2010 FIFA World Cup(TM) Castrol Index Latest Data

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Jun 17, 2010, 08:27 ET

LONDON, June 17, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- After the first round of group matches in the 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM) the Castrol Index shows the following players are the top performing players of the tournament so far.

    Rank  Player               Country        Castrol Index

    1     Gabriel HEINZE       ARGENTINA            9.51
    2     Waldo PONCE          CHILE                9.33
    3     Manuel NEUER         GERMANY              9.22
    4     Antolin ALCARAZ      PARAGUAY             9.20
    5     Gregory VAN DER WIEL NETHERLANDS          9.19
    6     Gary MEDEL           CHILE                9.19
    7     JUNG Sung Ryong      KOREA REPUBLIC       9.15
    8     LEE Jung Soo         KOREA REPUBLIC       9.12
    9     Martin DEMICHELIS    ARGENTINA            9.06
    10    PARK Ji Sung         KOREA REPUBLIC       9.06

Source: FIFA.com/castrolindex

Defenders and goalkeepers dominate the first Castrol Index summary of the 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM) as the big name forwards failed to make an impact in low scoring opening matches.

Argentina's Gabriel Heinze is the best performing player of the tournament so far - topping the Castrol Index after combining solid interventions at the back with the goal that won his team the match. The accuracy of his distribution (52 passes, success rate of 77 per cent), was also higher than that of Juan Veron, the team's playmaker.

Germany's Manuel Neuer features highly after he made two close range saves against Australia, which were just as vital as the four goals scored by his team mates.

Despite an impressive game against one of the favourites Spain, Swiss 'keeper Diego Benaglio only comes in at 32 in the Castrol Index. This is due to five of the saves he made coming from long distances, which scored him fewer points.

Korea Republic have made an impressive start with three players in the top ten of the Castrol Index - two defensive, one midfielder - after their 2-0 win over Greece.

The Netherlands' Dirk Kuyt is the only striker in the top 12. He scored the first goal in the 2-0 defeat of Denmark and had a total of three shots on target.

About the Castrol Index:

The Castrol Index uses the same expertise that Castrol applies to the development of its oils using objective analysis and highly advanced technology to measure every pass, tackle and move on the field and assess whether it has a positive or negative impact on a team's ability to score or concede a goal. As such, it is the definitive system to objectively analyse and rank player performances throughout the 2010 FIFA World Cup(TM).

The Castrol Index will be hosted on the official tournament website, FIFA.com (http://www.fifa.com/castrolindex), with match by match player scores available within 60 minutes of the final whistle of each and every game, along with the overall tournament Castrol Index table which will be updated after each round of matches. If you wish to subscribe to receive the Castrol Index match by match scores to your inbox please email [email protected].

Castrol Index Summaries will be available on:

23-June, 26-June, 30-June, 04-July, 8-July and 12-July

To receive the match by match CASTROL INDEX BULLETIN EXCLUSIVELY FOR MEDIA please sign up here: http://www.castrolindexbulletins.com/castrolbulletins/EN/signup.html

For more insights visit http://www.fifa.com/castrolindex

To see how the Castrol Index works visit http://www.castrolfootball.com

SOURCE Castrol