Only One-Third of Tournament Played, but '8 Own Goals' Already Rank 2nd in World Cup History

With the expanded number of participating countries, own goals are surging at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, raising the likelihood of breaking the all-time tournament record.

Spain secured a 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in their second Group H match of the group stage, played on June 22 (KST) at the Atlanta Stadium in Georgia, United States.

Mikel Oyarzabal was the star of the match, scoring two goals and providing one assist, playing a role in all three goals Spain scored against Saudi Arabia in the first half.

The remaining goal was an own goal by Saudi defender Hassan Al-Tambakti in the fourth minute of the second half.

During a corner kick opportunity for Spain, Marc Cucurella's volley was blocked by goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais, but the rebounded ball struck Al-Tambakti and deflected into the Saudi net.

This marks the eighth own goal of the tournament.

The trend began on June 13 during the first Group D match, when the United States crushed Paraguay 4-1, starting with an own goal by Paraguay's Damian Bobadilla just seven minutes into the first half.

So far, co-host United States has benefited the most from own goals.

Following the match against Paraguay, the U.S. also benefited in their second match against Australia, scoring the opening and winning goal in the 11th minute of the first half through an own goal by opposing defender Cameron Burgess, eventually winning 2-0.

Having secured two consecutive wins courtesy of opponents' own goals, the U.S. early on clinched first place in their group and a spot in the round of 32.

Qatar, in Group B, experienced both joy and sorrow due to own goals.

In their first match against Switzerland, Qatar earned their first-ever World Cup point with a dramatic 1-1 draw, thanks to an own goal by opponent Miro Muheim in the 49th minute of the second half during stoppage time.

Initially reported as a header by Boualem Khoukhi, who won a battle against Muheim, it was later officially corrected to an own goal.

However, in their second match, where they suffered a crushing 0-6 defeat to Canada, Qatar completely lost their fighting spirit when Mohammed Al-Manai scored an own goal in the 30th minute of the second half while trailing 0-4.

In addition, Egypt's Mohamed Hany, Iraq's Aymen Hussein, and Jordan's Yazan Al-Arab suffered the misfortune of scoring into their own nets.

In particular, Iraq's Hussein scored an equalizer in a 1-4 loss to Norway, but also recorded an own goal in second-half stoppage time, becoming only the third player in World Cup history to score for both teams in a single match.

The World Cup with the most own goals was the 2018 tournament in Russia, which saw a total of 12.

The current tournament in North America already ranks second in history for the most own goals, trailing only the Russia edition.

However, the tournament in Russia featured 32 participating nations playing a total of 64 matches.

In contrast, this year's tournament has expanded to 48 teams, with a total of 104 matches scheduled.

As of today, the North American World Cup has completed 40 matches, just over one-third of the entire schedule.

It appears highly likely that a new record for the most own goals in history will be set.

According to Reuters, a total of 62 own goals have been scored in World Cup history since the inaugural tournament in Uruguay in 1930.

Approximately 13% of those have already been recorded in this tournament alone.

There have also been five World Cups where not a single own goal was scored.

The most recent of these was the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

The most goals a single country has gained from opponents' own goals in a single World Cup tournament is two.

France achieved this in Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018, and the U.S. has tied this record in the current tournament.

The most own goals scored by a single team in a single tournament is also two.

Bulgaria recorded this in England in 1966, and Russia did so as the host nation in 2018.

In terms of cumulative own goals, Mexico has the most in history with four.

On the other hand, France ranks first in benefiting from opponents' own goals, having gained a total of six.

Meanwhile, own goals are not the only things on the rise in this tournament.

The tournament surpassed the 100-goal milestone on June 21 during the 33rd match, where the Netherlands defeated Sweden 5-1.

This is the fastest a tournament has reached 100 goals in 68 years, since the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.

The all-time record for the fewest matches to reach triple-digit goals is 20 matches, set during the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.