The 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal stage don end with two extra time thrillers wey make everybody dey talk. England beat Norway 2-1, while Argentina defeat Switzerland 3-1 for matches wey no get dull moment.
ESPN By The Numbers bring di best stats from di World Cup action for July 11. For di first time since FIFA start ranking for 1992, di top 4 seeds don reach semifinals. Na only di third edition for World Cup history where all four semifinalists na former winners, join 1990 and 1970.
Lionel Messi don hit 20 passes wey lead to shots on goal for di 2026 World Cup. E be di first player since 1966 to reach dis amount of passes-for-shots for three different editions: 21 for 2022, 24 for 2014.
Argentina don score 3+ goals for four straight games for di 2026 World Cup, wey tie di longest such streak for World Cup history wit France, whose streak end with dia 1-0 win against Paraguay for dis edition.
Argentina score three goals from corners for di 2026 World Cup, wey tie wit England and Bosnia-Herzegovina for most such goals. Even though Argentina be di third shortest team by average height for di tournament, dem get more headed goals (3) than 44 oda countries. Dem tie wit United States for most goals from set pieces (5).
Messi be di fourth player to start four World Cup quarterfinals, join Germans Lothar Matthäus, Miroslav Klose, and Uwe Seeler.
Four of Julián Alvarez’s five career FIFA World Cup goals don come for di knockout rounds, wey tie wit Diego Maradona for di second most by an Argentinian player. E dey behind only Messi (7).
Breel Embolo join Mexico’s Luis Pérez, Ghana‘s Asamoah Gyan, and Italy‘s Francesco Totti as di only players for di last 60 years to receive second yellow card for simulation.
Dis be di eighth knockout round match to go to extra time for dis World Cup, wey tie wit 2014 and 1990 for most for a single World Cup. But note say 2014 and 1990 get only 15 KO round matches each, while dis edition get 28.
Messi’s World Cup-record 9-match scoring streak don end against Switzerland. E score 4 for 2022 and 5 for 2026.
Wit im corner to Alexis Mac Allister, Messi don get 10 World Cup assists, two more than any oda player since 1966 (Diego Maradona get 8). Dose 10 assists don set up goals for 10 different players. Di assist for di 10th minute (9:34) be di earliest Messi don provide assist for any World Cup and di first time e provide assist from a corner.
Messi (10 for 2022 and 2026) join Kylian Mbappé (10 for 2022, 11 for 2026) as di only players for di last 60 years wit 10+ goal contributions for multiple editions of di FIFA World Cup.
Mac Allister’s goal be di first time Switzerland don trail for dis FIFA World Cup cycle, including qualifiers and final tournament. Dem be di only team wit such record dis edition, spanning 11 matches (6 qualifiers and 5 finals).
Messi don directly involve for 13 goals for im last 8 WC KO stage appearances (7 goals, 6 assists).
Dis be Argentina’s 13th World Cup match to go to extra time, di most of any team, breaking tie wit Germany (12). If you include penalty shootout wins, dem don win 11 of dem. Dis be dia 5th win inside extra time, second most behind Italy (6).
New day, new Messi record. Di Argentine skipper get 15 World Cup KO round goal involvements, di most by any player for di last 60 years, breaking tie wit Kylian Mbappé (14).
Wit average age of 30 years, 177 days, Argentina get di oldest starting XI for a World Cup quarterfinal since Brazil (30y 209d) against England for 1962. Lautaro Martinez’s goal be di latest Argentina goal (121′) for dia World Cup history.
At 23 years, 12 days old, Jude Bellingham be di second youngest player to score 2+ goals for consecutive FIFA World Cup knockout-stage matches, only behind Pelé for 1958 (17y, 249d). Bellingham be di first player of any age to get 2 multi-goal games for a single FIFA World Cup knockout stage. E join elite list of players wit consecutive multi-goal games for a KO stage.
England don get two comeback wins for World Cup knockout stage dis edition, as many as dem get for dia entire World Cup history until now (excluding third-place games). Dem come for 1990 quarterfinals against Cameroon and 1966 final against West Germany. England don win or advance for dia last three matches for major tournaments (UEFA EUROs/FIFA World Cup) wey go to extra time. Dis be England’s fourth World Cup semifinal ever, and first since 2018 where dem lose to Croatia 2-1 for extra time.
Harry Kane (6) and Jude Bellingham (6) be di first pair of England teammates to score 5+ goals for a single World Cup. Six comeback wins don happen for 27 matches for di 2026 World Cup KO stages, wey tie wit 1934 (16 matches) for di most comeback wins for a single World Cup KO stage.
Bellingham don get 7 career World Cup goals, trailing only Harry Kane (14) and Gary Lineker (10) for England’s all-time World Cup scoring list. Im six goals for di 2026 edition don tie Gary Lineker (6 for 1986) for di most non-penalty goals by an England player for a single World Cup tournament. Di only player wit more goals before im 24th birthday na Kylian Mbappé (12). Bellingham don tie wit Pelé.
Information from ESPN’s Global Research Team contribute to dis report.
