Squard Profile of the Best Performing National Teams.

[Cito]

Interesting read;
http://www.football-observatory.com/IMG ... r/mr11/en/

1. Introduction
The first CIES Football Observatory Monthly Report of 2016 analyses the characteristics of players fielded in 2015 by 50 national A-teams from around the world. The national sides have been selected according to their average FIFA ranking throughout 2015. Among them, we find 32 European associations, six from South America, six from Africa, three from Asia and three from North and Central America.
The study first compares national squads from the point of view of the age of players fielded (Chapter 2). It then examines the differences observed in terms of height and weight (Chapter 3). Chapter 4 investigates clubs where footballers were employed when they played their international games. This analysis takes into account both the localisation of the employer clubs (within, or outside of, the country represented) and the level of their league (top division or not). Finally, we study the proportion of players born outside of the country represented (Chapter 5).
The analysis covers 1,785 footballers. In 2015, a team played on average 11 matches and fielded 35.2 players. Mexico was the most active country: 23 matches played and 58 footballers used. At the opposite end of the scale, four European teams played just 7 matches: Albania, Israel, Wales and Croatia. No other country used as few players as Austria’s total of 24. In an appendix, we present the data for all of the teams.
The most used footballer in absolute terms was Michael Bradley from the United States. The Toronto FC footballer played 18 matches for a total of 1,669 minutes. The second most fielded player is another member of the United States squad: Gyasi Zardes. The Los Angeles Galaxy footballer celebrated his first cap on the 28th January 2015 and went on to play a total of 19 matches and 1,409 minutes.

Ya Nigeria took it to another level based on the table below.

2. Age
The average age of players fielded by the 50 national squads studied was 26.6. This value increases to 27.2 if we take into account the average measured on the pitch. At around 27 years of age, players have sufficient experience to exploit their full potential, whilst retaining a physical shape that permits them to maintain sustained efforts.
Important differences were observed according to country. The highest average age on the pitch was measured for Scotland: 29.0 years of age. Despite the experience of players fielded, the Scots did not manage to qualify for the final phase of the European championships. It is no doubt timely to carry out an in-depth analysis to understand the reasons for multiple failures over the past decades.
At the other end of the scale, three African teams fielded the youngest players on average: Nigeria, Ghana and Cameroon. However, this result must be analysed carefully insofar as footballers born in Africa tend to be older than they claim to be. Lying about one’s age is a common practice that implies a competitive advantage in youth categories. However, in the long term, this strategy is counterproductive as it does not provide optimum conditions for the full development of talent. This is one of the reasons for which the real potential of African squads remains untapped.
If we exclude African teams, the countries having fielded the youngest players are the Netherlands and England, with an average of 25.6 years of age. In the first case, the bias towards youth has not been a success as the Dutch failed to qualify for Euro 2016. For the English, on the other hand, the results have been more positive. The youthfulness of the players available to Roy Hodgson is the sign of a renaissance which suggests a promising future.

Poor Ghana!

3. Height and weight
The average height of players fielded in 2015 matches by countries analysed is 181.9 cm. Significant differences exist between European national A-teams on the one hand, and South American squads on the other.
Eight out of ten teams who played on average with the tallest footballers are UEFA members. At the other extreme, the six CONMEBOL squads included in the study as well as Mexico are among the ten shortest national sides.
Spain is the only European country who fielded players with an average height of less than 180cm. By contrast, no CONMEBOL team played with footballers whose average height was over 180cm. The maximum value was measured for Colombia.
Ten centimetres separate the countries with record values in terms of average height on the pitch: Serbia (185.6cm) and Chile (175.6cm). For the Serbs, this physical attribute was not sufficient to qualify for the Euro 2016. Inversely, the short stature of the Chileans did not stop them winning the Copa América.

Over all an interesting read.

NOTE: I didn't post the whole article