Physics genius Professor Stephen Hawking has told England coach Roy Hodgson that his best chances of winning the World Cup in Brazil rest on key factors like playing a 4-3-3 formation, wearing red shirts and persuading the blondest players to take the penalties.
After a month long study into the science of England’s past World Cup performances, Professor Hawking shared some of his findings.
Perhaps most worrying among them for a team set to start their campaign in the Amazon rainforest, he found that a five-degree increase in temperature reduces England’s chances of winning by 59 per cent.
He also discovered England are 22 per cent more likely to win short-haul games and that jet-lag, cultural differences and the nationality of the referee and shirt colour all take their toll. They are better close to sea-level and kicking off as near to 3pm as possible.
In red, England have a 20 per cent higher rate of success, fitting the theory that red makes teams feel “more confident, more aggressive and more dominant”, something which will not be lost on Cardiff owner Vincent Tan.
Professor Hawking also found England won 63 per cent of games with a European referee, compared with 38 per cent when the referee is from elsewhere. He also added that: “WAGs are irrelevant.”
As for penalties, he discovered strikers score the most, not surprisingly. The best place to aim is for the top corners and he also found blond and bald players perform better from the spot than those which dark hard, something he claimed with remain “one of the mysteries of science.”
— Sportsmail
