World Cup 2026 Facts & Records

Miroslav Klose scored 16 World Cup goals across four tournaments (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) — more than any other player in history. He surpassed Brazil's Ronaldo during the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil.

Just Fontaine scored 13 goals at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden — a record that has stood for over 65 years. In just 6 matches, he averaged more than 2 goals per game.

Hakan Şükür scored after just 10.8 seconds in the third-place playoff of the 2002 World Cup against South Korea — the fastest goal in World Cup history. Turkey won the match 3-2.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to score at five consecutive World Cups: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. He scored a total of 8 World Cup goals for Portugal.

Lucien Laurent scored the very first goal in World Cup history on July 13, 1930 — for France against Mexico (4-1). Laurent was 21 years old and played as a left winger. He passed away in 2005 at age 97.

Bert Patenaude of the United States scored the first hat-trick in World Cup history on July 17, 1930 against Paraguay (3-0). The FIFA only officially recognized this in 2006.

Laurent Blanc scored the first golden goal in World Cup history in 1998 — in the round of 16 against Paraguay (1-0 aet). The golden goal rule applied from 1998 to 2002.

The Netherlands is the only country to have lost three World Cup finals without ever winning — in 1974 (1-2 vs West Germany), 1978 (1-3 vs Argentina) and 2010 (0-1 aet vs Spain). In 2026, Oranje wants that title.