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World Cup mock-up
The curtain came down at dawn on Thursday on the matches of the first round of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.
This round witnessed an abundance of goalscoring, and the number of goals scored reached 75 goals in 24 matches, an average of 3,125 goals per match.
The sixth group came in the lead in terms of the number of goals scored in the first round of the current edition with 10 goals thanks to Sweden’s great victory over Tunisia by five goals to one, ahead of the fifth group, which witnessed a sweeping victory for Germany over Curacao with a score of 7-1, and the ninth group, which witnessed France’s victory over Senegal 3-1, and Norway over Iraq 4-1.
Lionel Messi scored the only hat-trick so far in the match against Algeria, which ended 3-0.
There are 7 players on the list of top scorers at the 2026 World Cup, with two goals, and they are Haaland, Mbappe, Swede Yassine Ayari, Harry Kane, American Folarin Balogun, German Kai Havertz, and New Zealander Elijah Just.
Referees issued 41 yellow cards during the first round of the 2026 World Cup.
So far, 3 red cards have been distributed, all of which were shown during the opening match between Mexico and South Africa.
The matches of the first round witnessed a large audience attendance, most notably the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, which was attended by more than 80,000 spectators, and the match between France and Senegal attracted approximately the same number. The number of fans present in the match between Algeria and Argentina reached 69,000 spectators, and the match between England and Croatia witnessed the presence of 70,000 spectators.
