Spain, England and the Last Four: A Historic Numbers Game

This World Cup semi-final draw has thrown up a genuinely rare statistical curiosity, as The Guardian's long-running knowledge column sets out in detail. The piece examines whether the four best-ranked teams have ever simultaneously made up the last four, and takes readers through the long history of upsets and surprises that usually scramble such tidy outcomes.

The Guardian also unpacks a striking record involving France, who have now been eliminated by the eventual champions seven times. That puts them clear of Brazil, Germany and the Netherlands, who each sit on six such exits. It is a back-handed tribute to a side that keeps reaching the business end before running into whoever wins the whole thing.

With Spain already through to the final and England facing Argentina in Atlanta, the remaining semi-final will further shape those all-time records. History, as ever at a World Cup, is being written in real time.