The 2026 FIFA World Cup is in the books, and the numbers are staggering. Spain defeated Argentina in the final to claim football’s biggest prize, but the real story might be what the expanded 48-team, 104-match tournament did to the record books.

A total of 308 goals were scored across the tournament, hosted jointly by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. That’s a new all-time record for a single World Cup, translating to roughly 2.96 to 3.05 goals per match. For context, the 2022 Qatar World Cup featured 64 matches across 32 teams.

Mbappé, Messi, and a golden boot race for the ages

France’s Kylian Mbappé was the tournament’s top scorer with 10 goals and 4 assists. Argentina’s Lionel Messi finished with 8 goals and 4 assists. England’s Jude Bellingham rounded out the top three with 7 goals.

Red cards and new rules: the disciplinary explosion

The tournament produced 15 red cards, including 13 straight reds. That number exceeded the combined totals from the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, which saw just four red cards each.

New rules introduced ahead of the tournament contributed directly to the increase. Officials were empowered to issue send-offs for behaviors that previously drew warnings, including players covering their mouths during confrontations with referees and deliberate walk-offs during play stoppages.

Argentina, who made it all the way to the final, collected multiple red cards throughout the tournament, including one in the championship match itself.

Penalties: 60 awarded, 65% converted

Across all matches, including shootouts, 60 penalties were awarded. Of those, 39 found the back of the net, a conversion rate of approximately 65%. That 65% figure is actually lower than the historical World Cup penalty conversion rate, which has typically hovered closer to 70-75% in open play.