All 2,208 World Cup Goals, By Minute Scored

With kickoff on Thursday, The Economist has put together a neat chart showing when all 2,208 World Cup goals have been scored, by minute.

There's a goofy, probably meaningless spike at the 18th minute, but the pace of scoring generally seems to go up as the game progresses. This isn't too shocking: Among other reasons, falling behind often necessitates a change in strategy that makes it more likely for either team to score. The 75th minute has the been the most active, with 42 goals scored, and England holds the sole extra-time own goal, although it didn't end up mattering. (The match against Belgium ended in a tie, and England still won the group.)

Penalty shootout goals were excluded, but hey, there's a different chart for that! Over on The Economist's site you can scroll over individual goals and filter by team, year, and stage, so you should go check it out.

[ The Economist]