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The 2026 World Cup is taking place on an unprecedented scale. With three host countries, 16 host cities, 48 participating teams and 104 matches on the programme, it is the biggest edition in the history of the World Cup. However, in addition to the football stars who have left their mark, the statistics point to another unusual protagonist: the own goal.
As of June 25, 173 goals have been scored in 59 matches at the tournament, 12 of which are own goals. This figure equals the record set at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where the entire competition was played in just 64 matches.
The first own goal of this World Cup came in Paraguay's opening match against the United States. Damian Bobadilla deflected a Weston McKennie cross into his own net in the seventh minute, giving Mauricio Pochettino's team a 1-0 lead. Burgess then scored an own goal in another match against the United States, who have so far been the team that has benefited the most from their opponents' mistakes.
Qatar also stands out on the list of own goals, having registered two. Mohamed Manai scored in his own goal against Canada, while goalkeeper Mahmud Abunada made the same mistake in the match against Bosnia. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq and Uzbekistan have also registered own goals. The latest in this statistic is that of Tunisia in the match against the Netherlands.
Historically, own goals have been a rare phenomenon in the World Cup. During the 20th century, most editions only recorded one or two own goals, while the 1934, 1950, 1958, 1962 and 1990 World Cups saw none.
The increase in this indicator began in France 1998, while the peak was reached at “Russia 2018”, where the record of 12 own goals in 64 matches was set. After a significant drop to just two own goals in “Qatar 2022”, the 2026 World Cup has already equaled this record, while there are still dozens of matches to be played. Given the expanded format of the tournament, everything suggests that the own goal record will be broken in the coming days.
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