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World Cup: Growing number of own goals has Big B amused
The football World Cup has so far witnessed thrilling high-scoring matches, and own goals are playing a prominent role as the drama unfolds in Brazil.
Even Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan is amazed at the number of own goals scored thus far in the competition.
“Frequency of 'own goals' in this World Cup quite amazing .. Guys ..!! There are other more creative ways of executing a 'selfie' !!” Bachchan Sr Tweeted on Monday.
Indeed, after just 11 matches, own goals sit proudly at the top of the list of leading scorers in Brazil, with a total of three!
This is an unlikely achievement, given there have only been a total of 39 scored in 19 World Cups.
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Marcelo the first Brazilian to score for the opposition in a World Cup
In the tournament's opening match last Thursday, Brazil defender Marcelo diverted the ball into his own net to give Croatia a shock lead and become the first Brazilian to score for the opposition in World Cup finals history.
Three days later the own goal was back; this time with a double shot of calamity.
In the second game on Sunday, a shot by French forward Karim Benzema cannoned off the post and looked to be heading to safety before Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares inadvertently clawed the ball over his own goalline.
His desperate effort to scramble the ball away proved in vain, a decision confirmed after the first use of goalline technology at the World Cup.
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Record number of own goals scored in France '98
Sead Kolasinac of Bosnia later claimed the fastest own goal in the tournament's history when he stabbed the ball past his goalkeeper in the third minute of the Group F game against Argentina.
The record number of own goals in an individual tournament was six in 1998, in France, but that record must be under threat with 53 games left in Brazil.
Bulgaria, Mexico and Spain are the World Cup own goal specialists with three each, while Trinidad & Tobago is the only country to have scored more own goals than regular goals.
The Caribbean team's Brent Sancho netted for Paraguay in a group game at the 2006 World Cup and the Trinidadians failed to put the ball in their opponents' net in three games at the tournament.