Facebook’s data team looked at the overall conversation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, along with the top social matches and moments, demos, countries, most-talked-about players, and the most-engaging content posted by World Cup athletes. The tournament was a unique moment for Facebook, which measured the highest level of conversation for any event in history.
From June 12 – July 13, 350 million people joined the conversation on Facebook, generating 3 billion interactions (posts, comments and likes) related to the World Cup. 88 million people generated 280 million interactions for Sunday’s final between Germany and Argentina, which makes the match the single most-talked-about sporting event in Facebook history.
Most Social World Cup Matches
- Germany vs. Argentina final (88 million people with 280 million Facebook interactions)
- Brazil vs. Germany semifinal (66 million people with 200 million Facebook interactions)
- Brazil vs. Croatia opening match (58 million people with 140 million Facebook interactions)
- Argentina vs. Netherlands semifinal (39 million people with 83 million Facebook interactions)
- Brazil vs. Chile round of 16 match (31 million people with 75 million Facebook interactions)
Most Social World Cup Moments
- Brazil vs. Germany semifinal (29’): Sami Khedira scores Germany’s fourth goal in seven minutes, giving them an inconceivable 5-0 lead with a full hour remaining in the match.
- Germany vs. Argentina final (full time): The final whistle blows, crowning Germany as World Champions for the fourth time.
- Brazil vs. Germany semifinal (26’): Toni Kroos scores his second goal of the match, increasing Germany’s lead to 4-0 over a stunned Brazil team and home crowd.
- Germany vs. Argentina final (113’): Mario Götze scores from a beautiful Schürrle cross to give Germany a 1-0 lead over Argentina deep in extra time.
- Brazil vs. Croatia opening match (29’): Neymar scores his first World Cup goal, and Brazil’s first goal of the match, to level the score 1-1 with Croatia.
Most Talked About Players
- Neymar (Brazil)
- Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
- Luis Suárez (Uruguay)
- David Luiz (Brazil)
- Júlio César (Brazil)
- Thomas Müller (Germany)
- Mesut Özil (Germany)
- Hulk (Brazil)
- Arjen Robben (Netherlands)
Honorable Mention: Mario Götze (Germany)
Who was talking about the World Cup?
- Men 18-24 (22% of total World Cup buzz)
- Men 25-34
- Women 18-24
- Women 25-34
- Men 35-44
Top 5 countries in terms of unique people
- Brazil: 55 million people in Brazil joined the conversation about the World Cup from June 12 – July 13
- USA: 48 million people in the United States joined the conversation about the World Cup from June 12 – July 13
- Mexico: 19 million people in Mexico joined the conversation about the World Cup from June 12 – July 13
- Indonesia: 18 million people in Indonesia joined the conversation about the World Cup from June 12 – July 13
- India: 14 million people in India joined the conversation about the World Cup from June 12 – July 13
Top 5 most engaged countries (as percent of people on Facebook in those countries)
- Brazil: 57% of people on Facebook in Brazil joined the conversation about the World Cup from June 12 – July 13
- Costa Rica: 52% of people on Facebook in Costa Rica joined the conversation about the World Cup from June 12 – July 13
- Uruguay: 52% of people on Facebook in Uruguay joined the conversation about the World Cup from June 12 – July 13
- Argentina: 50% of people on Facebook in Argentina joined the conversation about the World Cup from June 12 – July 13
- Maldives: 50% of people on Facebook in the Maldives joined the conversation about the World Cup from June 12 – July 13
Top 5 by percent of all World Cup interactions
- Brazil: 26% of all World Cup interactions were from Brazil
- USA: 10% of all World Cup interactions were from the U.S.
- Indonesia: 6% of all World Cup interactions were from Indonesia
- Mexico: 5% of all World Cup interactions were from Mexico
- Argentina: 4% of all World Cup interactions were from Argentina
Top 6 players who gained the most Facebook fans
…by raw growth:
- Neymar, + 14,933,027
- David Luiz, + 11,058,571
- James Rodriguez, + 9,018,742
- Cristiano Ronaldo, + 6,432,460
- Leo Messi, + 5,836,489
- Oscar, + 3,119,703
…by percent change:
- Memphis Depay, + 678%
- Tim Howard, + 334%
- Ricardo Rodriguez, + 318%
- James Rodriguez, + 269%
- Asmir Begovic, + 209%
- Fred, + 197%
Top 10 Player Posts for the World Cup (i.e. Top Content):
- Neymar and Silva selfie on June 21
- Cristiano Ronaldo posing with melon carving of his likeness on June 21
- Lionel Messi sharing a photo of himself with Neymar to wish him a speedy recovery on July 4
- David Luiz wishing teammate Neymar well on July 5
- Lionel Messi sharing a post-victory shot from the locker room after defeating the Swiss on July 1
- David Luiz wishing teammate Neymar well on July 7
- Lionel Messi on his birthday “wishing to win the World Cup” on June 24
- Neymar thanking fans and teammates for all their support on July 8
- Lionel Messi selfie ahead of the Round of 16 “now the World Cup really starts. let’s do something” on June 30
- Ezequiel Lavezzi sharing a photo with teammates Messi and di Maria in locker room after defeating the Swiss on July 1
Globally, 88 million people had more than 280 million Facebook interactions related to Sunday’s World Cup Final between Germany and Argentina.
This includes:
- 10.5 million people in the United States
- 10 million people in Brazil
- More than 7 million people in Argentina
- 5 million people in Germany
The match broke the record for the highest level of Facebook conversation for any single sporting event in history. (#2 was Super Bowl XLVII on Feb 3, 2013 with 245 million interactions)
Check out some of the other data insights from the final:
