GWR 2024 Look Inside - Flipbook - Page 26
SPORTS
FIFA WORLD CUP
Most goals in
a men’s 昀椀nal
Kylian Mbappé (FRA)
scored three times in the
2022 World Cup 昀椀nal on
18 Dec at Lusail Stadium
in Qatar. His hat-trick
included two penalties;
he added another in the
shoot-out, but couldn’t
save France from defeat.
Mbappé matched the feat
of Geo昀昀 Hurst, who scored
three goals for England
against West Germany in
the 1966 昀椀nal on 30 Jul.
Most goals in a tournament by a player
Just Fontaine (FRA) scored 13 times in only
six matches at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden,
including four in the third-place play-o昀昀 against
West Germany. This is just three short of the men’s
record for most goals – 16 – by Miroslav Klose
(DEU, b. POL), in four tournaments from 2002
to 2014. Fontaine passed away on 1 Mar 2023.
Most goals in a tournament
A total of 172 goals were scored in 64 昀椀xtures
at the 22nd FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with all
32 countries 昀椀nding the net at least once. Yet this
pales into comparison with the 1954 tournament
in Switzerland, where 140 goals were scored in just
26 games – the highest goals-to-game ratio
of 5.38, compared with Qatar’s 2.69.
MEN
First red card
Carlos Caszely was shown red by referee Doğan
Babacan during Chile’s 1–0 loss to West Germany
on 14 Jun 1974. Red and yellow cards were brought
in for the 1970 World Cup, although referees had
been able to send players o昀昀 before then.
Most wins by a team
The 昀椀rst Men’s World Cup kicked o昀昀 on 13 Jul
1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay. The quadrennial
tournament has been won by Brazil 昀椀ve times
– in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002 – on
four di昀昀erent continents. The “Seleção” have
also logged the most matches
played – 114 – and the most
matches won – 76.
Youngest player
Norman Whiteside (UK, b. 7 May 1965) was 17 years
41 days old when he lined up
for Northern Ireland against
Yugoslavia on 17 Jun 1982. The
talented teen broke a record
that had previously belonged
to Pelé (see below left).
Most men’s
matches played
Lionel Messi (ARG) featured in
26 matches across 昀椀ve World Cups
between 2006 and 2022. He broke Lothar
Matthäus’s record of 25 in the 昀椀nal of the
2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar – in which Messi
completed a fairytale tournament by scoring
twice during Argentina’s 3–3 draw against
France, before converting the 昀椀rst penalty to
help them on their way to a 4–2 shoot-out win.
Most wins by a player
Pelé (b. Edson Arantes
do Nascimento, 23 Oct
1940, BRA) earned World
Cup winner’s medals in
1958, 1962 and 1970. The
legendary No.10, who
died on 29 Dec 2022, was
just 17 years 249 days old
when Brazil beat Sweden
5–2 in the 1958 昀椀nal,
making him the youngest
winner. Although injury
forced Pelé out of the
1962 tournament, he
was awarded a winner’s
medal by FIFA in 2007.
Most goals
Marta (b. Marta Vieira
da Silva, BRA) scored
17 goals at the Women’s
World Cup between 2003
and 2019. She shares the
record for most women’s
tournaments scored in – 昀椀ve
– with Christine Sinclair (CAN).
Both players were looking to
add to their tallies at the 2023
FIFA Women’s World Cup in
Australia and New Zealand.
Most penalty shoot-out saves
Croatia’s Dominik Livaković saved four spot kicks
at the 2022 World Cup. He matched the total of
West Germany’s Harald Schumacher in 1982 and
1986, Argentina’s Sergio Goycochea in 1990 and
Livaković’s fellow Croat Danijel Subašić in 2018.
WOMEN
Most wins by a team
The USA have won four of the eight FIFA Women’s
World Cups to date. They lifted the trophy at the
inaugural tournament in China in 1991, and were
also victorious in 1999, 2015 and 2019.
Most tournaments played in
Formiga (b. Miraildes Maciel Mota, BRA) appeared
in seven consecutive World Cups between 1995
and 2019. The defensive mid昀椀elder earned her
nickname “Ant” for her unsel昀椀sh workrate.
Most goals in a 昀椀nal
On 5 Jul 2015, Carli Lloyd (USA)
hit a 13-min hat-trick during
the USA’s 5–2 win over Japan in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Most men’s
tournaments scored in
On 24 Nov 2022,
Cristiano Ronaldo (PRT)
made the scoresheet
at his 昀椀fth World Cup,
converting a penalty
during Portugal’s 3–2
win over Ghana in
Doha, Qatar. Ronaldo
hit eight World Cup
goals in 22 games from
2006 to 2022; his most
proli昀椀c tournament
was 2018, when he
scored four times.
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