World Cup 2018 penalties: has the VAR led to more penalties?
It looks like penalties are having a tremendous effect on the outcome of the World Cup Group stage games so far, in fact the World Cup 2018 has broken the record for the most penalties awarded in this tournament! One of the reasons is the VAR (video assistant referee) technology that has been used to determine fouls thanks to its slow motion cameras. If you’re curious how many World Cup penalties were awarded so far, below we provide a few stats.
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How many penalties have been awarded in the World Cup so far?
- Average per match: 0.59 penalty per match
- Number of penalties: 24
- Number of matches: 42
This means a penalty in more than half of the matches. Here’s a list of all of them, which ones were awarded following a VAR review, and their end result:
Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal v Spain (goal)
Antoine Griezmann in France v Australia following VAR review (goal)
Miles Jedinak in Australia v France (goal)
Lionel Messi in Argentina v Iceland (miss)
Christian Cueva in Peru v Denmark following VAR review (miss)
Luka Modric in Croatia v Nigeria (goal)
Andras Granqvist in Sweden v South Korea following VAR review (miss)
Ferjani Sassi in Tunisia v England (goal)
Shinji Kagawa in Japan v Colombia (goal)
Mohamed Salah in Egypt v Russia following VAR review (goal)
Eden Hazard in Belgium v Tunisia following VAR review (goal)
Carlos Vela in Mexico v South Korea (goal)
Harry Kane in England v Panama (goal)
Harry Kane in England v Panama (goal)
Fahad Al-Muwallad in Saudi Arabia v Egypt (miss)
Salman Al-Faraj in Saudi Arabia v Egypt following VAR review (goal)
Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal v Iran following VAR review review (miss)
Karim Ansarifard in Iran v Portugal following VAR review (goal)
Victor Moses in Nigeria v Argentina (goal)
Gylfi Sigurdsson for Iceland v Croatia (goal)
Andreas Granqvist in Sweden v Mexico (goal)
Bryan Ruiz in Costa Rica v Switzerland (miss)
Some interesting World Cup penalty highlights
- On the third day of the World Cup, five penalties were awarded across four games.
- Ronaldo failed to score his penalty kick in Portugal v Iran, as it was saved by Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand.
- Harry Kane scored two of his goals in England v Panama thanks to a penalty kick in a match that ended 6-1.
- in Saudi Arabia's match against Egypt, the referee rejected an official review of a spot kick he had given for the first time.
World Cup promotions to bet on World Cup penalties
Since penalties are such a determining factor during the World Cup, some betting sites have come up with a couple of interesting promotions involving penalties.
Betfred’s Penalty Shootout Promotion will refund all Outright bets on England if England gets knocked out following a penalty shootout. Both the win and place part of each way bets will be refunded, with the exception of the World Cup final, when only the win part of each way bets will be refunded. So if you would like to back England but aren’t sure what will happen if it comes down to penalties, this may be a great promotion for you. View our article on Betfred’s Penalty Promotion for more details or click on the link below to visit Betfred sportsbook directly.
Bet365 sportsbook has got a great Penalty Payback promotion on all World Cup penalties. To benefit, you need to join this sportsbook via our link and place a bet on the To Win Outright market for World Cup 2018. If any team you back is eliminated on penalties, we will refund your losing bet.
Significant Terms and Conditions
- The above offer is only available to new and eligible customers.
- The offer is available on Win and Each Way bets on the World Cup 2018 To Win Outright market until the final kicks off at 16:00 UK Time on Sunday 15th July.
- The offer will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out only the remaining active stake will be refunded.
- If a qualifying bet is edited using the Bet365 Edit Bet feature prior to kick-off and the team you back is eliminated on penalties, only the new stake will be refunded. If a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the offer will no longer apply.
- Bets placed from players' Withdrawable Balance will be refunded to their Withdrawable Balance and bets placed using Bet Credits will be refunded as Bet Credits.
- Additional terms apply.
Up to £100 in Bet Credits New Customers only. Up to £100* in Bet Credits. Sign up, deposit £5* or more to your account and bet365 will match your qualifying deposit in Bet Credits when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply.
Make the best of those World Cup penalty odds
A lot of our recommended betting sites offer live odds on penalties, enabling you to bet on whether there will be a penalty or not during a specific game. Penalty odds are sometimes offered on whether players will score goals during the penalty shootouts. There are also some sites where you can bet on the team’s goalkeeper to block a certain number of penalties during the shootout. The possibilities are endless, as sportsbooks are coming up with exciting new penalty odds this World Cup. Check out the penalty odds offered at the below betting sites, which we recommend for their professional approach and standards, and make the best of your betting experience this World Cup!
Free Accumulator Bet New customers only. Min. £10 bet. Min. odds of 3/1 for qualifying bet & free bet. Free Bet must be a treble+. Free bet credited after qualifying bet is settled and expires after 7 days. Free Bet stakes not included in the returns.
