Penalty kicks have dominated the spotlight this summer at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
With football's new VAR system helping referees make tough calls, penalties have been under the microscope as they've been awarded at a record rate.
Iceland's Gylfi Sigurdsson drilled a second-half penalty Tuesday, in a 2-1 loss against Croatia, which marked the record-tying 17th made penalty of the competition. The 1998 World Cup was the only other one with at least 17 penalties.
Gylfi Sigurdsson's penalty for Iceland was the 17th converted penalty at the 2018 World Cup, tied for the most penalties scored at a single #WorldCup (also 1998) pic.twitter.com/svAyBHBtmZ
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 26, 2018
It's a remarkable stat considering the 2018 World Cup hasn't even finished its group stage, meaning there's still over two weeks left for the record to be shattered.
What's more, the sport's two best players — Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi — have both missed a PK in the competition.
Messi had struggled through Argentina's first two games of the World Cup, but he scored Tuesday in a 2-1 win over Nigeria to reach the Round of 16.
