World Cup with fewer fouls and more red cards

The first phase of the World Cup has ended with a historic statistic. Never in the last 60 years have there been fewer fouls than in this edition of the World Cup. Out of the 66 matches played, 1484 fouls have been recorded, which is an average of 22.5 fouls per match. It is the lowest figure since the 1966 World Cup in England.

In Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, the figures were higher, with 26.9 and 24.1 fouls per match. In Italy 1990, the average per match with fouls was 40.

The reason is not because the players are playing cleaner, but because the referees have allowed more aggressive play to avoid too many interruptions.

There were 2.5 yellow cards per match, the lowest since Spain 1982. In Russia and Qatar, the number was double that. Paraguay was the team with the most yellow cards in the group stage. They received seven yellow cards, while France had just one.

Eight red cards were given in the group stage, which is the same number as Russia and Qatar, with four in each World Cup.