World Cup Day Twelve

Group G EGYPT have picked up their biggest win to date as they win 3-1 to New Zealand. Egypt who drew 1-1 with Belgium, are now on a total of 4 goals. Egypt are now top with 4 points, followed by Iran on 2 points. In third place is Belgium, also with 2 points, while New Zealand are fourth with just 1 point. 

Group I FRANCE went a goal up in the first half with a fantastic goal from Mbappe on his 100th France appearance, against Iraq. But the game was deplayed for 2 hours due to a thunderstorm. In the second half two more goals for France, gave them a 3-0 win. France are through to the second round and are on a total of 6 goals. 

Group J ARGENTINA have won their second game of the tournament as they beat Austria 2-0. The goals coming from Lionel Messi who is now the all-time leading scorer with 18 goals in 28 World Cup games, The first goal came in the 38^th minute with his second in 90+5. Messi has scored all 5 Argentina’s goals. And they are now in the second round.

World Cup Day Eleven

Group E Ecuador have now lost both their first two games as they drew 0-0 against Curaçao. Germany are still top of this group with 6 points. In second place we have Ivory Coast with 3 points. Ecuador are in third place and Curaçao, are in fourth place both with 1 point each. 

Group F JAPAN get their first three points as they win 4-0 to Tunisia. Japan are on a total of 6 goals. Netherlands are top with 4 points, Japan are second also with 4 points. Sweden are third with 3 points and Tunisia with no points and are out of the World Cup. 

Group H After they had drawn against Cape Verde 0-0 in their first game, SPAIN have picked up their first lot of goals, and points as they win 4-0 against Saudi Arabia. Spain are on 4 goals. URUGUAY drew in their first game 1-1, and in their second game they drew again 2-2 against CAPE VERDE. Uruguay are on a total of 3 goals, while Cape Verde have picked up their first goals of the tournament. Cape Verde drew 0-0 in their opening game against Spain. Spain are top of the group with 4 points while Uruguay are in second place with 2 points. Cape Verde are third also with 2 points. Saudi Arabia are fourth with 1 point. 

Group G BELGIUM drew their opening game 1-1 with Egypt, and they drew again 0-0 against Iran. Belgium. Belgium still with just 1 goal. Iran are top with 2 points with Belgium second also with 2 points.

World Cup Day Ten

Group C BRAZIL have won their second game 3-0 against Haiti and are on a total of 4 goals. Brazil are top with 4 points, with Morocco in second place, also with 4 points. Scotland are in third place with 3 points, while Haiti are fourth, still waiting for their first point. 

Group D TURKEY lost their second game 1-0 to PARAGUAY. Turkey have failed to score in their two opening games, while Paraguay get their first win and are on a total of 2 goals. USA are top of the group with 6 points. Australia are second with 3 points. Paraguay are in third place, also with 3 points. Turkey are in fourth place with no points. 

Group F NETHERLANDS have won their second game 5-1 against SWEDEN after they drew their first game 2-2. Netherlands have taken their goals tally up to 7 goals. Sweden, who had won their first game 5-1, are now on a total of 6 goals. Netherlands are top of the group with 4 points, with Sweden second on 3 points. 

Group E GERMANY won their first game with seven goals. They also won their second game 2-1 against the Ivory Coast after going a goal down in the first half, winning the game with a very late goal in injury time. Both goals came from D. Undav. Germany are on a total of 9 goals and are top of the group with 6 points. They are through to the second round. Ivory Coast are in second place with 3 points.                         

 Top goal scorer for the Golden Boot at the moment is between Argentina’s Messi, Canada’s Jonathan David, and Germany’s Deniz Undav, with 3 goals each.  

The fastest goal has been scored by Ismael Saibari of Morocco after just 70 seconds in Group C after they won 1-0 against Scotland in their second game in the first round.           

World Cup Day Nine

Group A MEXICO, who had won their opening game, also won their second game 1-0 against SOUTH KOREA and are on a total of 3 goals. Mexico became the first team to go into the second round. South Korea lost their first game of the tournament and remain on 2 goals. Mexico are top with 6 points, with South Korea jn second place with 3 points. Czech Republic remains in third place, with South Africa in fourth place. Both are on 1 point. 

