FIFA World Cup 2026 sees major increase in goals from outside the box

A trend of teams defending deep has enticed forwards to take shots from outside the penalty area, Jurgen Klinsmann says.The proportion of goals scored from outside the box has doubled at the World Cup in North America from the previous tournament in Qatar, FIFA says.Sixteen percent of the goals scored in this World Cup came from outside the penalty area, versus 8 percent in 2022, FIFA’s Technical Study Group (TSG) revealed on Saturday.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Kylian Mbappe breaks all-time World Cup scoring record with 22nd goallist 2 of 3Saka hat-trick helps England down France to win World Cup Bronze Finallist 3 of 3Netanyahu declares support for Argentina ahead of World Cup finalend of listFootball experts explained the reason behind the increase: a trend of teams defending in a low bloc and pushing the opposition to try their luck from long range.Jurgen Klinsmann, a member of FIFA’s TSG, said the large number of players in and around the box also makes it more difficult for goalkeepers to track the ball from afar.“There’s no space – eight, nine players are in the box or outside the box, so it is definitely a recipe for shots from the outside,” the former US national team manager told reporters.“It’s something fun for us coaches to watch … We saw some beautiful goals that way.”Arsene Wenger, FIFA’s chief of football development, also paid tribute to the quality of the shots being taken.“The balls look fast. Shots – they delivered rockets from outside the box, really. The ball – boom, the quality of the shots was great in this tournament,” he told reporters.Argentina, in particular, have relied on long-range shots while trailing to break down sides sitting deep.The team has scored five goals from outside the box, including the screamer from Enzo Fernandez that brought them back into the match in the 85th minute of the semifinal against England.