"The leading four nations in the Fifa rankings also form the quartet of semi-finalists at the World Cup," writes Henry Conroy. "Has this occurred previously?"

The men's rankings update after every match of the World Cup, and Fifa probably overlooked a chance by not requesting the legendary Martin Tyler to exclaim "And they are live!" This means the order shifted during the event but the composition of the top four stayed identical entering the semi-finals as it had been at the outset of the competition.

The prominent four benefited from Fifa's fresh seeding approach, yet they still needed to handle their matches: Spain defeated the sides ranked fifth and ninth (Portugal and Belgium), while France eliminated No 7 (Morocco). In rankings terms, England's strongest knockout success came against Mexico (14th); Argentina's hardest challenge was versus Switzerland (19th).

The Fifa men's rankings, launched in 1993, encompass only the most recent nine World Cups. Across the prior eight, the semi-finals never featured more than two sides ranked in the top four at the competition's start.

Before diving into figures, note that early rankings were quite basic: otherwise France would not have been 18th globally and the Netherlands 25th heading into the 1998 semi-finals.

This year's semi-finalists posted a combined Fifa ranking of 10, the lowest achievable unless two teams share third place. In the men's competition, the prior best was a combined ranking of 25 from 2014:

Brazil (3) v Germany (2)
Netherlands (15) v Argentina (5)

The highest combined ranking of 75 arrived in 2002, an event packed with upsets. Just one of the top four advanced from the group phase: France and Argentina exited early, and Colombia had not qualified. (Their elevated ranking stemmed largely from claiming the 2001 Copa America.)

Here were the 2002 semi-finalists:

Germany (11) v South Korea (40)
Brazil (2) v Turkey (22)

Brazil upheld the Fifa rankings banner and captured the title. Four years later, and for the sole occasion thus far, none of the top four reached the semi-finals. Naming that top four signals a trivia obsession. They ranked, from highest: Brazil, Czech Republic, Netherlands and Mexico. This was the 2006 semi-final lineup, featuring a genuine heavyweight matchup between two teams outside the top 10.

Germany (19) v Italy (13)
Portugal (7) v France (8)

Fifa introduced women's rankings only after the 1999 World Cup, so they span just the last five events. These have typically involved higher-ranked teams, with no semi-finalists outside the top 10. The weakest semi-final group (by rankings) yielded a combined ranking of 23. That occurred in 2023:

Spain (6) v Sweden (3)
Australia (10) v England (4)

On two occasions, in 2007 and 2015, the semi-finals included three of the top four. The 2015 Women's World Cup produced a combined ranking of just 13, with France (No 3) and Sweden (No 5) absent from the world's top six.

United States (2) v Germany (1)
Japan (4) v England (6)

You win some, you lose some

"Sweden's 5-1 win over Tunisia was followed by a 5-1 loss to Netherlands," writes Dirk Maas. "Are there further cases of striking World Cup wins followed by heavy defeats with matching scorelines, or the reverse?"

Chris Roe was quickest to reply, noting a more favorable swing at the 2006 World Cup. "Ukraine fell 4-0 to Spain, then defeated Saudi Arabia by the same margin in their next group match." After their heavy opening loss in Leipzig, Ukraine secured their Group H progress by edging past Tunisia and advanced further than Spain, reaching the quarter-finals before falling to Italy.

Jeremy Simmonds highlights Group 2 at the 1954 finals, mentioned recently in a debut-wins query. While Turkey routed South Korea 7-0 in Geneva, West Germany suffered an 8-3 defeat to Hungary in Basel. A playoff then decided who would join the Magical Magyars in the quarter-finals.

"West Germany recovered from a five-goal defeat by beating Turkey by a five-goal margin (7-2)," notes Jeremy. "They reached the final, where they avenged the loss to Hungary with a 3-2 win in Berne."

Ageless record-breakers

"Lionel Messi is Argentina's youngest and oldest goalscorer - has any other player earned this distinction or might in future?" asks Paul Gage.

Dean Whearty offers a candidate whose name may not shock. "This summer, Cristiano Ronaldo became Portugal's oldest World Cup scorer at age 41. He also scored against Iran in 2006 to become his nation's youngest World Cup scorer - a mark that remarkably endures."

Knowledge archive

"Has any side been eliminated from the World Cup by the eventual champions more often than England?" asked Will Sturgeon in 2002. "I recall four instances: Brazil in 2002, West Germany in 1990, Argentina in 1986 and Brazil again in 1962. Is anyone else as unfortunate?"

The brief answer then was yes. France and the Netherlands had each been knocked out by eventual winners four times, while Brazil had suffered it five times. Germany also stood at four - all finals - counting West Germany results.

Brazil (5): Italy (1938, semi-final), Uruguay (1950, final match); Argentina (1978, second group stage); Italy (1982, second group stage); France (1998, final).

France (4): Italy (1938, second round); Brazil (1958, semi-finals); England (1966, group stage); Argentina (1978, group stage).

Netherlands (4): West Germany (1974, final); Argentina (1978, final); West Germany (1990, last 16); Brazil (1994, quarter-final).

Germany (4): England (1966, final); Italy (1982, final); Argentina (1986, final); Brazil (2002, final).

2026 update: In 2006, Italy defeated Germany in the semi-finals and France in the final, increasing each tally by one. Four years later, Spain beat the Netherlands in the 2010 final and Germany in the semis, while in 2014 Germany overcame France in the quarter-finals before a routine semi-final win over Brazil.

In 2018, France eliminated none of the listed teams yet lost the 2022 final to Argentina, who also removed the Netherlands in the quarter-finals. Thus France now stand at seven eliminations by eventual champions, ahead of Brazil, Germany and the Netherlands on six.

Yet another contender appears: Argentina. The Albiceleste have lost three finals - 1930, 1990 and 2014 - and exited the group stage in 1958 at the hands of West Germany. Defeat to England came in the 1966 quarter-finals, and they shared a three-team group topped by Italy in 1982.

Finally, Argentina fell 4-3 to eventual winners France in the 2018 last 16, placing them joint-top with seven. Should France and Argentina meet in this year's final, the loser will claim sole lead as a minor prize.

Can you help?

"Ruben Vargas netted the winning penalty for Switzerland against Colombia's Camilo Vargas," notes Matthew Wilkie. "Has anyone previously scored a winning goal at the World Cup against their namesake?" [Examples from outside the major tournament are also welcome.]

"Mexico restarted their last-16 match illegally after England's third goal," writes Mike Frost. "They advanced the ball instead of passing to a teammate, and England received an indirect free-kick. I cannot recall this happening before. Has it occurred at the World Cup or elsewhere?"

We will publish one further World Cup Knowledge special next week. Send your World Cup questions and answers to knowledge@theguardian.com.