0 There have been just two goalless matches in the 2026 championship, Dublin v Louth in Leinster and the All-Ireland quarter-final between Cork and Mayo last month. This is a huge reversal of recent trends – there were 10 goalless games in last year’s championship, 13 in 2024 and 14 in 2023. The 2022 championship had three goalless games, including the final between Kerry and Galway.1 This will be Martin McNally’s first time refereeing the All-Ireland final. He is the third Monaghan ref to take charge of a football final, after Seamus Murray (1980) and Pat McEnaney (1996, 2000 and 2004). McNally was in charge for the league meeting between Kerry and Mayo in Tralee in March.2 There are two sets of brothers lining out in the final, one in each team. For Kerry, David and Paudie Clifford are appearing in their fourth All-Ireland final together, although David played in the draw and replay in 2019 before Paudie joined the panel. For Mayo, Kobe McDonald and Jordan Flynn will take the field for the first time together in a final, albeit Flynn played in the 2020 and 21 finals before Kobe played senior.3 This will be just the third time this century that both goalkeepers are appearing in their first All-Ireland final. The others were in 2004 (Diarmuid Murphy for Kerry and Peter Burke for Mayo) and 2022 (Shane Ryan for Kerry and Connor Gleeson for Galway). Shane Murphy has been an unused sub in three finals, while this is Jack Livingstone’s first year in the Mayo team.4 Kerry and Mayo have met in four previous All-Ireland finals. Kerry have won all four of them, in 1932, 1997, 2004 and 2006. The 1932 final completed Kerry’s first four-in-a-row. The Mayo team who lost that final included Henry Kenny, father of future taoiseach Enda and Paddy Moclair, future greyhound trainer and the man after whom the Mayo club championship trophy is named.5 There are five points between David Clifford and Ryan O’Donoghue in the race to be leading scorer in the 2026 championship. Clifford is on 6-44 (62 points), O’Donoghue is on 2-51 (57). Clifford was top scorer last year, O’Donoghue the year before.David Clifford celebrates scoring a goal for Kerry against Dublin in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final at Croke Park. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho 6 David Clifford has scored six goals in the 2026 championship. Mayo have also scored six goals in the 2026 championship. The only game in which Clifford didn’t find the net was the defeat to Donegal in the first round of the All-Ireland series. Mayo didn’t score a goal against Cork or Meath.[ Darragh Ó Sé: In this All-Ireland final, it’s hard to see anything other than a Kerry winOpens in new window ]9 This is Jack O’Connor’s ninth All-Ireland final. Only Mick O’Dwyer with 11 (10 for Kerry, one with Kildare) stands above him in terms of appearances. If Kerry win, O’Connor will move alongside Jim Gavin on six titles, again with only O’Dwyer ahead of him.Mayo’s Ryan O’Donoghue watches his penalty come back off the post in the 2021 All-Ireland SFC final against Tyrone at Croke Park. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho 24 There have been 24 penalties awarded in All-Ireland finals. The running tally is 13 missed and 11 scored. The first ever penalty in a final was converted by Mayo’s Pádraig Carney in 1948. Mayo were awarded the most recent one, missed by Ryan O’Donoghue in 2021. In all, Mayo’s penalty record in finals is scored two (1948, 97), missed one (2021). Kerry’s is scored two (1979 and 85), missed three (1982, 86 and 2019). 24 No county has lost more All-Ireland finals than Kerry, with 24. Cork are next on the runners-up roll of honour, with 16 final defeats. Mayo are joint third with Galway, on 15.40 If Kerry win, it will be their 40th All-Ireland title. It took 43 years for Kerry to win their first 10 titles (1931), another 31 years to get up to 20 in 1962, then just 24 to make it to 30 in 1986. The pace has slowed a little on the march to the 40th – if they win it this weekend, it will have been 40 years since their 30th title. Between them, Kerry and Dublin have won 70 of the 137 finals played so far.Kerry's Seán O'Shea celebrates scoring a two-pointer against Dublin in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final at Croke Part on July 12th. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho 50 Mayo and Kerry have kicked 50 two-pointers between them in the 2026 championship. Mayo have scored 28 and conceded 17. Kerry have scored 22 and conceded 22. (These numbers come courtesy of the mighty X account @TsuDhoNim.)75 If Mayo win, it will close off a record gap of 75 years between All-Ireland titles. The current record is held by the Louth team of 1957, who won the county’s third All-Ireland 45 years after their second in 1912.