The hosting of the 2026 World Cup in the United States has recorded an unusual phenomenon in modern football history. As the round of 32 concludes, the tournament has seen 14 own goals, a figure that surpasses the previous record of 12 goals set at the 2018 edition in Russia.
What has drawn public attention is the comparison of these statistics with the performance of Argentine megastar Lionel Messi. Currently, Messi leads the Golden Boot race with seven goals. However, his individual goal tally pales in comparison to the total number of own goals recorded across the tournament.
This trend of increasing own goals has come under intense scrutiny. By comparison, at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, only two own goals were recorded. Prior to the 2018 era, the number of own goals per World Cup edition typically ranged from just three to six goals.
The majority of these incidents occurred during the group stage, accounting for 12 goals. Two additional own goals were scored during the round of 32 matches on Friday (7/3/2026) local time, including one incident when Argentina faced Cape Verde at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
