The 36th match of the 23rd FIFA World Cup, played between Tunisia and Japan on Sunday morning, became the 1000th match in the history of the FIFA World Cup. In this historic encounter, Japan registered an emphatic 4–0 victory, moving one step closer to securing a place in the knockout stage.

A closer look at the statistics reveals some fascinating trends in World Cup history:

• In the first five World Cups, 101 matches produced 452 goals.

• In the next five World Cups, 169 matches yielded 498 goals.

• In the third set of five World Cups, 246 matches saw 636 goals scored.

• In the fourth set of five World Cups, 320 matches produced 795 goals.

• In the last two World Cups, 128 matches resulted in 341 goals.

The 36th match of the current 23rd World Cup marked the milestone of 1,000 World Cup matches. Across these 1,000 matches, a total of 2,831 goals have been scored, giving an average of slightly more than 2.83 goals per match.

The numbers also indicate how the tournament has expanded over time. The current 23rd World Cup is scheduled to feature a record 104 matches. The previous seven World Cups each consisted of 64 matches. Before that, there were four editions with 52 matches each, two editions with 38 matches each, and three editions with 32 matches each. In the first six World Cups, however, the number of matches varied from tournament to tournament.

These figures highlight not only the rich history of the FIFA World Cup but also its remarkable growth in scale and global appeal over the decades.

Data and Statistics : Hariprasad Chattopadhyay