FIFA World Cup 2018: From increase in penalties to own goals - A statistical analysis

The FIFA World Cup 2018 is nearing its business end and already, the fans have witnessed a number of brilliant matches in the competition. Such has been this World Cup that the only thing predictable so far has been its unpredictability. From Russia reaching the last-8 for the first time since 1970 to England finally getting rid of their penalty curse, the tournament is filled with moments that have impressed fans and experts alike. As the competition moves towards the quarter-finals, here’s a look at some numbers that highlight how this edition has been different from the 20 in the past.

28 - The number of penalties awarded in 2018. In 2014, the number was just 13. The previous World Cup record, set in 2002, stood at 18.

23 - The number of goals scored in stoppage time; more than twice as many as the previous benchmark set at 1998 (10 goals).

10 - The number of own goals scored. The previous record was 6 in 1998.

7 - The average injury time minutes given in each game, over 90 seconds more than the previous record.

3 – The number of matches in the Round of 16 which were decided in the penalty shoot-out. In 2014, the number was 2.

3 - The number of times a team has conceded an own goal and scored from a penalty in the same game. Egypt vs Russia (June 19), Australia vs France (June 16), Russia vs Spain (July 1)

99 - Columbia footballer Yerry Mina’s header against England during their Round of 16 encounter on Tuesday was the 99th stoppage time goal scored in World Cup history. Bayern and Poland striker Robert Lewandowski scored none in 3.

1966 - Belgium were the first team to come from two goals down to win a World Cup knockout round match within 90 minutes since Portugal beat DPR Korea 5-3 in the 1966 quarter-final.

39 - Mexico’s Rafael Marquez (39y 139d) was the oldest outfield player to start a knockout round match since Stanley Matthews (39y 145d) in 1954 for England against Uruguay.

5 - The number of times host nations have won penalty shootouts in the last World Cups - France in 1998, South Korea in 2002, Germany in 2006, Brazil in 2014 and Russia this year.

2 - Russia are the first team to concede multiple own goals in a World Cup tournament since 1966, when Bulgaria conceded two.

38 - Sergei Ignashevich became the oldest ever player to score an own goal in a World Cup match (38y 352d).

1 - Their loss against France in the Round of 16 was the first time Argentina lost a competitive match despite scoring 3 goals (from 430 competitive games played overall).