World Cup 2018: 3 thing this World Cup will be remembered for

#2 Own goals and penalties

Mario Mandzukic scored the costliest own goal of the World Cup.

FIFA World Cup 2018 became the second highest goalscoring tournament of all time with 169 goals, falling just 2 goals short of the previous record set during the 2014 and the 1998 World Cups. But this time around, a huge chunk of goals scored is accredited to own goals and penalties, which is absurd, to say the least.

During the World Cup 2018, a total of 34 goals were scored via own goals and penalties, which roughly amounts to 20 per cent of the total goals scored, which are the highest at a World Cup. Most importantly, many of these goals were scored at a crucial juncture of the match, which ultimately changed the complexion of the match.

One such instance was the Mario Mandzukic own goal during the World Cup final, which was pivotal in setting the tone for Les Blues, who were crumbling under a terrific Croatian Onslaught. In the quarterfinal between Spain and Russia, both the goals were scored via an own goal and a penalty respectively.

Although, in general, penalties and own goals are not among the things which are worth remembering, it's the decisiveness of these goals, which will be etched among the hearts of the football fans for years to come.