26 Stat-Stuffed Headlines From The Best World Cup Ever

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FOX Sports Research

This was the World Cup of firsts.

The first tournament to feature 48 teams saw 1,248 players descend upon Canada, Mexico and the United States this summer. The expanded field means there will be a total of 104 matches played at the conclusion of the tournament, resulting in 9,360 minutes of soccer played in regulation time.

The matchup between Argentina and Spain is also unlike one we've ever seen before, as this will be the first-ever World Cup final between the reigning European champions and the reigning Copa América champions, as well as the first final between the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the FIFA world rankings.
Ahead of this historic matchup,here are the 26 best statistically driven headlines from the 2026 FIFA World Cup so far.

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26.

Red Cards Galore

• This World Cup has seen 14 red cards, the most at a single edition of the tournament since 2010, which saw 17. The previous two World Cups saw just eight red cards combined, with four in each. The record for red cards at a single World Cup is 28, set in 2006.

25.

Breel Embolo Makes Unfortunate History

• Embolo was given a yellow card for simulation, becoming the fourth player since 1966 to receive a yellow card for simulation since 1966 (Francesco Totti in 2002, Luis Pérez in 2006, Asamoah Gyan in 2006).

24.

Like Father, Like Son

There were 11 players in this World Cup whose fathers have played in one as well.

• Lilian Thuram and Marcus Thuram (France)
• Claudio Reyna and Giovanni Reyna (U.S.)
• Gregg Berhalter and Sebastian Berhalter (U.S.)
• Zinedine Zidane (France) and Luca Zidane (Algeria)
• Alfe Inge Haaland and Erling Haaland (Norway)
• Erik Thorstvedt and Kristian Thorstvedt (Norway)
• Sérgio Conceição and Francisco Conceição (Portugal)
• Lee Eul-Yong and Lee Tae-Seok (South Korea)
• Bryan Gunn and Angus Gunn (Scotland)
• Patrick Kluivert and Justin Kluivert (Scotland)
• Diego Simeone and Giuliano Simeone (Argentina)

23.

First Points

• Canada, Curaçao, DR Congo, and Cape Verde all recorded their first-ever points at the World Cup, with three of them even making the knockout rounds. DR Congo recorded its first win, defeating Uzbekistan in the group stage. Egypt also notably recorded a victory for the first time in its World Cup history, defeating New Zealand and also advancing vs. Australia in a penalty shootout in the Round of 32.

22.

Ibrahim Mbaye Is A Star In The Making

• Ibrahim Mbaye scored against France, becoming the youngest goalscorer for an African nation at 18 years and 143 days old. He also became the fourth-youngest goalscorer ever at a men's World Cup, trailing only Pelé of Brazil (17 years, 239 days old), Manuel Rosas of Mexico (18 years, 93 days old) and Gavi of Spain (18 years, 190 days old). The Paris Saint-Germain forward finished the tournament with a 91.4% pass completion rate in the attacking third, and was the only current 18-year-old this tournament to score a goal and have five or more chances created.

21.

Lots Of Extra Time

• The quarterfinal match between Argentina and Switzerland was the eighth knockout round match to go to extra time, tied for the most in a single World Cup with 2014 and 1990. The other matches that went past 90 minutes were Germany vs. Paraguay (Round of 32), Netherlands vs. Morocco (Round of 32), Belgium vs. Senegal (Round of 32), Argentina vs. Cape Verde (Round of 32), and Colombia vs. Switzerland (Round of 16).

20.

Canada Flipped The Script

Jonathan David (10) celebrates with his teammates vs Qatar (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images).

Entering the tournament, Canada had lost all six matches in its previous two World Cup appearances (1986, 2022) and were outscored 12 to two. That all changed in 2026:

• Canada recorded its first point ever at this World Cup (vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina).
• Canada recorded its first two wins ever at this World Cup (vs. Qatar and South Africa).
• Canada recorded its first-ever knockout stage appearance and win at this World Cup (defeated South Africa in the Round of 32).
• Canada scored nine goals in this World Cup; had scored two in its previous two World Cup appearances combined.
• Jonathan David became the first Canadian man or woman to record a hat trick in a World Cup match in the group stage vs. Qatar.

19.

Goals, Goals and More Goals

• Prior to this World Cup, the 2022 edition of the tournament saw 172 goals scored in 64 matches— the most at a single World Cup ever. This year's tournament reached that number in 58 games. Through 102 matches played so far, 297 goals have been scored at the 2026 World Cup.

18.

