Key Stats and Figures from World Cup Finals Throughout History

All eyes are on the World Cup 2026 final, which brings together Spain and Argentina this Sunday evening, at the New York/New Jersey stadium.

This awaited final comes amidst a collection of historical numbers and statistics that have crafted the glory of finals throughout the tournament's history.

Here are the key numbers and statistics from the World Cup finals according to FIFA's official website:

1. Dutch legend Johan Neeskens scored the fastest goal in World Cup history, finding the net against West Germany just 88 seconds into the 1974 final.

The tournament needed six decades for a team to successfully maintain a clean sheet in the final, which occurred when West Germany defeated Argentina 1-0 in the 1990 final, led by goalkeeper Bodo Illgner.

Spain ended a 44-year streak in the 2010 final, where no team had managed to win the title while wearing their away kit.

West Germany ended Hungary's historic unbeaten streak, which had reached 30 matches, by coming from behind to win 3-2 in the 1954 final.

The largest age gap between starting players in a World Cup-winning team was between Italian Dino Zoff (40 years) and Giuseppe Bergomi (18 years) in the 1982 final.

Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters had only eight international appearances before the 1966 World Cup final. They went on to score all four of England's goals in the final against West Germany.

In the history of the tournament, only seven teams have managed to turn a deficit into a win in the final match, with the last being West Germany against the Netherlands in the 1974 final.

The 1958 final between Brazil and Sweden is still the highest-scoring match in World Cup history, ending with a 5-2 victory for the Samba.

Kylian Mbappé holds the record for the most goals scored by a player in World Cup finals, having netted four goals, surpassing Geoff Hurst, Vavá, Pelé, and Zinedine Zidane, each of whom scored three goals.

Cafu is the only player to have participated in three World Cup finals, while Lionel Messi could match this record if he plays in the 2026 final against Spain.

Two goals in different finals: Fafa, Pelé, Paul Breitner, Zinedine Zidane, and Kylian Mbappé are the only players to have scored in two different World Cup finals.

Luis Monti is the only player in World Cup history to have played in the final wearing the jerseys of two different nations, having represented Argentina in the 1930 final and then Italy in the 1934 final.