Editors note: The text and graphic has been updated to include the penalties scored during the round of 16.
The 2018 edition of the World Cup has seen more successful penalties at the group stage than ever before. Since the tournament started on June 15, teams have taken 28 penalties from the spot and have converted 21, the highest number of conversions for any world cup in regulation time.
Refrees pointing to the penalty spot seems to be an underlying theme at Russia 2018 mainly due to the intervention of video assistant referees (VARs).
However, the VAR system has also worked against penalty appeals. Neymar’s flop against Costa Rica was overturned after it was adjudged to be a penalty. Nevertheless, there has been an abundance of goals from the spot.
Since the group stage expanded to 32 teams in 1998, penalties have increased due to the number of matches played. In fact, at France 1998, the most number of penalties were converted with 17 goals from the spot including the knockout stage.
At the knockout stage, three penalties have been converted so far. With only the eight matches left in the tournament expect a few more spot kicks.
Harry Kane has scored three penalties for England, the highest among all countries. Their quarterfinal opponents, Sweden have scored twice from the spot.
