Every goal at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was special. Still, there were more ‘special’ goals in this World Cup than any tournament prior.

The 32 teams at the World Cup scored a combined 172 goals. Remarkably, this is a new record for the World Cup in terms of total goals scored. Kylian Mbappé’s extra time penalty was the tournament’s 172nd goal. It passed France 1998, which had one fewer at 171.

There were, on average, 2.72 goals per game. Yet, the more interesting statistic in the group stage was the number of scoreless games or halves. There were seven goalless draws at the World Cup, an all-time tournament record. Only one of those happened in the knockout stages. Morocco defeated Spain on penalties after 120 minutes without scoring.

Therefore, the number of blowouts or other high-scoring affairs contributed to the lofty goal total. Spain won 7-0 over Costa Rica in its World Cup opener. England and Iran combined for eight goals early on in the tournament. Portugal put six past Switzerland in the round of 16. Cameroon and Serbia played to a 3-3 draw, with neither team advancing from the group. Finally, six games had five goals in total, whether that be 4-1 or 3-2 scoreline.

Every World Cup goal from Qatar 2022

Now, you can re-watch every goal from that crazy World Cup. That includes the group stages and the knockout stage.

Relive Argentina’s run to the World Cup Final. There were certainly plenty of goals. Argentina scored 10 goals in the last four games to clinch its third World Cup title. Or, you can see Kylian Mbappé dominate. He scored eight goals at the World Cup, tied for the most since Gerd Müller scored 10 in the 1970 World Cup.

Also, note that the number of World Cup games rises in 2026. Therefore, there is a strong likelihood of the new record being set in that tournament.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Ulmer/Teamfoto