The ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026 has turned into an absolute goal fest, treating world football fans to a historic scoring blitz. The tournament witnessed a 25 percent increase in goals compared to the same period in the previous edition, making it one of the shows of the highest score in the history of football.A staggering 121 goals were scored in the first 40 games, with an average of three goals per game. Experts point to three unique factors behind this run to goal: a highly advanced official ball designed with deep seams for extra speed, longer matches due to newly introduced hydration-related downtime, and an expanded 48-team field that widened the competitive talent gap.“This ball is fast as a cannonball. If you hit it well, it is very difficult to save,” said Austria manager Ralf Rangnick.
The English Premier League rules the roost
More than half of the tournament’s total goals came from stars playing in the top flights of England, Germany and Spain, with the English Premier League (EPL) leading the charge with 28 goals. England’s dominance was perfectly highlighted during the Netherlands’ 5-1 thrashing of Sweden, where all six goals were converted by players who competed in the EPL during the 2025-26 season.“I think the Premier League is more intense than this World Cup, but it’s still a good tournament with high-quality matches,” said Arsenal and Brazil winger Gabriel Martinelli.
Ranking of Madrid, Liverpool and Messi power club
At club level, European heavyweights Real Madrid and Liverpool sit at the pinnacle alongside Major League Soccer (MLS) side Inter Miami. The Real Madrid stars hit the net six times, with a hat-trick from Kylian Mbappé, a brace from VinÃcius Júnior and a strike from Jude Bellingham.Liverpool meet them at the top with six goals, courtesy of Dutch trio Cody Gakpo, Virgil van Dijk, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Sweden’s Alexander Isak. Meanwhile, Inter Miami’s high ranking rests solely on their shoulders Lionel Messiwho followed up his opening match hat-trick against Algeria with another clinical brace against Austria on Monday.With just three goalless draws recorded so far, the tournament is comfortably on pace to completely break the all-time record of 172 goals set at Qatar 2022.
