The 2026 FIFA World Cup is now fully underway, each of the 48 nations have played at least one game each and with patterns of play already starting to develop, we can now start to generate some form of statistical analysis.
The sample of data may be small at this stage but it will only grow as the tournament continues across the next few weeks and even during the first eight days of the competition, there are some interesting findings to uncover.
Goals Per Game
Across the opening 24 games of the tournament, a total of 75 goals have been scored. Seven of those were by Germany alone and although Julian Nagelsmann’s men may have made a considerable contribution to the overall tally, it is fair to say that theirs has not been the only major contribution.
Sweden chipped in with five goals against Tunisia. The United States, Norway and England all put four past their opening opposition and that overall total of 75 equates to 3.13 goals per game.
A figure that suggests that the World Cup has been rather entertaining in its opening week, but perhaps highlights the quality difference now that an additional 16 teams have been invited to football’s biggest party.
For context, the 2022 World Cup had an overall average of 2.69 goals per game but this was for a 32-team tournament. You would expect matches to get tighter once we reach the knockout phase but if the overall average stays above three or more, then fans around the world are going to be in for a treat.
Both Teams To Score %
When looking at the scorelines of the 24 games in our data sample, no doubt attacking football has got the better of its defensive cousin. 17 of those encounters have ended with both teams scoring at least once.
A percentage hit rate of 70.83% across the first cycle of group stage fixtures. There does seem to be something of a freedom to how teams are setting up. The consensus has been to try and win your opening game to take some pressure off your shoulders before going into the remaining two.
Win your first game and you could even get away with making the Round of 32 with no further points added to your tally. That in itself does carry an element of risk but if you can squeeze through via this method, it will be worth the reward.
Over 2.5 Goals %
A statistic that will be of interest to those who are viewing the World Cup through a betting lens and that is the number of games that have finished with over 2.5 goals. Of the 24 sampled, it is split exactly down the middle at 12.
A dozen games that have tipped into three or more territory, another dozen that have fallen short. Not a figure to be unexpected when you consider some of the mismatches that have taken place early on, it will be interesting to see how this percentage figure evolves over the next few weeks.
Team Wins When Scoring First %
While it is also good news for those nations that have managed to score first because if you can draw first blood during the 2026 tournament, your chances of going on to win the game are boosted considerably.
Of the 24 games, there have been 15 wins. 14 of those have seen the nation that opens the scoring then pick up three group stage points. A 58.3% hit rate when looking at all fixtures, 93.3% when taking draws out of the equation.
The only team to score first and then lose where Czechia after they opened the scoring in their opening group stage game against South Korea but then went on to lose the encounter by two goals to one.
Clean Sheet %
If attacking football has largely been the winner during the opening week of the tournament, then it does not make good reading for those trying to keep the ball out of the net. Clean sheets have largely been at a premium; we are yet to see a 0-0 at this edition of the tournament.
In fact, there have only been eight clean sheets when looking at the opening 24 games. That is one every three games played or 33.3% in percentage terms. A figure that looks low at this stage but as the road to the final shortens, the balance of power may tilt towards to the back four.
Average cards per game
In terms of discipline, a total of 55 cards were shown across the opening 24 games. That equates to 2.29 cards per game. Not a large amount considering the differing interpretations of laws by referees across the globe and even more so when you account for last week’s opening game.
The encounter between Mexico and South Africa saw three red cards brandished, a figure that is now established as above average but the reason the card figure is so low is due to the good behaviour of 17 nations.
This gang of 17 are yet to pick up a card of any colour and this well-behaved class includes tournament heavyweights such as France, England and Argentina.
One-goal winning margin
Another interesting angle to look at is the margin of winning goals and it should be noted that when teams win, they seem to win by a comfortable distance. Of the 24 games played, there have been 15 wins and of those, only four have been by a single-goal margin.
That is just 16.6% of all games played or 26.6% of all wins registered, whereas the most recurring winning goal margin is by two. By comparison, we have seen six two-goal wins registered. 25% of all games played and 40% of all wins registered.
This suggests that teams do not just want to win early on, they want to build enough of a security blanket should they lose the other two and when you look at Scotland’s 1-0 win over Haiti with Morocco and Brazil to follow, the fear is that the narrow victory might not be enough. Tense times await for the Tartan Army.
