Football players' performance written on their faces

The facial appearance of a football player may give us vital clues about his performance on the field - including his likelihood of scoring goals, making assists and committing fouls, says a new study.

For the study, the scientists studied the facial-width-to-height ratio (FWHR) of about 1,000 players, from 32 countries, who competed in the 2010 World Cup.

Midfielders, who play both offence and defence, and forwards, who lead the offence, with higher FWHRs were more likely to commit fouls, pointed out the study.

FWHR is the distance between the cheekbones divided by the distance between the mid-brow and the upper lip.

Forwards with higher FWHRs also were more likely to score goals or make assists, showed the study.

"Previous research into facial structure of athletes has been primarily in the United States and Canada," said Keith Welker, Researcher at the department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Colorado in the US.

"No one had really looked at how facial-width-to-height ratio is associated with athletic performance by comparing people from across the world," Welker added.

Scientists have several ideas about how FWHR might be associated with aggression.

One possibility is that it is related to testosterone exposure earlier in life and how it can affect a variety of physical traits, including bone density, muscle growth and cranial shape, Welker said.

The results appeared in the journal Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology.