GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — So far, the goals have been high. world cup.
This tournament has been one of the highest scoring in history so far, producing nearly 25% more points than matches during the same period at the previous World Cup.
One of the reasons for the increase in scores may be the ball that FIFA is using in this tournament.
FIFA said the ball was designed with deep seams to create “optimal stability in flight” and players and coaches said the ball flew towards the goalkeeper at high speed. It also has added grip to assist with hitting and dribbling in wet or humid conditions.
“This ball is like a cannon, and I think we’ve shown today and in the last few days that if you kick the ball in the right place, it’s very difficult to save,” Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said.
Additionally, the tournament has introduced increased stoppage time related to new hydration breaks, resulting in longer matches and more scoring opportunities. And with its debut this year expanding the number of participating teams to 48 teams, the talent gap in the tournament has grown even larger.
Colombia coach Nestor Lorenzo said he was not surprised by the number of goals, considering the talent of the players at the World Cup. He also said the attackers were being better protected by authorities than before.
“About 20 to 30 years ago, they didn’t have this kind of protection. Back then, they took more hits and rough play was more common,” he said Monday. “Nowadays, teams that defend well, counter-attack and try to play can manage to do well.”
As a result, fans were treated to 121 goals in the first 40 games of the tournament, many of which came from internationally known players.
Premier League player has scored the most goals
More than half of the goals scored so far in this tournament have come from players in the top three professional leagues: England, Germany and Spain. The English Premier League is leading the way.
This trend was evident in the match between the Netherlands and Sweden over the weekend. 5-1 victory For the Dutch. All six goals were scored by players who competed in the Premier League during the 2025-26 season.
“I think the Premier League is more intense than this World Cup,” said Arsenal’s Brazilian player Gabriel Martinelli. “But there is no doubt that it will be a very beautiful World Cup with high quality and intense matches.”
Real Madrid, Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami and Liverpool were the clubs whose players produced the most goals. Of course, Miami is all thanks to one man – Lionel Messi has scored 5 goals in 2 games.
In addition to around 30 goals from English clubs, 16 goals came from the German league, 11 from the Spanish league, 7 from the French league and 5 from the Italian league.
In MLS, the players scored eight goals. messi had hat trick One game in Argentina’s opening round, and two more on Monday. Other MLS goals were scored by FC Dallas’ Petar Moussa (Croatia), Atlanta United’s Matias Galarza (Paraguay) and Portland Timbers’ Finn Thurman (New Zealand).
At the time FIFA announced its official squad, there were 200 players based in England at club level, almost double the 109 players based in Germany.
Goal tally was based on the player’s club at the time of official team announcement.
Real Madrid and Liverpool lead
Real Madrid players scored 7 goals (France players scored 4) Kylian Mbappe Two from Brazil’s Vinicius Junior and one from England’s Jude Bellingham.
Madrid did not have any players called up to the Spanish national team for the first time. However, during the tournament they signed Marc Cucurella from Chelsea, adding a unique element to the World Cup with La Roja.
Liverpool got three goals from the Dutchman, two from Cody Gapko and one from Virgil van Dijk. Another goal was scored by Sweden’s Alexander Isak, and the other by Egypt’s Mohamed Salah. He was still listed as a Liverpool player when the squad was announced.
For Bayern Munich, England’s Harry Kane scored two goals, and Germany’s Jamal Musiala and Colombia’s Luis Diaz each scored four goals.
Bayern are the team with the second-highest number of players called up for this tournament, with 18 players. Manchester City were in first place with 19 men, but Norway’s Erling Haaland has scored only four goals so far at the World Cup.
Are we talking about the number of goals?
In the first 40 games of the tournament, 88 players scored 121 goals, averaging 3 goals per game. Only three games ended in a 0-0 draw, and eight of those goals were own goals.
The competition is on track to break Qatar’s record of 172 goals in 2022. The records are not an apples-to-apples comparison, as there were only 64 games in the 2022 tournament, compared to 104 this year.
However, this year’s pace of 64 games is almost 194 goals, which is significantly higher than the record from four years ago.
The trend in scoring is not limited to the World Cup. The Champions League has set records in the past two seasons, with 3.27 goals per game in 2024-2025 and 3.47 goals per game in 2025-2026.
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/FIFA-World-Cup