Belgium's Late Game Heroics

• Against Senegal in the Round of 32, Belgium trailed 2-0 entering the 85th minute and went on to score in the 86th and 89th to send the match to extra time, ultimately winning 3-2 with a goal in the 125th minute. They became the first team to come back from a two-goal deficit in a knockout stage match at the World Cup since they themselves did so in 2018 against Japan (Round of 16). Youri Tielemans' game-winning goal was the latest goal in World Cup history at 124:44, and Belgium became the first team in World Cup history to avoid defeat in 90 minutes while trailing by two goals after the 85th minute.

17.

Paraguay Pulls Off Historic Upset

• Paraguay entered the tournament ranked 41st in the FIFA world rankings, and Germany was ranked 10th, making this the fourth-biggest upset in a knockout stage match since the FIFA world rankings were introduced in 1992 (including wins in extra time and advancements on penalty shootouts). This was also the first time Germany had trailed at halftime in a knockout stage match since 1998.

16.

Can't Stop Simón

• Dating back to the 2022 World Cup, Unai Simón went 649 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal until Belgium scored against him in the quarterfinal. He passed German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer (622 minutes, 2007-11) for the longest World Cup shutout streak, men's or women's. Spain's streak of consecutive World Cup matches with a clean sheet ended at six, also the longest streak in World Cup history.

15.

African Teams Showed Out, And Morocco Led The Way

Neil El Aynaoui, Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Diaz celebrate vs. Canada (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images).

• With an expanded field this tournament, a record 10 African teams participated in this year's World Cup. But what was even more incredible was that nine of them advanced to the knockout stage, smashing the previous record of two (Algeria and Nigeria in 2014, Morocco and Senegal in 2022). With a quarterfinal appearance this year, Morocco became the first African nation ever to reach the quarterfinal in consecutive World Cups. Achraf Hakimi now has four career assists at the World Cup, tied for fourth-most by a defender since 1966, while Brahim Díaz became the first African player with four assists at a single World Cup.

14.

Germany Not In The Final?

Since their first title in 1954, this is the first time there have been three straight World Cup finals without Germany as a participant. Entering 2026, Germany had never gone three straight World Cup appearances without making the final of the tournament. Below are the 16 consecutive World Cups in which Germany appeared at least once in every three editions.

• 1954: West Germany 3, Hungary 2
• 1958: Brazil 5, Sweden 2
• 1962: Brazil 3, Czechoslovakia 1
• 1966: England 4, West Germany 2
• 1970: Brazil 4, Italy 1
• 1974: West Germany 2, Netherlands 1
• 1978: Argentina 3, Netherlands 1
• 1982: Italy 3, West Germany 1
• 1986: Argentina 3, West Germany 2
• 1990: West Germany 1, Argentina 0
• 1994: Brazil 0, Italy 0 (3-2, penalties)
• 1998: France 3, Brazil 0
• 2002: Brazil 2, Germany 0
• 2006: Italy 1, France 1 (5-3, penalties)
• 2010: Spain 1, Netherlands 0
• 2014: Germany 1, Argentina 0

13.

Brazil's Title Drought

• Brazil will now have to wait until 2030 to win its sixth title, the nation’s new longest drought without a title at 28 years, since winning its first in 1958; the previous record was 24 years (1970-1994). With the loss to Norway in the Round 32, this was the first time Brazil had failed to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup since 1990, snapping a streak of eight consecutive appearances in the round.
• Vini Júnior was a bright spot, scoring four goals, becoming the fifth Brazilian player to score in every group stage match. However, in the previous four instances, Brazil went on to win the title (Jairzinho in 1970, Romário in 1994, Ronaldo and Rivaldo in 2002).

12.

The 40-Year-Olds

• In this year's tournament, four players cracked the top 10 list of oldest players to ever play in a World Cup match, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modrić, Guillermo Ochoa, and Edin Džeko all taking the pitch. All four are over the age of 40, and Ronaldo even scored in the Round of 32— becoming the oldest player ever to score in a knockout stage match at the World Cup.

11.

Mexico's Home Streak Ends

Mexico vs. England (Photo by Ezra Shaw – FIFA via Getty Images).

With the loss against England in the Round of 16, several notable streaks were broken for Mexico:

• Mexico lost a home game for the first time since an October 2018 friendly vs. Chile, and lost a competitive home game for the first time since a September 2013 World Cup qualifier vs Honduras.
• The loss vs. England was also Mexico's first World Cup loss ever at the Azteca, now 8-2-1 (W-D-L).
• It was also the first loss for Mexico at the Azteca since that 2013 World Cup qualifier vs. Honduras; Mexico is 70-17-3 (W-D-L) all-time at the Azteca.
• It was just the second home loss ever for Mexico in the World Cup, now 9-3-2 (W-D-L) in such matches— losing to Italy in the 1970 quarters before losing to England.
• Mexico conceded three goals in a match at the Azteca for the first time since August 1999 (4-3 victory against Brazil).

