The 2022 World Cup has concluded in Qatar. In 64 matches, 172 goals were scored. Argentina won the World Cup title for the third time after defeating France in a penalty shootout.
Nelson Gracenote, an international research organization, has extracted some interesting facts about the Qatar World Cup.
The most unexpected result after 64 years
After 64 years, the most unexpected result came from the tournament in Qatar. There were unexpected results in 15 matches in the tournament in Qatar.
In this World Cup, the underdog teams defeated the giant teams. In the third match of the group stage of this World Cup, Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina 2-1. The game was one of 12 unexpected results in the group stage.
Morocco emerged. Morocco defeated Spain in the last 16 and Portugal in the quarterfinals. Croatia beat Brazil in the quarterfinals. In this World Cup, 24 percent of the matches have been unexpected.
Earlier in 1958, in the World Cup in Sweden, 26 percent of the matches were unexpected.
More goals with fewer shots on target
In this year’s World Cup, players hit 1,458 target shots for goals. This is the lowest since 2002, when Nelson Gracenote started keeping the data. In 2014, the highest target was 1,661.
Qatar averaged 22.8 shots on target per game.
Even though the target was low, the count of goals did not stop this year. This time, there were 172 goals. In 1998, 171 goals were scored in the World Cup, with 32 teams participating for the first time. As many goals were scored in 64 games in that World Cup in France in 2014 as in Brazil.
Before that, 141 goals were scored in the 1994 World Cup, in which 24 teams participated and 52 matches were played. which is 2.71 goals per game. Qatar averaged 2.69 goals per game.
117 players from 32 teams scored goals in Qatar.
More goals have been scored from the penalty area this year than in the last four World Cups.
92.9 percent of goals are scored from inside the penalty area. where 62.7 percent of the shots were made inside the box.
The Drama of Stoppage Time
In this World Cup, the referee showed a total of 227 yellow cards. This is the most yellow card edition since 2010. This time, it was easier for the referee to decide. For the first time in the World Cup, a video assistant referee (VAR) was used, so the referee became comfortable.
A total of four red cards were shown in this World Cup; even if this is considered, this edition can be said to be solved.
The number of fouls in this game was 1,699. of which the referee gave 23 penalties, including three in the final.
Another interesting aspect of this version was that the amount of stoppage time (added time) was also higher.
Young Guns
In the 2022 edition, more teenage players played compared to other editions.
10 teenage players made the starting 11 in 20 games, including 19-year-old England midfielder Jude Bellingham, 18-year-old German midfielder Jamal Musiala, and 18-year-old Spanish midfielder Gavi.
French forward Kylian Mbappe made his debut as a teenager in the 2018 edition and set a record of six goals.
Experienced Players
This time, it was not only the year of the young players but also of the old players. Players above 35 years of age also played in this edition. placed in the starting lineup, in which Argentine captain Lionel Messi and Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo remained.
Along with 27 experienced players, 83 senior players made the starting eleven in the 2022 edition. This is 32 more than the 51 senior players established at the 2002 World Cup.
Messi played at 35 years old, and Croatia captain Luka Modric, at 37 years old, made the most 7-7 matches in the starting 11.
