The World Cup 2022 has provided all kinds of drama, from wild upsets to superstar players turning up to matches on fire.
However, has it been a particularly goal-heavy tournament by World Cup standards? There were more goalless draws in the opening round of group stage matches than in the entirety of the last tournament.
In contrast, we’ve also seen 7-0, 6-2 and 6-1 thrashings during this tournament, the last of which came during the knockout rounds.
At the conclusion of the Round of 16, there has been 148 goals in 56 games.
That comes to an average of 2.64 goals per game so far as we head into the quarter-finals.
Stripped of all context, those stats mean very little but this places Qatar 2022 as the fifth-highest scoring tournament so far in 22 editions.
However, due to more games being played in Qatar than some other tournaments, the goals per game average is a more accurate measure to compare.
By those calculations, Qatar 2022 ranks 15th, just ahead of Russia 2018. This would make it the second-highest goal ratio of all World Cup tournaments held in the 21st century.
You can check out the full list of total goals scored at World Cup finals and average goals per game from each edition of the tournament below.
How many goals scored at every World Cup?
The general trend over the course of the World Cup is that more goals are being scored. However, the explanation as to why this has occurred is fairly simple: more games = more goals.
Naturally, as the tournament has expanded and the format has evolved, more goals have been scored.
We’ve recorded the total number of goals scored at every World Cup to date, as well as the goals-per-game ratio, according to a Statista report published during this current edition of the competition.
Total goals scored:
- France 1998 – 171
- Brazil 2014 – 171
- Russia 2018 – 169
- South Korea / Japan 2002 – 161
- Germany 2006 – 147
- Spain 1982 – 146
- South Africa 2010 – 143
- USA 1994 – 141
- Switzerland 1954 – 140
- Mexico 1986 – 132
- Sweden 1958 – 126
- Italy 1990 – 115
- Argentina 1978 – 102
- Germany 1974 – 97
- Mexico 1970 – 95
- England 1966 – 89
- Chile 1962 – 89
- Brazil 1950 – 88
- France 1938 – 84
- Italy 1934 – 70
- Uruguay 1930 – 70
Goals per game:
- Switzerland 1954 – 5.38
- France 1938 – 4.67
- Italy 1934 – 4.12
- Brazil 1950 – 4
- Uruguay 1930 – 3.89
- Sweden 1958 – 3.6
- Mexico 1970 – 2.97
- Spain 1982 – 2.81
- Chile 1962 – 2.78
- England 1966 – 2.78
- USA 1994 – 2.71
- Brazil 2014 – 2.7
- Argentina 1978 – 2.68
- France 1998 – 2.67
- Russia 2018 – 2.6
- Germany 1974 – 2.55
- Mexico 1986 – 2.54
- South Korea / Japan 2002 – 2.52
- Germany 2006 – 2.3
- South Africa 2010 – 2.23
- Italy 1990 – 2.21
