Canadian forward Jonathan David stands out as the clear leader among all players at the World Cup in terms of individual expected goals (xG), boasting a figure of 2.37. No other player has surpassed the mark of 2. Remarkably, David has scored three goals, meaning his xG closely aligns with his actual goal tally.
His closest challengers are Norwegian striker Erling Haaland with an xG of 1.85 and another Canadian, Kyle Larin, who has an xG of 1.79. Both forwards have found the net twice so far.
Interestingly, Lionel Messi, who netted a hat-trick in Argentina’s opening match, has a relatively low xG of 1.03. This suggests that two of his three goals came from situations where he was not expected to score. The same xG value applies to England’s prolific striker Harry Kane, who has scored one goal fewer than Messi.
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