The first penalty kick of the 2026 FIFA World Cup has been awarded.
This occurred during the opening group stage match between the national teams of Qatar and Switzerland.
In the 14th minute, Qatar’s goalkeeper Abunada rushed out of his goal and took down Freuler. The match’s head referee, Said Martinez, signaled for a penalty, which was successfully converted by Breil Embolo.
It is worth noting that at the 2022 World Cup held in their home country, Qatar also conceded the first goal from a penalty spot in their opening match against Ecuador (0:2). In total, 23 penalties were awarded at the last World Cup, with 17 being converted. At the 2018 World Cup, 21 out of 28 awarded penalties were scored.
The World Cup is taking place from June 11th to July 19th across the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
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