12 Days to World Cup
Qatar World Cup Breaks All-Time Record with 172 Goals
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Football is a game of goals, and when it comes to the World Cup, the sport’s biggest stage, fans always expect plenty of them. In the 96-year history of the tournament, the highest number of goals came at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
The tournament, which was rescheduled to the end of the year due to weather conditions, broke all previous scoring records. A total of 172 goals were scored in 64 matches, with an average of 2.69 goals per game.
France scored the most goals in the Qatar World Cup with 16 goals. Champions Argentina scored 15, while England netted 13. Portugal scored 12 goals and the Netherlands 10. France’s Kylian Mbappé finished as the top scorer of the tournament with 8 goals.
The Qatar edition surpassed the 1998 World Cup in France, which had produced 171 goals with the same average of 2.69 goals per match. The 2014 World Cup in Brazil also saw 171 goals.
The 2018 World Cup in Russia produced 169 goals, with an average of 2.64 goals per match. The 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan saw 161 goals, averaging 2.52 per game.
In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, 147 goals were scored with an average of 2.30 per match. The 1986 World Cup in Mexico saw 146 goals in 52 matches, averaging 2.81 goals per game. The 2010 World Cup in South Africa produced 145 goals, with an average of 2.27 per match.
At the lower end of World Cup scoring history are the first two editions of the tournament. The 1930 World Cup saw 70 goals in 18 matches. Although the next edition had one more match, the total number of goals did not increase.