Group C SCOTLAND had won their first game but lost their second game 1-0 to MOROCCO. Scotland are on a total of 1 goal while Morocco are on 2 goals. Morocco are top with 4 points, with Scotland in second place with 3 points. 

Group D USA have won their first two games after they won 2-0 against Australia. USA are on a total of 6 goals and are through to the next round. USA are still top with 6 points, while Australia are on 3 points.

World Cup Day Eight

Here are the rest of Day Eight results, which now start’s our team’s second game in the first group stage 

Group A The CZECH REPUBLIC lost their first game to South Korea, but drew their second game against South Africa 1-1. Czech Republic are on a total of 2 goals. Both teams receiving their first points of the tournament, Czech remain in third place with South Africa in fourth place.  

Group B SWITZERLAND were top of the group after they drew their first game 1-1 with Qatar, In their second game against Bosnia-Herzegovina, they won their first game with their biggest score, so far, 4-1. Switzerland are on a total of 5 goals. Co-hosts CANADA in second place, drew their first game against Bosnia-Herzegovina, In their second game of the tournament they played against 9 men Qatar and won 6-0. Canada are now on a total of 7 goals. Canada are top of the group with 4 points with Switzerland in second place, also on 4 points. Bosnia-Herzegovina are third with 1 point with Qatar in fourth place also with 1 point.                          

Top goal scorer for the Golden Boot at the moment, is between Argentina’s Messi and Canada's J. David with 3 goals each.             

Sheet One

Welcome to our 10th consecutive WORLD CUP 2026 Golden Goals competition. Once again the World Cup fever has got to grips with some of us this year, and although the number are slightly up on Qatar 2022, it's our third best World Cup in numbers. 

So on with the 23rd World Cup Tournament. Out of the 48 nations taking part in this year’s historic tournament, we have picked up 28 of them. That is the most number of nations we have had, beating the Qatar 2022 record total of 22. We have 50 players this time round but here are our top fifteen.

                            GAME        GOALS

                               ONE          NAME                                    TOTAL 

                                  1              H. ADKINS                                16

                                  2              L. HARRINGTON                     16

                                  3              D. BARRETT                             15

                                  4              J. WOOD                                    15

                                  5             A. NEWMAN                             14

                                  6             B. SOPER                                   14

                                  7             S. THOMSON                            14

                                  8             MANGO                                     13

                                  9             STALKY (2)                               13

                                10             B. BURROUGHS                      12

                                11             T. KING (1)                                12

                               12             STALKY (1)                                12

                               13             D. WOOD                                   12

                               14             B. BARNES (1)                          11

                               15             M. CASSE                                  11

As you can see, that we have joint leaders who are Hayley Adkins and Louie Harrington both have picked up the highest total of 16 goals each, after the first round opening games. Hayley as England 4, Germany 7, Scotland 1 and the USA 4. Louie has England 4, Germany 7, Spain 0 and with Sweden 5.

So who are the best teams that we have in the 2026 World Cup after the first set of games being played. Well I can tell you that they are.

GERMANY (7) SWEDEN (5) ENGLAND (4) NORWAY (4) total of 20 goals.

We have three of our teams that have failed to scored in the first round games. They are CAPE VERDE, SPAIN and TURKEY. 

We have collected a fantastic total of 53 goals in the first round games. That has beaten our 37 goals total from the 2014 Brazil World Cup. In the last Golden Goals World Cup, Qatar, we reached a total of 34 goals from the first round.

GERMANY holds the current record for the highest score with that 7-1 win over Curaçao, in Group E in their opening game.

World Cup Day Seven

Group J ARGENTINA won their first game 3-0 against Algeria. Argentina have been in all of our 10 World Cup’s and Qatar 2022 was their best with total amount of goals with 15. They also won the World Cup for their 3rd time. They have a total of 24 votes this time round. Austria won 3-1 against Jordan. Argentina go top, with Austria in second place. Jordan are third. 

Group K PORTUGAL drew 1-1 against Dr Congo in their opening match. Portugal are in their 7th World Cup with us, and it was Qatar 2022 that they picked up their highest amount of goals with 12. They lost in the quarter-finals. They have a total of 9 votes. In the other game, Columbia won 3-1 against Uzbekistan to go top of the group, so, Columbia are top, with Dr Congo in second place with Portugal third. 

