-0 by Germany in the Quarterfinals, while the Swiss put up a valiant effort but lost in extra time to eventual finalists Argentina in the first knockout round.
2014 Group G (Germany, United States, Portugal, Ghana) ENGLISH
USA 2-1 Ghana
Germany won the whole thing, while the US surrendered 87,000 shots to Belgium but only let two of them in.
2014 Group H (Belgium, Algeria, Russia, South Korea) FRENCH
Belgium 2-1 Algeria
Belgium were defeated by Argentina as well, this time in the Quarterfinal, while Algeria went out in the Round of 16 to Germany.
2018 Group A (Uruguay, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt) ARABIC
Saudi Arabia 2-1 Egypt
Group A was not able to supply any Language-Buddies to the knockout rounds.
2018 Group D (Croatia, Argentina, Nigeria, Iceland) ENGLISH
Nigeria 2-0 Iceland
Nigeria and Iceland both went quietly, not escaping Group D.
Iceland’s population is tremendously good at speaking English. Surely they had some nice chats with the Nigerians!
2018 Group G (Belgium, England, Tunisia, Panama) FRENCH 1/1
Belgium 5-2 Tunisia
Belgium famously went out to champions France in the semifinal before winning the third place game against jolly old England.
2022 Group C (Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland)
Argentina 2-0 Mexico
I think we all know how this one ended for Argentina.
2022 Group D (France, Australia, Tunisia, Denmark)
Tunisia 1-0 France
France won the group but Tunisia couldn’t get out with 4 points. France went on to lose to Argentina in a not-so-memorable final.
2022 Group E (Japan, Spain, Germany, Costa Rica)
Spain 7-0 Costa Rica
Spain snuck out of the group in second but could not sneak past the Moroccans, being eliminated on penalties (without scoring even ONE) in the round of 16.
2022 Group G (Brazil, Switzerland, Cameroon, Serbia)
Switzerland 1-0 Cameroon
Switzerland finished second in the group but were embarrassed by Portugal in the last 16, losing 6 goals to 1.
World Cup groups with 3 countries acting as language buddies:
1930 Group 1 (Argentina, Chile, France, Mexico) SPANISH
Chile 3-0 Mexico
Argentina 6-3 Mexico
Argentina 3-1 Chile
Argentina would lose in the final round to champions Uruguay.
2006 Group G (Switzerland, France, South Korea, Togo) FRENCH
France 0-0 Switzerland
Switzerland 2-0 Togo
France 2-0 Togo
France lost to Italy in the final after something happened involving Zinedine Zidane. Switzerland were dumped out by Ukraine on penalties in the first round.
2010 Group H (Spain, Chile, Switzerland, Honduras) SPANISH
Chile 1-0 Honduras
Spain 2-0 Honduras
Spain 2-1 Chile
Spain won the whole darn thing! Chile got Brazil’d in the first round.
2022 Group B (England, United States, Wales, Iran)
Wales 1-1 United States
England 0-0 United States
England 3-0 Wales
England topped the group but lost to France in the quarterfinals. The USA finished second but were dumped out by the equally-good-at-English Dutch in the Round of 16.
2022 Group F (Morocco, Croatia, Belgium, Canada)
Belgium 1-0 Canada
Belgium 0-2 Morocco
Canada 1-2 Morocco
Morocco topped the group while Canada and Belgium farted out. Morocco made the deepest run of any African country, reaching the semifinals!
57 TOTAL GROUPS OF 118 GROUPS IN WORLD CUP HISTORY
73 QUALIFIERS and 61 NON-QUALIFIERS
Most Common Countries for Language Partners:
Spain: 11 times in 16 appearances
Uruguay: 7 times in 14 appearances
Mexico: 8 times in 17 appearances
Belgium: 6 times in 14 appearances
Switzerland: 6 times in 12 appearances
England: 6 times in 16 appearances
France: 5 times in 16 appearances
Germany (West): 4 times in 20 appearances
Tunisia: 4 times in 6 appearances
Ghana: 3 times in 3 appearances!
