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MUNICH - The World Cup has not surprisingly set new records ranging from attendance to goals in its expanded format during the group stage, governing body FIFA has said.
FIFA said late Sunday that the 72 games were attended by 4.644.549 fans, a million more than the 3.587.538 that watched at the 1994 event in the United States.
However, with 24 teams and 52 matches in total that tournament had half the number of teams and matches than this edition in the US, Canada and Mexico.
The average attendance remains higher in 1994 with 68,991 while the current edition so far averages 64,508.
The 215 goals scored are also a record for an average of three per game, FIFA said. The 2022 tournament with 32 teams had 179 goals in 64 games and an average of 2.8 per game.
The 48 teams used 999 players and Canada captain Alphonso Davies became the 1,000th player at this tournament when he came on for his first appearance in their last 32 win over South Africa on Sunday.
Other numbers released by FIFA are 2.8 million beers and almost one million bottles of water sold in the stadiums along with 300,000 hot dogs.
The official fanfests in the three host countries have attracted more than 5.5 million visitors who consumed more than 2 million alcoholic drinks and almost 2 million soft drinks. - BERNAMA