Group L ENGLAND  have won their opening game with a fantastic 4-2 win over CROATIA. After a very exciting match in the first half, with goals being scored in the 12th minute by Kane, Croatia came back with a goal in the 36th minute by Baturina. Kane scored a penalty in the 42nd minute, and soon after it was 2-2 as Croatia came back with a goal from Musa. 2 -2 at half-time. In the second half it was all about England with goals by Bellingham in the 47th minute and Rushford in the 85th minute. A great win for England. England are in their 9th World Cup with Golden Goals. Their best total of goals came in Qatar with 13. They went out in the quarter-finals. They have a total of 18 votes. Croatia are in their 5th World Cup with us. They picked up their biggest amount of goals in France 1998 with a total of 11. They won the 3rd/4th play off against Holland. They have just 1 vote. In the other match, GHANA won 1-0 against Panama. Ghana are in their second World Cup with us as they first appeared in South Africa 2010 and finished with a total of 5 goals. They lost in the quarter-finals. They have just 1 vote. England are top of the group with Ghana in second place.. Panama are in third place. 

The second round of games start today, so things are going to be very interesting over the next week

World Cup Day Six

Group I FRANCE scored three goals in the second half to give them three points as they win 3-1 against SENEGAL. Two times winners, France, picked up their highest total of goals in Qatar 2022 with 16 goals. They lost on penalties to Argentina in the final. This is their 8^th World Cup with us. They have a total of 22 votes. Senegal are in their 3^rd World Cup with us, and their highest amount of goals is 5 in Qatar 2022. Senegal went out in the second round. They have 3 votes. Norway won their opening game 4-1 against Iraq. Norway are in their 3^rd World Cup with Golden Goals. Their highest amount of goals came from the last time that we had them in France 1998 with 5 goals. They have 3 votes. Norway are top of this group followed by France and Senegal in third place.

World Cup Day Five

Group E The Ivory Coast have won their first game 1-0 against Ecuador. Germany are top with the Ivory Coast in second place. Ecuador are in third place. 

Group F SWEDEN have started their World Cup tournament well by winning 5-1 against Tunisia. Sweden are in their 4th World Cup with us. Their biggest amount of goals came in 1994 USA, where they finished with 15 goals when they won the 3rd/4th play-off. In their last World Cup in 2006, Germany, with Golden Goals, finished with 3 goals and went out in the second round. Sweden are top with Japan in second place. Netherlands are in third place. 

Group G BELGIUM drew their first game 1-1 against EGYPT. Belgium are in our 7th World Cup and their highest amount of goals came in 2018 Russia, with 16 goals, where they won the 3rd/4th play-off. They have a total of 8 votes. Egypt are in their second World Cup with us. They appeared in 2018 Russia and picked up 2 goals. They went out in the group stages. They have just 2 votes this time round. 

Group H Probably the first shock of the World Cup is that SPAIN drew 0-0 against CAPE VERDE, who are in their very first World Cup and with Golden Goals. Spain are in their 10th World Cup with us and their highest score is 10 goals, which they first collected in 1994 USA, and then again in the 2002 Korea/Japan and both times reaching the quarter-finals. Spain have picked up the highest votes this World Cup with 30. Cape Verde have 1 vote. What a game that was for them. URUGUAY drew 1-1 against Saudi Arabia after going a goal down in the first half. Uruguay are in their 5^th World Cup with us. Their highest amount of goals came in the 2018 Russia with 7 goals. They went out in the quarter-finals. In Qatar they finished with just 2 goals and went out in the group stage. They have 4 votes this time round. Uruguay are top with Saudi Arabia in second place. Spain are in third place.                  

World Cup Day Four

Group C in the other game in this group, SCOTLAND have won their first World Cup game since 1990 with a goal from John McGinn in the 28th minute, to beat Haiti 1-0. This is Scotland’s second World Cup with us, as they first appeared back in the 1990 Italia. They went out in the group stages with just 2 goals. Scotland have just 1 vote. Scotland go top of the group, with Morocco in second place. Brazil are in third place. 