Argentina: 4 times in 18 appearances
Portugal: 3 times in 8 appearances
Paraguay: 3 times in 8 appearances
Bolivia: 2 in 3 appearances
Brazil: 2 times in 22 appearances
Nigeria: 1 time in 6 appearances
Most Common Languages:
Spanish: 25 groups total
English: 13 groups total
French: 11 groups total
German: 4 groups total
Portuguese: 3 groups total
Arabic: 3 groups total
Italian: 2* group total
Dutch: 2 group total
Most Common Opponents:
Spain/Chile: 3
England/USA: 3
Switzerland/Italy: 2
Uruguay/Mexico: 2
Brazil/Portugal: 2
Belgium/Tunisia: 2
Italy/Switzerland: 2
Germany/Switzerland: 2
Ghana/USA: 2
Tunisia/Belgium: 2
Most Different Language Partners:
Spain - 8 (Chile, Bolivia, Mexico, Argentina, Honduras, Uruguay, Bolivia, Paraguay, Costa Rica)
Belgium - 6 (Switzerland, Morocco, Netherlands, Tunisia, Algeria, Canada)
Switzerland - 6 (Belgium, Italy, Germany, France, Togo, Canada)
England - 6 (USA, Ireland, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Netherlands, Wales)
Top Performers:
Uruguay are the undisputed kings of Language-Buddy games, having lost only once in group play, to Costa Rica in 2014. They’ve also won four and drawn twice.
Spain have played the most Language-Buddy matches, with thirteen in all. Their results are a mixed bag, however, with seven wins, two losses, and four draws.
Switzerland, having played Language-Buddy games in three different languages, has managed to win four, lose three, and draw once.
Germany (as West Germany) have played in four, winning three and losing one. However, their only loss came to East Germany which is now part of their country, so can you really lose to yourself?
Traditional disappointments England continue to be disappointments in Language-Buddy games. They’ve played eight and lost four, winning only two Language-Buddy games in 2006 against Trinidad and Tobago and 2022 against Wales.
Top Year:
2022 - 6 out of 8 groups (75%) had language buddies, with French dominant in 3 groups
1962 - 3 out of 4 groups (75%) had language buddies, with Spanish dominant in 2 of 3 groups
1966 - 3 out of 4 groups (75%) had language buddies, with Spanish dominant in 2 of those 3 groups
2006 - 6 out of 8 groups (75%) had language buddies, with Spanish and English each claiming 2 groups!
1982 - 4 out of 6 groups (67%) had language buddies, with Spanish as the dominant language in 2 of those 4!
2010 - 5 out of 8 groups (63%) had language buddies, with Spanish and English each dominating 2
2002 - 5 out of 8 groups (63%) had language buddies, with Spanish and French dominating 2 groups each
2014 - 5 out of 8 groups (63%) had language buddies, Spain claiming 3, with English and French each having 2
*Both 1954 and 1978 featured no real language buddies
*1954 and 2018 are the only World Cups featuring language buddies that did NOT have a Spanish-dominant group
Conclusions: Group 1 in 1930, Group G in 2006, Group H in 2010 and Groups B and F stand out as the most linguistically-alike groups in World Cup History. In each of these groups, 3 out of the 6 games were played between opponents who were able to understand each other almost perfectly. In Group 2 of the 1962 edition there was a language-triangle of sorts, with the Swiss taking on both Italy and West Germany. Group F in 1994 stands alone with each of the four teams having at least one language-buddy opponent, with three languages represented.
Of course, none of this research takes into account dual-nationals or other players representing nations in which they were not born. That will be a deep dive for another day. This research looks at the linguistic characteristics of nations as whole units.
Does playing in a linguistically-alike World Cup group provide any advantages or disadvantages?
Countries playing in a World Cup group with at least one other linguistically-alike “language buddy” have advanced beyond the group stage on 73 occasions while failing to advance on 61 occasions. This represents a success rate of 55 percent! We compare this to the overall likelihood of qualification from the first group stages in the World Cup: 236 teams have qualified out of a total of 458 teams, representing a 52% success rate. We can thereby safely conclude that playing in a World Cup Group with one or more “language buddy” increases the chances of qualification for the next round by a full three percent.
Countries drawn into a first-round group with at least one language-buddy who went on to WIN the World Cup include Uruguay in 1930 and 1950, West Germany in 1974, and Argentina in 1978, if you happen to believe that most of the Argentinean players spoke Italian (they almost certainly did not), and Argentina in 2022.
Countries with at least one language-buddy in their first round group who went on to lose in the final include West Germany in 1966 and 1982, the Netherlands in 1978, if we give them credit for all speaking English, and France in 2022.
The countries which were drawn into a group with OTHER language-buddies but none of their own who went on to win the World Cup are Brazil in 1962, England in 1966, Italy in 2006, and Germany 2014. Croatia found themselves in this situation in 2018, but lost in the final.
*Author’s Note: I am aware that this is insane, unscientific, and largely inaccurate in myriad ways. Please don’t @ me.*
"Uruguay are the undisputed kings of Language-Buddy games, never having lost one in group play! They’ve won four and drawn twice."
Didn't they lose against Costa Rica in 2014?