The opening round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage has come to an end, living up to the high expectations surrounding this expanded 48-team tournament.

The first 24 matches of the competition have delivered everything from one-sided contests, such as Germany's emphatic demolition of Curaçao, to major surprises, including Spain's draw against minnows Cape Verde and Portugal's stalemate with DR Congo.

The opening round has also produced a number of standout individual performances, with several players topping key statistical categories analyzed by BeSoccer.

When it comes to goals, there could hardly be any other name at the top than Lionel Messi. The Argentine captain kicked off his country's title defence in style, scoring a hat-trick in Argentina's victory over Algeria. His three-goal haul not only makes him the leading scorer of the current tournament but also draws him level with Miroslav Klose as the all-time top scorer in World Cup history. Behind Messi are Florian Balogun, Yasin Ayari, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, Kai Havertz, Elijah Just and Harry Kane, all of whom found the net twice.

No player has registered more than two assists after Matchday 1. Chris Wood, Deniz Undav, Ryan Gravenberch, Joshua Kimmich and Alexander Isak currently share top spot in that category with two assists each.

Highly-rated Ivory Coast youngster Yan Diomande, who has attracted interest from several of Europe's elite clubs, stole the spotlight in his nation's opening match. His display is reflected in the dribbling statistics, where he leads the tournament with seven successful dribbles. Algeria's Rayan Ait-Nouri follows with five, while Ben Doak, Mousa Al-Tamari and others are tied on four.

Curacao winger Tahith Chong has been the most fouled player of the tournament so far, drawing seven fouls against Germany. He sits ahead of Lewis Ferguson with six, while Achraf Hakimi, John McGinn and Jeremy Doku have each been fouled five times.

Mbappe, Messi, Kane and Federico Vinas jointly lead the shots-on-target ranking with four apiece. They are followed by Felix Nmecha, Haaland and Arda Güler, who each recorded three.

Somewhat surprisingly, Bosnia and Herzegovina players Sasa Lukic, Nikola Katic and Ermedin Demirovic dominate the aerial duels category. Lukic and Katic have won 10 aerial duels each, while Demirovic has collected nine.

Iraq's Frans Dhia Putros Doski tops the defensive duels ranking with 12 won, ahead of Douglas Santos with 11 and Achraf Hakimi with nine.

Between the posts, Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais has made more saves than any other player in the tournament so far. His tally of 11 saves places him ahead of Dominik Livakovic on eight, while Beach and Vozinha have recorded seven each heading into Matchday 2.

Assists

Chris Wood (New Zealand) – 2 assists
Deniz Undav (Germany) – 2 assists
Ryan Gravenberch (Netherlands) – 2 assists
Joshua Kimmich (Germany) – 2 assists
Alexander Isak (Sweden) – 2 assists

Goals

Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 3 goals
Florian Balogun (United States) – 2 goals
Yasin Ayari (Sweden) – 2 goals
Kai Havertz (Germany) – 2 goals
Erling Haaland (Norway) – 2 goals
Kylian Mbappé (France) – 2 goals
Elijah Just (New Zealand) – 2 goals
Harry Kane (England) – 2 goals

Succesful dribbles

Yan Diomande (Ivory Coast) – 7 successful dribbles
Rayan Aït-Nouri (Algeria) – 5 successful dribbles
Ben Doak (Scotland) – 4 successful dribbles
Mousa Al-Taamari (Jordan) – 4 successful dribbles
Noor Al-Rashdan (Jordan) – 4 successful dribbles
Ali Olwan (Jordan) – 4 successful dribbles
Julio Enciso (Paraguay) – 4 successful dribbles
Marcel Sabitzer (Austria) – 4 successful dribbles
Crysencio Summerville (Netherlands) – 4 successful dribbles
John Yeboah (Ecuador) – 4 successful dribbles

Fouls received

Tahith Chong (Curacao) – 7 fouls received
Lewis Ferguson (Scotland) – 6 fouls received
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) – 5 fouls received
John McGinn (Scotland) – 5 fouls received
Jeremy Doku (Belgium) – 5 fouls received

Shots on target

Kylian Mbappe (France) – 4 shots on target
Harry Kane (England) – 4 shots on target
Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 4 shots on target
Federico Viñas (Uruguay) – 4 shots on target
Felix Nmecha (Germany) – 3 shots on target
Erling Haaland (Norway) – 3 shots on target
Arda Guler (Turkey) – 3 shots on target

Aerial duels won

Jovan Lukic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – 10 aerial duels won
Nikola Katic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – 10 aerial duels won
Ermedin Demirovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – 9 aerial duels won
Derek Cornelius (Canada) – 8 aerial duels won
Saman Ghoddos Moghanlou (Iran) – 7 aerial duels won

Defensive duels won

Merchas Doski (Iraq) – 12 defensive duels won
Douglas Santos (Brazil) – 11 defensive duels won
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) – 9 defensive duels won
Mohamed Hany (Egypt) – 9 defensive duels won
Dayot Upamecano (France) – 8 defensive duels won

Saves

Al-Owais (Saudi Arabia) – 11 saves
Dominik Livakovic (Croatia) – 8 saves
Patrick Beach (Australia) – 7 saves
Vozinha (Cape Verde) – 7 saves
Mahmud Abunada (Qatar) – 6 saves
Alireza Beiranvand (Iran) – 6 saves

D. Livaković

Personal Data

Career Info

Career Totals