India, June 19 -- The own-goal mystery of World Cup 2026: How pressure, panic and poor positioning are costing teams

This summer's tournament has seen six own goals scored across 28 matches, eclipsing the two witnessed in Qatar 2022. The highest individual goal-scorers this year are Lionel Messi and Jonathan David with three.

Russia 2018 saw the most own goals scored in a single World Cup, with 12. North America 2026, with nearly seventy matches left to play, could well eclipse that.

Why have there been so many unforced errors this year? A closer look at each own goal reveals a few answers.

Against Qatar, deep into stoppage time, Switzerland's Miro Muheim was marking striker Boualem Khoukhi from a Homam Ahmed cross. Khoukhi's greater ...