Gisele to present trophy

She’s more at home on a catwalk than a football pitch but supermodel Gisele Bundchen will be presenting the winners’ trophy at the World Cup next month. Brazil’s most beautiful export has been asked by FIFA to take on the role in place of the Brazilian President, Dilma Rousseff, who has been the recent subject of abuse as a result of the financial strain the World Cup has had on the country. It has been reported that the trophy will be presented in a custom-made Louis Vuitton trunk.

Iran fumes over flag misuse

Iranian lawmakers are seeing red after a German beer maker printed the Iran's flag on special bottles of showcasing Iran and 31 other nations participating in the World Cup. Brewer Gaffel Kolsch created a beer bottle that included the Iran’s flag with the words “God is great” repeated across two stripes on the labels and caps. Member of Parliament Hamid Rasaie said the use of flag is insulting and that he was angry at FIFA for “allowing” the flag to be “disrespected.”

Irina win WAGS hair cup

Footballing superstar Cristiano Ronaldo's supermodel girlfriend Irina Shayk has been crowned the World Cup girlfriend with the best hair. The Russian beauty, 28, and her flowing brunette locks topped a poll by users of online hair and beauty retailer Hairtrade.com. The model, who has fronted campaigns all over the world, took the top spot with almost a quarter of the votes – 21 per cent. Close behind was fashion designer Coleen Rooney. The wife of English forward Wayne Rooney received 17 per cent of the vote.

Goalfest may shatter records

World Cup this year has been an absolute goalfest so far. In fact, it could be on pace to be the highest-scoring tournament in the 84-year history. Over the first 11 games, the average number of goals per match has been 3.63. The average number of goals per match in South Africa in 2010 was 2.27, and FIFA calculates that the average since 1930 has been 2.86. Only in 1954’s World Cup in Switzerland has a higher average number of goals per match than this yea with an average of 5.38 goals.

World Cup’s Birthday Paradox

athematicians are running the rule over the World Cup – less for the quality of the football than for the chance to prove an intriguing statistical quirk called the "Birthday Paradox". Strange as it may sound, 16 of the 32 teams at the World Cup have players who share a birthday. Statisticians have known for some time there is a 50 percent chance that in any group of 23 people, two of them will have the same birthday. And delightfully, the World Cup – with its 32 teams of 23-man squads – proves it exactly.