Has the 2026 World Cup been the best ever?

Dubai: Before a ball has even been kicked in a quarter-finals match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, there is talk amongst fans that this might be the best tournament yet, at least in terms of entertainment.

This summer’s tournament made history before it got under way, becoming the first World Cup ever to be co-hosted by three nations, with the United States, Canada and Mexico combining to stage football's biggest event.

It also introduced the expanded 48-team format for the first time, bringing more nations, more matches and more opportunities for unforgettable moments on the world's biggest stage.

Yet what has made this tournament truly special is not the format or the scale. It has been the football itself.

Through 96 of the tournament's 104 matches, fans have witnessed 280 goals, an average of 2.92 goals per game.

That is the highest scoring rate at a World Cup since Mexico 1970, when 95 goals were scored in just 32 matches at an astonishing average of 2.97 per game.

For all the concerns that modern football can become overly tactical and cautious, the 2026 World Cup has delivered the exact opposite.

An incredible 74.6% of all goals have come from open play, one of the highest proportions ever recorded at a World Cup.

Just as important as the quantity of goals has been their timing.

Of the 24 knockout ties played so far, eight have featured winning goals scored after the 85th minute.

Argentina needed extra time to finally overcome the fairytale challenge of Cape Verde, while four knockout matches have gone all the way to penalty shootouts.

Late goals have become a defining feature of this World Cup with Enzo Fernandez's dramatic winner against Egypt becoming the tournament's 10th winning goal scored in the 90th minute or later, already a World Cup record.

The quality of the matches has been just as extraordinary with July alone already producing at least three World Cup classics.

Belgium stunned Senegal 3-2 after trailing by two goals, while Argentina completed an equally dramatic comeback to defeat Egypt by the same scoreline.

Those results marked the first time since 1970 that teams have overturned two-goal deficits on multiple occasions in the same World Cup.

England's unforgettable 3-2 victory over Mexico sent Three Lions fans into a frenzy. Reduced to 10 men after Jarell Quansah's red card, England somehow survived 40 minutes of pressure before securing victory in front of a hostile crowd at the iconic Azteca Stadium.

The Golden Boot race will be one for the memory books, Lionel Messi leads the way with eight goals, while Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland are close behind on seven.

Harry Kane remains firmly in contention with six. Rarely has a World Cup featured so many global superstars producing at such a high level simultaneously.

That is why the 2026 World Cup already feels destined to be remembered as an all-time classic.

If the tournament can deliver a conclusion even remotely comparable to the legendary 2022 final between Argentina and France, a breathtaking 3-3 draw that culminated in a penalty shootout after 120 unforgettable minutes, then there will be little argument left.

The 2026 World Cup will not simply be remembered as a great tournament. It will be remembered as one of the greatest football spectacles the world has ever witnessed.