Reutrers linked to this article: “Do Catholic countries have better football players?” from the Austrian Catholic website kath.net. Here is a quote from the article:
A look at the participants in the final round of the European football championship in Switzerland and Austria suggests this. In seven of the 16 participating countries, Catholics are clearly in the majority: Poland (95 percent of the population), Spain (92 percent), Italy (90 percent), Portugal (90 percent), Croatia (77 percent), Austria (69 percent ) and France (51 percent). Only one Protestant stronghold confronts them, Sweden. Of the 8.8 million inhabitants of the northern European country, 80 percent are Lutherans.
It all seems a bit random, but hey I’m sure it is useful – somehow!