Group D TURKEY are our first nation to pick up a blank scoresheet after they lost 2-0 to Australia. Turkey are in their second World Cup with us as they first appeared in the 2002 Korea/Japan. They scored a total of 10 goals and won the 3rd/4th play-off. They have just 1 vote in this World Cup. USA are top in this group after their big win with, Australia in second place. Turkey are in third place. 

Group E GERMANY go straight to the top of the group after they won 7-1 against Curaçao, Germany have been in all of our 10 World Cups (including West Germany) and their highest amount of goals came in the 2014 Brazil, with a record-breaking 18 goals, and became World cup winners for the 4th time. They have a total of 20 votes. In Qatar, they scored just 6 goals and went out in the group stages. 

Group F NETHERLANDS started their tournament with a 2-2 draw against JAPAN. This is the Dutch 8th World Cup with us. Their highest amount of goals came in 2014 Brazil with 15 goals. They won the 3rd/4th play-off. In Qatar, they scored 10 goals and managed to get to the quarter-finals. Netherlands have a total of 7 votes. Japan are in their second World Cup with us. They were in the 2006 Germany tournament and finished with 2 goals in the group stages. Japan have a total of 2 votes.  

World Cup Day Three

Group B SWITZERLAND drew 1-1 against Qatar after they scored from a penalty in the 17^th minute. Qatar equalised in the 90+4 with their first every point in a World Cup. Switzerland are top with Canada in second place. This is the second time that we have picked Switzerland first time being in Qatar 2022 where they knock-out in the second round. They scored a total of 5 goals. Switzerland are top of this group with Canada in second place. Qatar are in third place.

Group C BRAZIL drew 1-1 against MOROCCO with both goals being scored in the fist half. Brazil have been with us for the full 10 World Cups and their highest number of goals came in the 2002 Korea/Japan with a record 18 goals, when they won the World Cup for the 5^th time. In Qatar they reached the quarter-finals, and finished with a total of 8 goals. Brazil have a total of 23 votes. Morocco are in their first World Cup with Golden Goals, and they have 2 votes. 

Group D the last of the host nations played and they are the USA. They have picked up the highest score of the tournament so far, by winning 4-1 against PARAGUAY. The USA are in their 6^th Golden Goals World Cup and their highest amount of goals came in the Korea/Japan 2002 with 7 goals. They finished in the quarter-finals. They have just 2 votes. Paraguay are in their 2^nd World Cup with us and their highest score came from France 1998 with a total of just 3 goals. They made it to the second round. They have 1 vote.

                                      

World Cup Day Two

In Group A, SOUTH KOREA have won their first game, 2-1, against CZECH REPUBLIC. All of the goals came in the second half. Mexico are top on goal difference, with South Korea in second place. This is the second time that we have had South Korea, the first being in the 2010 South Africa World Cup. They finished with a total of 6 goals and went out at the group stage. They have 2 votes. Czech Republic are in their third tournament with Golden Goals including the old Czechoslovakia, they started with us in the 1990 Italy World Cup, and finished with their highest score of 10 goals. They went out in the quarter-finals. Last time out was in the 2006 Germany tournament, and they finished with just 3 goals. They went out in the group stages. They have 2 votes. 

In Group B, host CANADA drew 1-1 against Bosnia-Herzegovina, after going a goal down in the first half. It’s the first tournament for Canada with us, and they have become our 50^th nation to do so. They have 3 votes. 

Our teams are all doing well at the moment by scoring some goals. We have so far had a total of 6 goals after day two.

Opening Game

 

The 2026 World Cup has started after one of the host nations, MEXICO from Group A, began their World Cup campaign at the Estadio Aztec stadium in Mexico City against South Africa.

At the start of the first half it was all Mexico and nearly had a goal in the first couple of minutes. But it did not take them long to go in front with a goal in the 9th minute from Julian Quinones, from a South African defensive error. The first yellow card of the tournament goes to South Africa’s Teboho Mokoena just after 17 minutes of play. Mexico could of gone three up but for good goalkeeping and woodwork denied Mexico to up their goal tally. South Africa did have a couple of moments, but no match for the Mexicans.

Early in the second half, Mexico received a free-kick right on the edge of the penalty area, but failed to do anything of it. The first red card of the World Cup goes to South Africa’s Yaya Sithole in the 49^th minutes. But Mexico scored their second goal in the 67th minute from Raul Jimenez. Ten Men South Africa in real trouble from that point onwards. Another red card for South Africa (Themba Zwane) in the 84th minute via VAR, and they went down to 9 men. Mexico then picked up their first red card in the 90+2 minutes for Cesar Montes. After a scrappy second half, Mexico win their first game 2-0 and top of the group.

