As the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals kick off on July 18, tournament disciplinary data reveals stark contrasts in foul rates and VAR interventions among the remaining eight teams.
England leads the quarterfinalists as the most heavily sanctioned team, committing 54 fouls and receiving eight cards, according to Daily Star data.
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Norway maintains the cleanest record with 48 fouls and only two yellow cards.
Morocco remains the most fouled side, drawing 80 fouls from opponents.
Overall, Egypt accumulated the highest total with 12 yellow cards, followed by Canada with 11 bookings, per TBS News.
South Africa and Qatar recorded the joint highest tally of red cards, with two each out of 13 total red cards shown across 11 different teams.
VAR Interventions on the Rise
Brennan Klein, director of the Northeastern NetSI Sport research group, analyzed the officiating data. He noted that raw numbers do not definitively prove systemic partiality toward any nation.
"The data that I see just says the foul occurred in this minute by this player at this X, Y coordinate on the pitch," Klein said.
He added that evaluating technology usage offers a way to examine the impact of reviews on match outcomes.
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According to Northeastern University research, tournament officials implemented 35 VAR interventions across the first 97 World Cup games this year, up from 26 in 2022 and 22 in 2018.
