World Cup 2026

The Goals of the World Cup

A deep dive into 143 goals across 48 completed matches, each one plotted twice below. First by anatomy: how each goal was made and from how far out. Then on the pitch: the exact path from boot to net. Hover and click to explore.

Anatomy of a goal

Each bar is one goal, grouped into wedges by how it was scored and coloured to match. The length of the bar shows how far out the strike was taken. Hover over any bar for the shooter, their team and the body part used.

Open play88Set piece7Corner15Fast break18Penalty6Own goal9
12 m24 mOpen play · 88Set piece · 7Corner · 15Fast break · 18Penalty · 6Own goal · 9

Of the 143 goals scored so far, open play is the most common route to the net — 88 goals (62%). Here is how every goal was made:

Open play88 · 62%Scored in the run of play, including a move, a through-ball or an individual effort, not from a dead ball.
Fast break18 · 13%Scored on a counter-attack by winning the ball and racing forward before the defence resets.
Corner15 · 10%Scored directly from a corner kick, whether headed or volleyed in from the delivery.
Own goal9 · 6%Put into their own net by a defending player. These are credited to the attacking side.
Set piece7 · 5%Scored from a free kick or a throw-in routine, this is a planned restart after play was stopped.
Penalty6 · 4%Scored from the penalty spot, awarded for a foul or handball inside the box.

Beyond the goals themselves, the dead-ball numbers tell their own story: teams have won 397 corners but turned only 15 of them into goals (4% conversion), while 8 penalties have been taken, 6 converted (75%).

On the pitch

These are the same goals as trajectories. The dot is where the shot was struck, the line ends where it crossed the goal line. Colour still marks the goal type. Pick a nation to isolate its goals, or click any line for the full story.

Filter by nation
● shooter position▮ goal mouth (where it crossed the line)

Click a goal line above to see the country, match, scorer, goal type, shot distance and more.

Read the pitch as a map of danger. The dense knot of dots around the six-yard box and penalty spot shows that most goals are still scored from close range, where chances are hardest to miss. The handful of lines striking from outside the box are the long-range efforts: rarer, lower-percentage, and usually the ones worth rewatching. Filter by a nation to see where its goals come from, or click a line to read the story behind a single strike.