The 2018 World Cup in Russia has already seen more penalties awarded in the first 28 games than in the entire tournament four years ago in Brazil. Carlos Vela’s penalty in Mexico’s victory over South Korea on Saturday was the 14th spot kick awarded so far, meaning there has now been a penalty once every two games, 11 of which have been successfully converted.
In Brazil four years ago, there were only 13 penalties in the entire tournament. The World Cup record, set in 2002, stands at 18, with the current pace of penalties being awarded in Russia looking to shatter that number. The role of VAR goes a long way to explaining this trend, with six penalties so far being awarded following a video review and VAR has also confirmed referees’ decisions on the field on several occasions.