Mexico have picked up a total of 5 votes this time round which equals their highest amount of votes in Germany 2006. This is there 8^th appearance out of 10 with Golden Goals and their average goals total is 3.6 goals per tournament at present. The best that Mexico have done in the World Cup is the Quarter-Finals in Mexico in 1970 and again in Mexico in 1986. In the last World cup in Qatar 2022, they finished in the group stages.

The Last Update Before Kick-Off

The 2026 World Cup will be kicking off very soon, where one of the host nations, Mexico, from Group A, start their World Cup campaign at the Estadio Aztec stadium in Mexico City against South Africa. Kick off at 8pm (GMT) Thursday, June 11. 

We here at Golden Goals have closed the book, and we have a total of 50 people taking part in our tenth World Cup tournament. Out of the 48 nations taking part, we will have 28 nations, which have been voted for. Below is the group draw with all the 48 nations taking part, and the ones to look out for are the ones in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS.  

These are the nations that we have this time round. 

Group A -  CZECH REPUBLIC, MEXICO, South Africa, SOUTH KOREA

Group B -  Bosnia-Herzegovina, CANADA, Qatar, SWITZERLAND

Group C -  BRAZIL,  Haiti, MOROCCO, SCOTLAND

Group D -  Australia, PARAGUAY, TURKEY, USA

Group E -  Curaçao, Ecuador, GERMANY, Ivory Coast,  

Group F -  JAPAN, NETHERLANDS, SWEDEN, Tunisia

Group G -  BELGIUM, EGYPT, Iran, New Zealand

Group H -  CAPE VERDE, Saudi Arabia, SPAIN, URUGUAY

Group I -   FRANCE, Iraq, NORWAY, SENEGAL

Group J -  ARGENTINA, Algeria, Austria, Jordan 

Group K - Colombia, DR Congo, PORTUGAL, Uzbekistan,  

Group L -  ENGLAND,  CROATIA,  GHANA, Panama  

The voting went down to just six nations really, and here they are. In first place, with a total of 30 votes we have Spain. In second place, with 24 votes, we have Argentina. In third place, we have Brazil with 23 votes. In fourth place, with 22 votes we have France. In fifth place, with 20 votes we have Germany. In sixth place we have England with a total of 18 votes. 

We still have the four nations that have been in all of our ten Golden Goals World Cup competitions. They are Argentina, Brazil, Germany and Spain. 

Cape Verde will all make their first appearance in the World Cup and with Golden Goals. We also have Canada, and Morocco making their first appraence with Golden Goals.

We will keep you right up to date with what’s going on with our nations, right here on this blog.

Our 10 Top Teams in Season 43

Here are our top 10 teams from season 43. The numbers in red are their highest end of season goals total with Golden Goals. Teams are in alphabetical order. The goals came from the League, League Cup and FA Cup. The Scottish also came from their League and their two domestic cup competitions. 

113 MANCHESTER CITY (137)

100 CARDIFF CITY (106)

98 CELTIC (144)

98 SOUTHAMPTON (100)

96 RANGERS (126)

93 MK DONS (115)

91 ARSENAL (103)

90 CHELSEA (128)

85 HEARTS (98)

84 WREXHAM (93)

End Of Season 43

At last, the final whistle has now been blown on our historic 43rd Season of Golden Goals. But once again, it was not the season that we managed to beat our highest-ever recorded number of entries of 149 players. The success of this season was all down to you. The good news is that we do not have to wait long for the next season to start. Although we once again lost a few friends this season, we have also gained some new ones. Let’s hope that we can continue this nice little run, as we have had a lot of success over the last 43 years of Golden Goals.

We did have a couple of records that have been broken this season, but more on this later. I hope that you had a lot of fun watching your name go up and down the table, as shown above; this is where your combination of teams has left you standing in the final position of the season. But before we go all into that, let’s take a look at what happened to the last games of the season.

