Country-Specific Goal Scoring in the ‘Dying Seconds’ of International Football Matches

Abstract

This paper investigates whether there are country-specific characteristics in goal scoring in the final stage of important international football matches. We examine goal scoring, from 1960 onwards, in full ‘A’ international matches of eight national teams: Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. We analyze qualifying matches for the European Championship and World Cup and the matches at the final tournaments of these two events, as well as at the Copa América. We find that Argentina, Germany, and Italy are more likely than the other national teams to score in the last minute, if it is important to do so. However, for Germany, this comes at a cost as it is more likely to concede a goal in the dying seconds of a match than other countries.