FIFA's statistics feed has published a moving number all week 1. The record of 177, passing Qatar 2022's 172, was reached at match 59. A later snapshot from the same feed gives 294 through 101 matches. Our own coverage had the tournament past 300 after the third-place match, the 103rd . Sunday's final added one more.
No outlet has published a single clean, audited total for all 104 matches since the final whistle. The per-match rate, roughly 2.9 against 2.69 in 2022, is the figure that actually tests the expansion, because a longer tournament produces more goals whether or not the football has changed.
Where the goals arrived matters as much as how many. The record fell during the group stage, when 48 teams produced mismatches, and the rate tightened once the knockout rounds began. An audited total split by phase would show whether the expanded field raised the standard or simply added fixtures against weaker opposition, which is the question a 64-team proposal turns on.
