Half way through the tournament, let's take a look at some of the stats that make up the 32 games played in Qatar so far.
Goals
Stats would suggest it's been an entertaining tournament so far with matches averaging 2.53 goals per game but just over a third (11 of 32) of matches have actually finished Over 2.5 goals.
Those total goals stats are skewed by the eight scored in England's clash with Iran, Spain's 7-0 mauling of Costa Rica and yesterday's 3-3 draw between Serbia and Costa Rica. Those three matches account for over a quarter (25.9%) of the 81 goals scored to date.
Fans have endured five matches that have finished goalless while a remarkable 21 (65.6%) matches have been 0-0 at half-time.
Twice as many goals have been scored in the second half (54) as the first (27). Only three goals have been scored inside the first 10 minutes, while nine have come in the 90th minute or later.
It won't come as much of a surprise to read that just 41% of games (11) have seen both teams score.
Corners & Cards
Wayne Hennessey remains the only player to be sent off at the tournament so far. The Welsh keeper was handed a straight red in the defeat to Iran meaning he'll miss the crucial match with England.
Six players have picked up two bookings in two games and in total there's been 111 yellows brandished, producing a relatively low 3.47 per game as referees take a lenient approach to the duties.
Exactly 300 corners have been won (averaging 9.38 per match).
Penalties
The tournament started but with a raft of penalties but they've dried up a bit in recent days. The total currently sits at 11, with eight scored, and we're on track for a total of 22 if they're awarded at the current rate.
- Enner Valencia (scored) – Qatar vs ECUADOR
- Mehdi Taremi (scored) – England vs IRAN
- Gareth Bale (scored) – USA vs WALES
- Lionel Messi (scored) – ARGENTINA vs Saudi Arabia
- Robert Lewandowski (saved) – POLAND vs Mexico
- Ilkay Gundogan (scored) – GERMANY vs Japan
- Ferran Torres (scored) – SPAIN vs Costa Rica
- Alphonso Davies – (saved) CANADA vs Belgium
- Cristiano Ronaldo – (scored) PORTUGAL vs Ghana
- Salem Al Dawsari – (saved) Poland vs SAUDI ARABIA
- Bruno Fernandes – (scored) PORTUGAL v Uruguay
Player Stats
Kylian Mbappe and Enner Valencia lead the scoring charts with three goals apiece with a further 11 players on two including the likes of Messi, Giroud, Richarlison and Saka.
Mbappe also leads the way on Shots at Goal (13) and Shots on Target (5). And he's the only player to have turned in two Man of the Match performances.
Wojciech Szczęsny (Poland) and Alisson (Brazil) are the only two goalkeepers to have managed two clean sheets to date whilst Vanja Milinković-Savić of Serbia has made most saves (12), despite conceding five goals.
What's Next?
Having seen both teams play twice who do you now think is best equipped to win the World Cup? Who will claim the Golden Boot? and are there any other trends you've noticed in Qatar? Let us know in the comments section below.
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and i,m glad to report there are No Own Goals so far as i,m on the Evens Money for there to be under 6 of them.
but as always it,s the performances still to come that will decide whether the bet lands..
was seriously tempted by the 8/11 for under 9 Red Cards as well ( 1 so far } but resisted.