The 2026 World Cup has already delivered a thrilling opening round of matches, with the statistics painting a fascinating picture of the early action.
Across the 24 games played, 75 goals have been scored, producing a goal-per-game ratio of 3.125, the highest after the first set of group matches since 1958.
Concerns about the expanded tournament’s competitive quality have been firmly put to rest, with nine of the 24 opening matches ending in a draw.
That 37.5% draw ratio is the highest at this stage since 2010, when it matched the same figure, and has only been exceeded once since 1954.
Six players took six or more shots in their opening games, but only two of them actually found the net: England’s Harry Kane and Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
Kane’s brace drew him level with Gary Lineker as England’s all-time leading World Cup scorer on 10 goals, while Messi’s hat-trick equalled Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the tournament’s all-time top scorer with 16 goals.
Turkey’s Arda Guler attempted the most shots of any player at the tournament so far, though his eight efforts produced just 0.26 xG against Australia, highlighting how speculative his shooting was throughout the match.
The Real Madrid youngster’s shot quality was so low that, historically, a player would be expected to score just once every 31 such attempts.
South Korea’s Son Heung-min proved the most wasteful finisher in the opening round, failing to score from six chances that totalled 1.0 xG, a surprising outcome given his clinical record in the Premier League.
Spain’s Pedri was the standout creative force in the first round, posting the highest expected assists figure of 1.23 and winning possession in the final third six times, twice as often as any other player at the tournament.
Ivory Coast’s Amad Diallo emerged as the tournament’s best dribbler, completing the most dribbles with the best success rate among the 32 players to attempt five or more, despite only playing 34 minutes as a substitute for Manchester United’s winger.
Vinícius Junior scored Brazil’s equaliser against Morocco but failed to beat his opponent in any of his nine dribble attempts, with no other player having tried more than four dribbles without success at this World Cup.
Germany’s Joshua Kimmich was the most impactful creator among the seven players who made five chances in their opening game, contributing two assists in the 7-1 victory against Curaçao.
Panama’s Jiovany Ramos and Senegal’s Krépin Diatta topped the individual duel rankings, winning their 50-50 battles more often than not among the 158 players to contest 10 or more duels in the opening round.
Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Jovo Lukic produced a remarkable aerial display against Canada, winning all nine of his aerial duels, a feat no other player contesting more than four aerial battles has matched at the tournament.
