By the numbers: How Germany outran and outclassed everyone at World Cup 2014

If there is one word that has defined 2014 World Cup champions Germany it has to be efficiency. Consistently efficient passing, efficient shots at goal, efficient defending and highly efficient goalkeeping by Manuel Neuer, who walked away with the golden glove. A look at the numbers from the tournament show how Germany have outrun, out-passed and out-scored every opponent that came up against them (excluding their solitary draw against Ghana in the group stage). [caption id=“attachment_90732” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The victorious German team. AP image[/caption] The Germans were clearly the best statistically compared to Argentina, Netherlands and Brazil, the other teams that made it to the semi-finals. The only statistic in which they did not lead was when it came taking shots at goal, where Argentina and Brazil were better. But having the higher number of goals scored per match shows how much better Germany were at making it count. Here’s how Germany stood compared to the three other semi-finalists: Fifa also has some interesting graphs on where the teams score from which highlight how Germany ensured that they took all their shots from as close to the goal as possible, explaining the high scoring rate. [caption id=“attachment_90727” align=“alignleft” width=“406”]  Where Germany scored their goals from: point blank range. Image courtesy: Fifa.com[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_90728” align=“alignleft” width=“406”]  Argentina’s scoring pattern in this world cup. Image courtesy: Fifa.com[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_90729” align=“alignleft” width=“406”]  Where the Netherlands scored their goals from. Image courtesy: Fifa.com[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_90730” align=“alignleft” width=“406”]  Where Brazil scored from in this World Cup. Image courtesy: Fifa.com[/caption]