The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia produced 29 penalties. The 2026 edition, now underway across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, has produced exactly two. That is not a typo.
How 2018 became the penalty World Cup
The 2018 tournament was the first World Cup to deploy Video Assistant Referee technology. VAR gave officials the ability to review incidents inside the penalty area with replay precision, and the result was a flood of spot kicks that dwarfed every previous tournament.
Of those 29 penalties awarded, 22 were converted. Both figures set single-tournament records.
2026: a different tournament entirely
