World Cup 2026: Top 5 most sterile ball possessions

17.06.26 FT World Cup

Portugal

1

:

DR Congo

1

Having the ball is by no means a guarantee of scoring or winning in modern football. This has once again been demonstrated during this World Cup.

Indeed, several teams dominated possession in their matches without managing to secure victory. The most striking example is Portugal, who ended their match against DR Congo with 75% possession but failed to win. Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates managed just one goal, settling for a disappointing 1-1 draw.

Spain also racked up 72% ball possession against Cape Verde, but were glaringly wasteful in front of goal. The result: a frustrating 0-0 draw against the Blue Sharks, who were playing their first-ever World Cup match.

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Turkey didn’t fare any better, going down 0-2 to Australia despite enjoying 72% possession. Arda Güler's teammates were punished for their lack of cutting edge in attack.

Here are the 5 teams with the highest share of possession without a win:

Portugal: 75% possession vs DR Congo 1-1

Spain: 74% possession vs Cape Verde 0-0

Turkey: 72% possession vs Australia 0-2

Switzerland: 68% possession vs Qatar 1-1

Uruguay: 67% possession vs Saudi Arabia 1-1

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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DR Congo

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