PREMIER LEAGUE

The last games of the season have now been played. After 22 years, ARSENAL have become this season’s Champions. They won their last game 2-1 away to CRYSTAL PALACE and finished on a total of 91 goals. Arsenal had scored in all of their last 8 league games. Palace finished the season with a total of 47 goals. MANCHESTER CITY finished in second place after they lost 2-1 at home to ASTON VILLA and finished the season as our top team with a total of 113 goals. They had scored in all of their last 23 league/cup games. Villa finished in fourth place with a total of 60 goals. In third place we had MANCHESTER UNITED who won 3-0 away to BRIGHTON and finished with a total of 72 goals. Brighton picked up their 11th blank of the season and finished with a total of 66 goals. In fifth place came LIVERPOOL, who drew 1-1 at home to Brentford. Liverpool finished with a total of 75 goals and had scored in all of their last 7 league games. NEWCASTLE UNITED lost 2-0 away to Fulham and picked up their 10th blank of the season. Newcastle finished on a total of 69 goals. NOTTINGHAM FOREST drew 1-1 at home against AFC BOURNEMOUTH and finished with a total of 53 goals and a goal run of 8 league games. Bournemouth finished with a total of 61 goals and a goal run of 8 league games. SUNDERLAND won 2-1 at home against CHELSEA and finished the season with a total of 45 goals. Chelsea finished with a total of 90 goals. The battle for relegation is finally over with TOTTENHAM remained in the premier league after they won their last game 1-0 at home to Everton and finished on a total of 52 goals. They had scored in all of their last 6 league games. WEST HAM UNITED are relegated after they won 3-0 at home to Leeds Utd. West Ham finished with a total of 55 goals. WOLVES are already down after they drew 1-1 away to Burnley who are also down. Wolves finished with a total of 43 goals.

Championship Play-offs Final

We had just one of the teams playing for a place in the Premier League, and they were MIDDLESBROUGH. (Due to the Southampton spygate they lost their place in the final.) Middlesbrough played Hull City and lost 1-0 after a late goal in injury time in the 95th minute. Was justice done? Middlesbrough picked up their 14th blank of the season and finished with a total of 74 goals.

League One Play-off Final

We had the two teams in the final, and they were BOLTON WANDERERS and STOCKPORT COUNTY. It was Bolton that have won promotion as they win 4-1 at Wembley. Bolton’s goals came in the 3rd 64th 81st and a penalty in the 94th minute. Bolton have finished on a total of 81 goals and had scored in all of their last 7 league games. County’s goal came in the 29th minute, and they finished with a total of 81 goals, and they had scored in all of their last 6 league games.

League Two Play-off Final

Again we had just the one team in the final, and they were NOTTS COUNTY. They won 3-0 against Salford City at Wembley, County’s goals came in the 32nd 45th 70th. They finished with a total of 80 goals.

SCOTTISH CUP FINAL

The only team we had in the final this seasons were  champions CELTIC. They have done the double this season after they won 3-1 against Dunfermline at Hampden Park. It’s their 43rd time of winning the cup. Celtics goals came in the 19th 36th and 73rd minutes. Dunfermline got their single goal in the 8oth minute. Celtic finished the season with a total of 98 goals, and they had scored in all of their last 9 league/cup games. Celtic had 70 votes this season.

So it’s congratulations to VINCENT CRUICKSHANK who becomes our 43rd Champion with Golden Goals. Vincent stayed at the top for the last 6 consecutive weeks of the season, one in Week 17. So we can now add Vincent’s name in our history book and place him in the “Champions League” where he finished in 36th place with a total of 289 goals. He has beaten our 1984/85 Champion Martyn Gent’s score of 289 goals. His winning combination was,  CELTIC (98) MK DONS (93) and SOUTHAMPTON (98). Vincent picked up just one blank scoresheet throughout the season.

ROAD TO CHAMPION

Our new Champion’s name, Vincent Cruickshank, is now in our history book. He was at the top for 7 Weeks, from Week 17 and then again in Weeks 37-42, but what about the other players who managed to get to the top.