10.

Cape Verde And Vozinha Were Spectacular

• Cape Verde became the smallest nation ever to make the World Cup knockout stage, and the first debutant to reach the knockout stage since Slovakia in 2010.
• The country of approximately 530,000 people also became the first African debutant to make the knockout stage since Ghana in 2006.
• Cape Verde went unbeaten in the group stage, the first debutant to do so since Senegal in 2002.
• Vozinha became the third goalkeeper with two World Cup clean sheets after turning 40 (Peter Shilton, Dino Zoff).
• Cape Verde drew with Spain; the difference of 65 spots between Cape Verde (No. 67) and Spain (No. 2) was the fourth-largest gap in FIFA rankings among lower-ranked teams to get a result.

9.

Balogun's Party In The USA

Folarin Balogun and the U.S. set all sorts of records this World Cup:

• Against Paraguay, Balogun became the first American man to have multiple goals in a World Cup game since Patenaude in 1930; with three goals in the tournament, he became the fifth American to score three goals at the World Cup (Landon Donovan, Bert Patenaude, Clint Dempsey, Brian McBride).
• This was the first time the U.S. won three matches in a single World Cup, and Mauricio Pochettino became the first U.S. manager with three World Cup wins; the U.S. also scored multiple goals in four straight World Cup matches for the first time.
• The U.S. won a knockout stage game at the World Cup for the first time since 2002; with the win over Bosnia & Herzegovina in the Round of 32, the U.S. ended a 10-game losing streak and a 12-game winless streak against European teams, winning for the first time since Dec. 2021.
• The U.S. scored 11 goals at this World Cup, a new team record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup tournament.
• With his goals against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Belgium, Malilk Tillman became the first American player to score in successive knockout round matches in the World Cup, and the second player on record (since 1966) with two goals on direct free kicks in the same World Cup (Bernard Genghini had two for France in 1982).

8.

Erling Haaland Is A Machine

• At the 2026 World Cup, Haaland was the only player to score with his left foot, right foot, from outside the box, inside the box, and with his head.
• Before the loss to England, Haaland scored in 14 straight competitive matches for Norway, totaling 27 goals in that span; he has scored multiple goals in seven of his last nine appearances for Norway.
• He scored seven goals at this World Cup, the same number of goals Norway had scored as a team in three previous World Cup appearances combined.
• Haaland scored the game-winning goal in four of his five World Cup matches played; he's scored 62 goals in 55 matches for Norway.

7. Spain's Teens

Lamine Yamal celebrates with teammate Pau Cubarsi (Photo by Doug Zimmerman/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images).

• Against Austria, Spain started two teenagers (Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí), becoming the first team to do so in a World Cup knockout match since Brazil vs. Wales in 1958 (Pelé and Altafini).
• Yamal made his seventh World Cup appearance vs. France, joining Kylian Mbappé as the only players to make that many World Cup appearances as a teenager. Spain has won all 12 matches in which Yamal has started in at major tournaments (World Cup, Euros).

6.

Gilberto Mora Is The Future Of Mexican Soccer

• Against Ecuador in the Round of 32, Mora became the second-youngest player ever to start in a World Cup knockout stage match, behind Pelé.
• Against South Africa, he became Mexico's youngest player ever to appear in a World Cup match at 17 years, 240 days old; he also became the youngest CONCACAF player to appear in a World Cup game, outranking fellow Mexican Manuel Rosas, who was 18 in the 1930 World Cup.
• He is the sixth-youngest player to appear in a World Cup match and the eighth 17-year-old to play in a World Cup match (Salomon Olembe, Femi Opabunmi, Samuel Eto’o, Norman Whiteside, Pelé, Bartholomew Ogbeche, Rigobert Song).
• Mora also became the youngest player to represent a host nation in the history of the World Cup.

5.

Hey Jude!

