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There you have it, folks. After 104 games, the 2026 World Cup is over.
There were ups and downs over the last five and a half weeks (and 34 SVQ newsletters), but it was nothing if not eventful.
The largest World Cup ever was ultimately won by Spain, who eventually overcame Argentina 1-0 after extra-time on Sunday. Ferran Torres slammed in the only goal of an ill-tempered affair in New Jersey to win La Roja their second men’s World Cup, after 2010.
In today’s SVQ, we’ll look back at some of the best facts and stats from the 2026 World Cup, as well as Argentina’s struggles in the final. We also have a final quiz of the tournament for you, while our Ask Opta question queries the record number of fouls at World Cups.
We sincerely hope you’ve enjoyed our (almost) daily newsletters during the tournament. We appreciate all the kind words, Ask Opta questions, and word-of-mouth spreading from you, our most favourite people in the whole world: SVQ subscribers.
From next week we’ll be back to our regular Tuesday slot for the newsletter, and be sure to keep an eye out every Thursday as we share our favourite articles of the week.
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📊 STAT - The Best Opta Facts from the 2026 World Cup
Doesn’t Julián Quiñones goal for Mexico against South Africa feel like a million years ago?
Yes, we’ve reached the end of the 2026 World Cup so must now sit here patiently staring at our watch for almost four years until the 2030 edition rolls around.
For now, let’s look back at some of the best bits from this edition. Here, we’ll pick out one of our favourite Opta facts from each round.
There was plenty to talk about in the group stage, but remember Spain drawing 0-0 with Cape Verde in their opening game? It seemed wild at the time, and is now even more shocking. The World Cup debutants were the only opponents to avoid defeat to Spain at the tournament. One of the more notable stats from the game was the anonymity of striker Mikel Oyarzabal, who did not touch the ball once in the first half hour, becoming the first player Opta has on record since 1966 to play the first 30 minutes of a World Cup match without having a single touch of the ball.
In the first ever round of 32 at the World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored his first ever goal in the knockout stage. So much had been said about the Portugal legend having never previously done so, that even his harshest critic must have felt some happiness for him when he dispatched a penalty against Croatia with what was his 31st shot in World Cup knockout football.