We had a total of 8 players that made it there this season. The others were HAYLEY ADKINS, who stayed there the longest with 11 weeks. Hayley was there from Weeks 8-13 and Weeks 18-21. Here final week was in Week 24. GRAHAM PHILLIPS came next with a total of 10 weeks. They were in Week 16, Weeks 25-28, Week 30 and finally Weeks 32-34. DAVID BARRETT had 9 weeks from Weeks 1-7 and Weeks 14-15. KEITH RATTLE was there for two weeks, Weeks 35-16. Then with just one week each we had BARBARA BARNES (1) in Week 23. TONY GUY our double Champion from 2010/11 and 2022/23 with his second selection. That was sin Week 29. GARY BOLBERY from Week 31.

                           Below is the list of our top five champions from Golden Goals. 

                                                             CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 

                                     NAME                         M/W     W/E      TOTAL    SEASON

                                1.  L. KING                       116       239         355         2001/02

                                2.  P. DAVEY                     132       216         348         2013/14

                                3.  J. WOOD                        92       252         344         2016/17 

                                4.  C. STEPHENS               97        244         341         2024/25

                                5.  M. PEPPERRELL          91        247         338         2002/03

So what happened to our past Champions? Well, we had 17 that played this season, including 3 two-time winners. We had 4 that finished in the top 25. They were in 4th place KEAMUS SETNA in 2025/06. In 12th place DAVE SOMERVILLE in 2009/10. In 20th place our two time Champion TONY GUY our 2010/11 and 2022/23. In 22nd place ALICE STUBBS 2012/13.

We then had another 4 that finished in the top 50 and they were in 37th place our joint Champion  JOHN FILTNESS in 2023/24. in 39th place we had CHRIS BOLBERY in 2017/18. in 42nd place another double winner PHIL REEVE in 1987/88 & 2011/12. in 45th place was our 2002/03 Champion, MICHAEL PEPPERRELL. Our lowest position that a Champion finished was in 94th place, GOEFF DOCKERILL in 1994/95.

At the other end of the table, we had just five players that landed on number 111. The player who finished rock bottom this season was once again CHARLIE FARLEY (John Woods) John was there for the last 22 weeks. John was there from Week 22 to 42. John picked up just 3 blank score sheets throughout the season. He had the combination of COVE RANGERS (49) EAST FIFE (39) and STENHOUSEMUIR (66) total of 154 goals.

John’s combination finished in 38th place in our “Losers League” and we can now add his name in our history book. John now holds the record for finishing bottom for 6 seasons. John’s other seasons are the 2011/12, 2019/20, 2021/22, 2023/24, 2024/25 and now 2025/26 season. 

With the other players who stayed there are, Ann Wellard was there for eight weeks from Week 4-10 and also Week 13. Anne Hammond was there for seven weeks from Weeks 15-2. Next we had Mandy Wright for the first three weeks of the season, and lastly, Stalky (1) (Bob Burgin) was there for two weeks from Weeks 11-12. 

GRAEME BRITTON holds the record for the highest score of our “Losers League” with 214 goals from our 2004/05 Season. JOHN NICHOLLS holds the record for the lowest score of 131 goals in the 2020/21 season. 

100 MIDWEEK GOALS JACKPOT

The prize money for the 100 Midweek Goals Jackpot, worth £25 this season was not won this season and the cash will be added to next seasons jackpot. The nearest player to 100 goals was KEITH RATTLE, with a total of 99 goals. His teams were Chelsea, Rangers and Wrexham. In second place we had  BARBARA BARNES (1) with a total of 97 goals. In third place we had PHIL COLLINS, with a total of 89 goals.

It’s not the first time that we have not picked up the Midweek jackpot. In the 2015/16 season, Daniel Goodson failed to get there with 96 goals. The Golden Goals record for the most number of players reaching 100 midweek goals came from the 2019/20 (Covid) season, with a total of 63. But the jackpot was cancelled due to the virus. Daryl Nicholls holds the highest midweek record with 136 goals from our 2016/17 season. 

BEAT THE SCORE

The £15 cash prize money for BEAT THE SCORE has not been picked up again this season. The prize money will go to the first player who scores 24 goals or more at the weekend. So I hope that we can add more cash to the pot next season. The holder of this record is Simon Dickinson, with 23 goals scored in our 2022/23 season. So that is going to take some beating now. 

THE TOP THREE TEAMS FINISHED AS 

MANCHESTER CITY (113) CARDIFF CITY (100) CELTIC (98) Total of 311 goals. 

