SEVENTEEN goals have so far been netted in five opening matches of the unfolding 2022 FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar.
England are currently leading the top scorers’ chart after scoring six goals in their group B inaugural match against Iran which elapsed 6-2 in favour of the former.
The England versus Iran match has gone in record books for becoming the first 2022 world cup fixture to produce two players…one in each side to score a brace.
They are Bukayo Saka for England and Mehdi Taremi of Iran who contributed two goals to their respective teams and it remain a puzzle if their scoring boots will be on target in next games.
Similarly, Ecuador striker Enner Valencia is the first player to score twice at the progressing tournament after pumping in two goals in his side’s 2-0 victory over hosting nation Qatar.
He could have become the first player to score a hat-trick but one of his goals during the match was ruled out for an offside after Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervention.
As such, Valencia is also the first player to have his goal disallowed by VAR in this year’s world cup contest which has been described as the most expensive.
Surprisingly, during the Qatar against Ecuador match, the home side had no shot on target throughout the epic opening game at a fully packed Al Bayt Stadium.
Until Tuesday morning, the tally stood at 14 goals until afternoon when Saudia Arabia stunned Argentina 2-1. Lionel Messi early goal was cancelled out by Saleh Al-Shehri in the second half before Salem Al-Dawsari as the Asian State walk away with maximum points.
Until now, from the played four games, no player has been shown marching orders.
