World Cup 2018: 6 all time records that have already been broken in Russia
We are nearing the end of the group stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup and we have every reason to suggest that it will go down as the greatest tournament ever.
Late goals, dramatic results, huge upsets and tight matches have been a theme of the tournament so far. As a result, plenty of records have come tumbling down.
These include several records or milestones individuals have reached for their national teams like Romelu Lukaku becoming the Belgian player with most goals at a major tournament.
In addition, many records belonging to a particular team have also been rewritten. For instance, England’s six goals against Panama was the most they scored in a single World Cup match.
However, more interestingly, six all-time World Cup records have also been broken during the World Cup in Russia.
#6 Most penalties in a single World Cup - 22 so far
This record was broken so early in the tournament only because of the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
Seven penalties were awarded due to the VAR as at time of writing and one penalty call was also rescinded using the same technology. Even without the VAR, 15 penalties were awarded, which is two more than the total number of penalties awarded in Brazil during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
In total, 22 penalties have been awarded after 40 games which is four more than the previous record of 18 from the 1990, 1998 and 2002 editions of the World Cup.
Out of the 22 penalties that have been awarded so far, 17 have been converted and 5 were either missed or saved. The culprits of the missed penalties feature both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
It will be interesting to see how many more penalties will be awarded by the end of the tournament in Russia.