The key statistics from the World Cup group stage

The 16 qualifiers are now decided after a dramatic World Cup group stage.

Here, the PA news agency looks back at the key statistics from the opening round.

Exactly half of the group games were goalless at half-time, a record for a 32-team World Cup, with only 36 per cent of goals (43 out of 120) coming in the first half.

Only seven of those were scored in the first 10 minutes of games, the earliest being Alphonso Davies’ second-minute header in Canada’s eventual 4-1 defeat to Croatia.

There were five goals scored in at least the fifth minute of injury time at the end of a game, three of them by Iran including 98th- and 103rd-minute strikes to beat 10-man Wales.

A host of other late goals swung the results of matches – most notably in Group E where Germany scored an 83rd-minute equaliser against Spain and in the 85th and 89th minutes to beat Costa Rica but also conceded an 83rd-minute winner to Japan. Costa Rica also beat Japan with an 81st-minute strike.

Wales, France, Brazil and Cameroon also scored winners after the 80th minute while even Saudi Arabia’s 95th-minute consolation against Mexico rubber-stamped Poland’s qualification without the need to count disciplinary points.

Cody Gakpo scored the first goal in all three of the Netherlands’ group games. They had the third-fewest shots (24) but the third-highest conversion rate (21 per cent) of any qualifying team.

Qatar scored only once as they became the first individual host nation to lose three games in a World Cup.

England matched Spain for the most goals in the group stage, nine, and the best conversion rate of any qualifier at 24 per cent. The second-placed United States, by contrast, scored just two goals from 28 shots.

Iran had 21 attempts on goal in their win