England vs. Croatia – What The Stats Say

In the end, England were somewhat cruising in their quarter final tie with Sweden, and now they can set their sights on a rather unpredictable Croatia. Having been very impressive at the group stage – comfortably winning all of their games – Dalić’s side has faltered a little in the knockout matches so far, needing extra time and penalties to get past Denmark and Russia. An optimistic England fan will say the Croatians are going to be fatigued after so many minutes on the pitch, but this tournament has already proven that anything can happen at a World Cup.

Looking to the stats for guidance, England have the edge historically with four wins, one draw and two losses (including friendlies). At the World Cup though, Croatia has a superior win rate and average goals per match and, with players like Modric and Rakitic on the pitch, they certainly won’t be pushovers.

Roger Federer Is the King of Athlete Endorsements

When the defending champion Roger Federer stepped on the Center Court at Wimbledon for his first round match on Monday, many spectators had to look twice before realizing it was indeed the 36-year-old Swiss stepping onto the court. It wasn’t a new haircut or a beard that threw them off, but Federer’s unfamiliar outfit: for the first time in his professional career, the Swiss maestro wasn’t dressed in Nike. Instead Federer wore gear made by the Japanese brand Uniqlo.

To insiders the switch to Uniqlo didn’t come as a total surprise, because it was well-known that Federer’s Nike contract had expired in March. However, he still wore his Nike gear in the Wimbledon warm-up tournaments of Halle and Stuttgart as well as in training in London, so many had assumed that a deal had been reached after all. Apparently it hasn’t and Uniqlo decided to reveal its surprise coup at Tennis’ biggest stage: Wimbledon.

According to industry chatter, the 10-year Uniqlo deal is worth $30 million a year to Federer, which is probably unprecedented for an athlete at Federer’s age and stage in his career. However, thanks to his sustained success and his flawless demeanor off and (mostly) on the tennis court, Federer is almost universally beloved, which is probably why Uniqlo (and many other companies) decided to sign him regardless of his age. As the following chart illustrates, no other athlete made more money with endorsement deals over the past year than Federer did. According to Forbes, his partnerships with companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Rolex, Moet & Chandon, Jura, Wilson and others netted him $65 million in the 12 months ending June 1, 2018, dwarfing his prize money earnings of $12.2 million over the same period.