93 days to go: The Puppet Master’s pass stats
FIFA counts down to the World Cup 2026 with a daily statistical story.
Xavi completed 93 per cent of his attempted passes in the South Africa 2010 final to help Spain conquer a first star. It helped ‘The Puppet Master’ set a new record for successful passes in a World Cup: 599. That was broken by a successor in the Roja midfield, with Rodri completing 638 out of 684 attempted passes – 93 percent – at Qatar 2022.
Xavi was named Player of the Match in Spain’s 1-0 win over Portugal in the last 16 and Germany in the semi-finals. In the latter, he provided the assist for Carles Puyol’s thumping header. The Barcelona midfielder also covered more distance than any other player at the 19th World Cup: 80 kilometres, the distance of two marathons! Bastian Schweinsteiger covered 400 metres fewer in second place.