Actually yes, only watch it every four years. More like a world cup kind of guy. But I thought I was interested enough while watching it and that my memory should have retained such a basic fact. Honestly I’ve considered the possibility you mentioned, that it could be related to interest. But I’m afraid it doesn’t explain it all.
As GP alluded to, memory in humans is not at all like memory in computers. Do you know a lot about Portugal or Uruguai as countries or cultures? Can you name any players on either of those teams? Could you draw the flags of either of them from memory?
All of those sound like a ton more information to remember than just which country played. And it is. But if you knew that, it would be easier to remember which country played, as human memory is more based on connections than facts.
I only watch soccer during the world cup and possibly half a match if it's on wherever I am. But I can tell you that Japan beat Spain yesterday, which knocked out Germany, because I've been to Japan and Germany in the past, and am actively considering a visit to Spain this coming spring or summer.
Though I don't remember the score of Japan-Spain, or the fourth country in their group. It was a 1 goal differential, so probably 2-1 or 1-0. I care enough about the game to know that it was tense at the end, but not enough to keep track of the individual goals.
