Countries with better health systems have better football teams

When Bill Shankley, past manager of Liverpool Football Club, famously remarked that “some people think football is a matter of life and death … I can assure them it is much more serious than that,” he might just have had a point.

New research has found a link between the health system of a nation and the performance of its soccer team.

If a national team does well, according to the data, the country is also likely to have a good …