While much has been made about the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) process at the World Cup, one statistic has gone largely unnoticed. Barely halfway through the group stage portion of the tournament, there have been five own goals thus far. The record for own goals at a World Cup event is six (from 1998), so it seems a virtual certainty that number will be surpassed by the end of Cup play.
Since most of the matches have been close affairs, these defensive gifts have allotted points to the shooting team and swung the point totals as well within the groups. Consider the following results:
Iran beat Morocco 1-0 on an own goal in stoppage time. This earned Iran three points and paved the way for Morocco’s elimination by denying them any points.
France beat Australia 2-1 in their group opener, with France’s winner an own goal in the 81st minute of play. This denied the Aussies at least a point and gave France an additional two points while changing the outcome from a tie to a win.
Croatia outscored Nigeria 2-0, with help from an own goal in the 32nd minute. This forced Nigeria to change their formation in the first half, but they were never able to recover. It is possible that this earned Croatia the full three points while denying the Super Eagles any points.
Senegal defeated Poland 2-1, with the difference being an own goal benefitting Senegal in the 37th minute of play. This saw Senegal garnering all three points, while 10th ranked Poland exited the match empty-handed.
Russia beat Egypt 3-1, with Fathy giving up an own goal in the 47th minute. While this goal ultimately did not affect the outcome of the match, it probably forced Egypt to open up the match a little earlier than their game plan called for. The result-after two group matches, Russia will go to the Round of 16 while Egypt will be returning home once their final game against Saudi Arabia culminates.
While own goals have always been a part of the game, it seems odd that at this stage of the tournament it is actually the leader to the Golden Boot award, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo 5-4. Perhaps teams tend to have more defensive players in the penalty area. More players in the box would result in more own goals. It could be that teams are taking more shots on goal, with more own goals a natural consequence by sheer numbers.
Whatever the reason, expect the 1996 World Cup record to be broken, probably before group stage play has concluded.
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