June 25, 2018 / 4:24 PM / Updated 38 minutes ago

Soccer: World Cup matches penalties record before knockout rounds

Reuters Staff

1 Min Read

VOLGOGRAD, Russia (Reuters) - Salman Al-Faraj’s penalty for Saudi Arabia in their Group A match against Egypt on Monday was the 18th of the World Cup, matching the all-time record tally set at the 2002 tournament hosted by Japan and South Korea.

Soccer Football - World Cup - Group G - England vs Panama - Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia - June 24, 2018 England's Harry Kane scores their second goal from the penalty spot REUTERS/Matthew Childs

In Brazil four years ago, there were only 13 penalties in the entire tournament.

The use of the video assistant referee (VAR) system has contributed hugely to the spike, and it was employed again to set up Al-Faraj for his spot kick.

Al-Faraj’s penalty was the second awarded in the match.

Saudi Arabia’s Fahad Al-Muwallad was given a penalty after a foul in the box in the 39th minute but his effort was saved by the keeper.

Soccer Football - World Cup - Group A - Saudi Arabia vs Egypt - Volgograd Arena, Volgograd, Russia - June 25, 2018 Saudi Arabia's Salman Al-Faraj celebrates scoring their first goal from the penalty spot with team mates REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff

Writing by Ian Ransom; Editing by Christian Radnedge