IFFHS STATS - QUALIFIERS WORLD CUP 2026
Statistics on WC 2026 qualifiers (14 October)
Portugal vs Hungary 2-2
*Cristiano Ronaldo (picture) , with his brace, became the new all-time top scorer in World Cup Qualifiers (41 goals in 50 matches) surpassing former Guatemala player Carlos Ruiz (39).
Latvia vs England 0-5
*England have now qualified for 8th successive World Cup (since 1998): their longest ever such run.
*Harry Kane, with his brace, has extended to 13 his games for England in which he scored multiple goals: a new Three Lions record, surpassing Nat Lofthouse's 12.
*Harry Kane has also grabbed another England’s record, for most goals scored while at a non-English club (18, since he is a Bayern player).
He surpassed Gary Lineker's 17 goals during his time at Barcelona between 1986 and 1989.
Italy vs Israel 3-0
*Mateo Retegui scored his 2nd brace for Italy in this edition of World Cup qualifying (also against Estonia).
The last Scuadra Azzurra players with multiple braces in a single edition of the competition were Filippo Inzaghi (3 braces) and Alessandro Del Piero (2) in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers.
Spain vs Bulgaria 4-0
*Spain have not lost any of their last 29 competitive matches (24 wins, 5 draws), equalling their best unbeaten run in history, achieved between 2010 and 2013 under Vicente Del Bosque (the same breakdown: 24 wins, 5 draws).
*Spain have won their last 7 World Cup qualifying matches, keeping a clean sheet in all 7: the best run of consecutive victories without conceding in their history in the competition.
*Spain have scored 2+ goals in each of the last 10 matches equalling their longest runs of this kind in history repeated 3 times before: in 1999 under José Antonio Camacho, in 2010 under Vicente del Bosque and in 2017 under Julen Lopetegui.
*Spain has now gone 63 consecutive home matches without defeat in World Cup Qualifying (one shy of equaling Brazil's world record).
*Robin Le Normand became the first centre-back in the Spain’s history with assists in two consecutive matches (one for Yeremi Pino against Georgia and one for Mikel Merino against Bulgaria).
*Mikel Merino has scored 2 headed goals becoming just the 3rd Spain’s player to do so in the same game in XXI century, after:
Raúl Tamudo, vs Venezuela (3-2) on 18 August 2004,
Fernando Llorente, vs Lithuania (3-1) on 8 October 2010.
*Merino has scored as many as 6 goals in 4 matches in the European qualifying phase for the 2026 World Cup; no midfielder has scored more (Belgium’s Kevin De Bruyne also has 6).
Cape Verde vs Eswatini 3-0
*Cape Verde have become the smallest country by area (4,033 square kilometres) to ever qualify for the World Cup.
Japan vs Brazil 3-2 (friendly)
*Japan became the first ever team to defeat Brazil (in any type of match) after trailing by 2 goals at halftime (0-2).
To date, only Uruguay had ever beaten Brazil after trailing by 2 goals at any point in a match. La Celeste achieved this feat in a friendly played in Rio de Janeiro on 24 March 1940, losing 1-3 in the 62nd minute and winning 4-3.