2022 World Cup the highest scoring of all time
The 2022 FIFA World Cup officially became the highest scoring World Cup of all time thanks to Sunday's dramatic six-goal thriller final at the Lusail Stadium.
The six goals scored by Argentina and France took the goal tally of the tournament up to a stunning 172 overall - overtaking the record previously set jointly in 1998 and 2014 of 171 goals.
Games averaged 2.7 goals per game, with the highest scoring games of the tournament being Spain's thumping 7-0 win over Costa Rica and Portugal's 6-1 win over Switzerland. Other high-scoring highlights include the final itself - which actually saw the ball hit the back of the net 12 times including the penalty shootout - as well as Cameroon's dramatic 3-3 draw with Serbia in Group G.
It also took the most amount of goals to win the Golden Boot award at a World Cup in two decades, as Kylian Mbappe's eight strikes were enough to best Lionel Messi in the race for the award - with Messi bagging himself seven including two in the final.
While technically the highest scoring World Cup of all time, in terms of goals per game the 2022 tournament pales in comparison to 1954 in particular.
In 1954, there were an astonishing 5.4 goals per game as the likes of Hungary, Austria and West Germany recorded a number of high-scoring wins.
The highest scoring game in World Cup history was played out during the 1954 tournament, as Austria beat Switzerland 7-5 (yep, 7-5) in a quarter-final tie.
Most goals scored at World Cups
- 1930: 70
- 1934: 70
- 1938: 84
- 1950: 88
- 1954: 140
- 1958: 126
- 1962: 89
- 1966: 89
- 1970: 95
- 1978: 102
- 1982: 146
- 1986: 132
- 1990: 115
- 1998: 171
- 2002: 161
- 2006: 147
- 2010: 143
- 2014: 171
- 2018: 169
- 2022: 172