FIFA World Cup 2018 Stats Counter: New records set, some matched

Goals, goals and more goals! | With just one goalless draw in the tournament, this has been a World Cup full of goals. By the time France and Denmark played out their drab 0-0 draw, a total of 35 games had been played with at least one goal scored, breaking a World Cup record that had stood for 64 years.

Most number of own goals scored | A record 12 own goals were scored in Russia with Mario Mandzukic becoming the first player in history to score an own goal in a World Cup final. However, FIFA's stricter guidelines about attributing deflected shots have also contributed to inflating this stat.

Most penalties awarded and converted | Thanks to the introduction of the video assistant referee (VAR), a record 29 penalties were awarded during the tournament, with 22 of them getting converted into goals.

Most goals scored in the knockout stages | A total of 45 goals were scored in the knockout stages of the World Cup, one goal more than the tally for both the 1954 and the 1994 editions.

Oldest player to score a hat-trick | Cristiano Ronaldo became the oldest player to score a hat-trick in the FIFA World Cup when he did netted a free-kick against Spain in the group stage. He was 33 years and 130 days old when he scored.

Smallest country by population to participate | With a population of 337,669 people, Iceland became the smallest country by population to participate in the FIFA World Cup. The previous record was held by Trinidad & Tobago when it qualified for the 2006 World Cup with a population of just 1.3 million.

Most goals from set pieces | Out of the 12 goals scored by England, as many as 9 came from set pieces, which is a world record. This comes after England played through Euro 2012, World Cup 2014 and Euro 2016 having taken 72 corners and failing to score even once.

Following in the footsteps of 'The King' | Kylian Mbappe became the youngest player to score two goals in a World Cup game since Pele in 1958 when he netted a brace in the last-16 game against Argentina. He also became the first teenager since Pele to score in a World Cup final.

Oldest player to start in a World Cup game | Goalkeeper Essam El Hadary became the oldest player ever start in a World Cup game when he lined up in Egypt's last match against Saudi Arabia aged 45 years and 161 days.

The elite club of 'Five'| Mexico veteran Rafael Marquez joined an elite club of footballers who have appeared in 5 editions of the World Cup when he took the field in Russia. Marquez first made his World Cup debut in South Korea and Japan in 2002 and has played in every World Cup since. The only other players who have achieved this feat are Gianluigi Buffon of Italy, Lothar Matthaus of Germany and Antonio Carbajal of Mexico.

Lowest number of red cards shown| With the introduction of VAR, players seemed extra careful about breaking rules. There wasn't a single direct red card issued for violent conduct during the World Cup and just 4 red cards in total throughout the tournament. The same number of red cards were issued in a single game in 2006 when Portugal beat Netherlands in what was famously nicknamed the 'Battle of Nuremberg'.