• Jude Bellingham has now scored 12 international goals for England, and nine have come in major tournaments (World Cup, Euros).
• Bellingham became the third English player ever to score six goals at a single World Cup (Gary Lineker in 1986, Harry Kane in 2022 and 2026).
• Bellingham joined Kylian Mbappé (12) and Pelé (seven) as the only players to achieve seven career World Cup goals while age 23 or younger.
• At 23 years and 12 days old, Jude Bellingham is the second-youngest player to score two or more goals in consecutive World Cup knockout-stage games, behind only Pelé in 1958 (17 years, 249 days old).
• Bellingham has nine goal contributions (seven goals, two assists) in his World Cup career, tied for the third-most by an English player since assists were first tracked in 1966 (Harry Kane with 18, Gary Lineker with 10 and David Beckham with nine).
• Bellingham's seven career World Cup goals are the third-most by an English player ever (Harry Kane- 14, Gary Lineker- 10).
• Bellingham joins James Rodríguez (2014) as the only midfielders to score six goals in a single World Cup since the 1978 edition of the tournament.

4.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Swan Song

Cristiano Ronaldo finished his World Cup career with:

• 27 matches played, the second-most of any man in World Cup history (Lionel Messi has the most with 33).
• The only man or woman to score in six different World Cups.
• The oldest player to score in a knockout stage match at 41 years old.
• One of 11 men ever to score 11 World Cup goals.
• Portugal's all-time leading goalscorer at the World Cup (11), passing Eusébio, who had nine.
• The second-oldest outfield player to appear in a World Cup match (Roger Milla is the oldest at 42 years old in 1994).
• 34 goal contributions (25 goals, nine assists) in major tournaments, the most of any European player since 1966 (World Cup and Euros).

3.

Top Four In Semifinal

• For the first time since FIFA introduced its world rankings in 1992, the top four-ranked teams entering the tournament all made the semifinals of the World Cup (1. Argentina, 2. Spain, 3. France, 4. England). This was also just the third time in World Cup history in which all four semifinalists have won at least one World Cup (1970, 1990).

2.

Kylian Mbappé Is Already A World Cup Legend

• Mbappé has scored 20 goals at the World Cup, the second-most of any man or woman in tournament history, trailing only Lionel Messi (21); his 20 goals have come in 21 matches played.
• He is the first player ever to score eight goals in two separate World Cups.
• His 12 knockout-stage goals are the most of any player in World Cup history.
• He has been involved in 11 goals at the 2026 World Cup (eight goals, three assists); that's the most by a player in a single edition of the World Cup since Gerd Müller in 1970 (10 goals, three assists).
• He is the first player to be involved in 100 goals for the French national team (64 goals, 36 assists).
• At 27 years and 201 days old, Kylian Mbappé became the youngest player to reach 20 appearances at the World Cup, breaking Władysław Żmuda's record (28 years, 34 days).
• Mbappé has the most appearances at the World Cup for France (21 games), passing Hugo Lloris, who had 20.
• He has registered 10 goal involvements in each of his last two World Cups; he and Messi are the only players on record since 1966 to achieve this in two different tournaments.
• He has scored the winning goal in eight World Cup matches, the most of any player in history; 17 of his World Cup goals are non-penalty scores, tied with Messi for the most ever.
• He's played 21 World Cup matches under Didier Deschamps, the most by a player with the same coach in tournament history.

1.

Lionel Messi Is The Undisputed G.O.A.T.

• Messi has scored 21 goals, more than any man or woman in World Cup history; six of those goals have come from outside the box, the most on record at the World Cup (since 1966).
• He's recorded 12 assists in the World Cup, the most on record (since 1966); 10 of those have come in the knockout stage, also the most of any player in that span.
• Against Algeria, Messi became the oldest man ever to record a hat trick in a World Cup match at 38 years, 357 days old; he passed Cristiano Ronaldo, who held the record with his hat trick vs. Spain in 2018 at 33 years old.
• Dating back to the 2022 World Cup, Messi scored in nine consecutive matches, the longest streak of any player ever; he also scored in six consecutive knockout stage matches, also the longest such streak all-time.
• Messi is the only player to have won the Golden Ball award twice (awarded to the tournament's best player), having done so in 2014 and 2022.
• With his assist vs. Egypt in the Round of 16, he became the first player ever to register an assist in six different World Cups.
• His 17 goal contributions (seven goals, 10 assists) in the knockout rounds are the most of any player since assists were first tracked in 1966.
• No player has played in more matches (33) or won more matches (23) in the World Cup than Messi.
• He is one of two players in World Cup history to have scored seven goals in two different editions of the World Cup, along with Mbappé.
• Messi has scored a goal against 15 different opponents at the World Cup, the most of any player in World Cup history.

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Item 1 of 3 Get more from the FIFA Men's World Cup Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more in this topic Betting Gambling FIFA Men's World Cup Kylian Mbappe Cristiano Ronaldo Jude Bellingham Harry Kane Lamine Yamal Spain England France United States Folarin Balogun Lionel Messi Argentina Erling Haaland Germany Brazil Mexico
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