8 numbers that tell the World Cup’s story over the first week

This post is part of NGN Offside, a blog about the 2026 FIFA World Cup, powered by data science.

Across 16 cities and three countries, the world’s biggest sporting event is one week old. Here’s a look at some key numbers from the first round of group-stage matches that tell the World Cup story so far.

The average goals scored per game is 3.12, up from 2.56 goals per game in the group-stage of round 1 from 2022. Northeastern University data researcher Brennan Klein posited that the increase in average goals per game could be attributed to an expanded field from 32 to 48 teams, now with more lower-ranked teams.

Most goals scored by a single player in a game is three. Argentina’s star forward Lionel Messi scored a hat trick in the team’s opener against Algeria, tying Miroslav Klose’s record for most men’s World Cup goals at 16.

8 numbers that tell the World Cup’s story over the first week

The highest number of successful dribbles by one team is 21, and that was executed by the United States. Klein said the U.S. was much more willing to engage the defense than in years past, rather than settle for more conservative passes.

Down from 27.7 fouls/game in 2022 and 29.3 in 2018, the average fouls per game is 24.4. Klein said the decrease in fouls could be related to the “increased scrutiny that players are under with the widespread introduction of video assistant referee (VAR),” as well as the referees in general “doing a pretty good job at letting the game flow and not whistling for smaller fouls that, in previous years, were likely to be called a foul.”

Read more World Cup analysis on NGN Offside →

The distance run by Noor Al-Rawabdeh of Jordan in the game against Austria was 8.1 miles, the highest of any player in the group stage. Al-Rawabdeh made history at the FIFA World Cup by providing the assist for Jordan’s first-ever goal in the tournament’s history in its debut match.

Top speed by any player was 22.8 mph. Australia defender Jordan Bos led all players in top speed, while his teammate Mohamed Touré was fourth (22.2 mph).

The highest xG of a single shot that was saved was 0.82. Croatia’s goalkeeper Dominik Livaković stopped a barrage of shots by England at the 55’ mark off a corner kick.

Total time spent on the 48 hydration breaks that have taken place across all 24 played matches in the first round of the group stage was 157.7 minutes. Hydration breaks averaged about 3.3 minutes. Read more on NGN’s coverage on whether hydration breaks are leading to more shots.

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