Plus: the lowest-ranked English-based player in Russia, busting an Italia 90 myth and the history of three lions on a shirt. Mail us here or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU

“Was the pass for South Korea’s second goal against Germany the longest assist in World Cup history?” asked Michael McCourt.



Our thoughts at first drifted to Frank de Boer, who pinged a beautiful pass all of 60 yards to Dennis Bergkamp against Argentina at France 98. And we all know what happened next. But having looked at footage of Ju Se-jong’s pass for Son Heung-min’s goal against Germany we measure it at around 75 yards by the time the ball is touched into the net at the six-yard box. You may think there couldn’t be a longer assist than this but there is, and we can’t imagine any other World Cup assist can beat it.

Here’s Daniel Bickermann to hammer home our through-ball. “Coincidentally the assist was supplied by Manuel Neuer, who pretty much gave the second South Korea goal away by losing the ball extremely high up the pitch in their group game in Russia. It was against England in 2010. His goal-kick went from the edge of his own six-yard box straight to the opposite penalty spot before Miroslav Klose stabbed it in, which makes that assist about 10 or 15 yards longer than Ju Se-jong’s.”

We measure that about 85-90 yards and going back through history, when footballs were heavier and pitches more sticky, we can’t imagine a World Cup has witnessed an assist to rival Neuer’s. But if we’re wrong you know where to get us.

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How low can you go at the World Cup?

“Who is the Russia 2018 player at the lowest-ranked club? Is anyone as low as Ahmed Deen who was in the Sierra Leone squad during the 2010 competition playing for Barnet in the fifth tier?” asks Edward Gibson.

Well, Edward, having perused our super-soaraway bumper guide to all 736 players at the World Cup we were struggling to find anybody lower than League One. In the Championship, Brentford, who finished ninth, supplied right-back Henrik Dalsgaard to Denmark. Ipswich, 12th in England’s second tier, supplied the Danes with the long throw specialist Jonas Knudsen. Sweden’s Seb Larsson was at 18th-placed Hull City last term while Tunisia forward Wahbi Khazri is still on the books at newly-relegated Sunderland, despite having been out on loan at Ligue 1 Rennes in 2017-18.

We then dusted off our magnifying glass and had another look – and the name Sam Morsy leapt out. The Wolverhampton-born midfielder captained Wigan to promotion from League One last season and represented Egypt in Russia, and played in their opener against Uruguay. By our reckoning, he’s the winner.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Egypt’s and Wigan’s Sam Morsy, left, comes under fire from a lunge by Edinson Cavani. Photograph: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images

Have you got any other lower-ranked examples? If so, you know the drill.

Could England have brought Beasant on for penalties in 1990?

“It’s often said that, when England lost on penalties to West Germany at Italia 90, Bobby Robson should have brought big Dave Beasant on for the penalties. Surely England had used all their subs by then hadn’t they?” asks George Jones.

The Knowledge has often heard this theory that penalty-save specialist Beasant could have been brought on for Shilton before the spot-kicks. Even Chris Waddle, who missed England’s final kick, is said to have muttered it. But on further investigation, it’s a myth. The Guardian’s very own Rob Smyth, who knows a thing or two about Italia 90, happily busts it. “England hadn’t used all their substitutes, they’d only brought on Trevor Steven for Terry Butcher (you were allowed two subs then), but it’s a myth because in those days you had to name five subs to choose from for each match. England’s other subs were Chris Woods, Tony Dorigo, Steve McMahon and Steve Bull.” So there you have it. Thanks, Rob.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest And here’s the proof from a grab of England’s subs at the start of the match. Photograph: BBC

Knowledge archive

What is the history of the three lions on the English football shirt?” asked Lisa Herron 16 years ago in July 2002.

Has anyone made their international bow in a World Cup knockout match? | The Knowledge Read more

Put your lute tape on the jukebox, Lisa, because we’re about to embark on a history lesson. The short answer is that England wear the three lions on their shirts - as they have done ever since the first international against Scotland in 1872 - because, as representatives of the Football Association, they’re simply sporting the logo of the FA. However, where that logo comes from is a much longer story. The lions have a history going back to the 12th century, when a standard with three gold lions on a red field was carried into battle to inspire the troops.

The first one came from Henry I – known as the “Lion of England” – who had a lion on his standard on taking power in 1100. Shortly afterwards he married Adeliza, whose father also had a lion on his shield, and to commemorate the event he added a second lion to his standard. In 1154, two lions became three when Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine, who – yes, you’ve guessed it – also had a lion for her family crest. Later that century, Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199) used the three golden lions on a scarlet background as a symbol of the English throne and, after that, it appeared on the Royal Arms of every succeeding monarch.

So when the FA was formed in 1863, it seemed natural enough to base their logo on this stirring royal shield. Since then, the design has only been changed once, in 1949 - when the crown that was on top of the lions was removed to differentiate the badge from that of the English cricket team.

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Can you help?

James Taylor (@jamestaylor) For many years I have wondered why a #Brazil flag appears in place of the logo portion of the @Philips advertising hoardings in various locations at multiple venues at the 1986 #WorldCup(see attachment). Any insight would be greatly appreciated. #mexico86 #worldcupmysteries #help pic.twitter.com/ty28iCNgDh

dan almond (@pompeyrabbi) @TheKnowledge_GU Didier Deschamps, first man to play and manage in Champions League Final, European Championship Final and World Cup Final?

Abdi Moallim (@footexplain) Am I right in thinking Rashford's penalty against Colombia was his first as a senior? Any other debutant penalty takers in a match with high stakes?

“So, Uruguay have fallen foul to France. That means that by now the French team have knocked out three out of five South American teams at this World Cup (Peru, Argentina and Uruguay). So I started wondering, has any team ever knocked out an entire continent at a World Cup? Or has any team ever bettered France’s 60% hit-rate?” asks Shane Finan.

“Belgium played Panama (from the Concacaf confederation), Tunisia (Africa), England (Uefa), Japan (Asia) and Brazil (South America), so their first five games were against teams from five confederations. Has any team played teams from this many confederations before in a single World Cup?” wonders Steve James.

“Idly flicking through an old European Football Yearbook, I noted Pauleta scored 22 of Bordeaux’s 34 league goals in the 2001-02 season: 64.7% of their total. No other player got more than two. Has any player ever obtained a higher percentages of their side’s league goals in a season? What’s the English record?” asks David Stainer.

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