We had just 2 teams that picked up 100 or more goals this season. Our top three were MANCHESTER CITY who finished on a total of 113 goals. This is the 11th season out of 32 that they have netted 100 or more goals in a season. Their biggest score was with a total of 137 goals. They scored them first in 2013/14 and then again in the 2018/19 season. They have played in a total of 50 league/cup games and had a total of just 4 blank scoresheets. They had scored in all of their last 23 league/cup games and had a total of 19 votes. Over their 32 season’s they have netted a total of 2879 goals and that now gives them an average score of 89 goals per season.

In second place came League One second placed CARDIFF CITY who ended the season with a total of 100 goals. Cardiff played in 52 league/cup games this season which gave them an average score of 1.9 goals per game. They were our 35th voted English team with just 2 votes and they picked up 7 blank scoresheets throughout the season. This is their 24th Season out of 43 and this is their second time, that they have scored 100 or more goals. Their best score is 106 from the 2000/01 season. Over their 24 seasons, they have now scored a total of 1735 goals which now gives them an average score of 72 goals per season. Last time out was in the 2021/22 season when they finished with a total of 56 goals. 

Our third team was the Scottish Premiership winners CELTIC with 98 goals and they were our top voted Scottish team with a total of 70 votes. They picked up a total of 6 blank scoresheet from their total of 47 league/cup games. They had scored in all of their last 9 league/cup games. This is their 43rd  Season with us and they have now scored a total of 4303 goals which now gives them an average score of 100 goals per season. Their top score is our record breaking total of 144 goals which they scored last season. 

So lets see what has happen to our other teams that did well this season. BARNET have picked up their highest score with 73 goals beating their previous record of 69 goals in the 1992/93 season. BROMLEY finished with 74 goals, which beats last seasons score of 72 goals. MK DONS have picked up their biggest score of 93 goals which is their best since their record breaking score of 115 goals in the 2015/16 season. With our Scottish teams, HEARTS picked up their best score of 85 goals since their top score of 98 goals from the 2014/15 season. They had three votes. CLYDE finished on a total of 73 goals which beats their previous score of 60 goals in the 2015/16 season. They had 1 vote this season. STENHOUSEMUIR picked up their best score of 66 goals since the 2017/18 season. 

THE WORST THREE TEAMS FINISHED AS

             EAST FIFE (39) WOLVES (43) BLACKBURN ROVERS (43) Total of 125 goals

Our worst teams finished as EAST FIFE in their 5th appearance with Golden Goals and it will go down as their worst season as they finished on their lowest score of  just 39 goals beating their previous lowest score of 42 goals back in the 2008/09 season. They had just one vote.3

Our second worst team was WOLVES. With 34 appearance’s they finished with a total of 43 goals. Their lowest score is from the 2020/21 season with just 38 goals. They also had just 1 vote.

Our third worst team was BLACKBURN ROVERS finishing on 43 goals which is now their lowest score in their 16 appearance’s with us. Their previous lowest score was  g8oals in the1996/97 season. They had 2 votes this season.

Other teams that picked up their lowest score on record are LIVERPOOL have picked up their second lowest score of 75 goals which beats their lowest score of 61 goals from the 2010/11 season. SUNDERLAND have picked up their lowest score of 45 goals beating their previous low score of 52 in the 1984/85 season. DUMBARTON with 51 goals beats their previous lowest score of 53 in the 1988/89 season.

Our biggest result in our 43rd Season came from MANCHESTER CITY after they won 10-1 at home to Exeter City in the FA Cup 3rd Round in Week Twenty-Three.

Our worst performing team was WOLVES this season after they had a total of 19 blank score sheets from 44 league/cup games. They finished with a total of 43 goals.

Well that’s it, another season of GOLDEN GOALS has finally finished. I still can not believe that I have been doing this competition for over 4 decades now and after a lot of work again this season with 111 players taking part, I will still be looking forward to the next big one and hoping that we can beat our record of 149 players from the 2017/18 Season.

I would like to thank each and everyone of  you once again, for taking part in this season’s competition and I hope that I will see you all again next season. So start getting your family and friends involved in the next great historic season our 44th of Golden Goals.

Here are our top 25 winners this season and congratulations to Vincent Cruickshank of winning the £100 this season.

FINAL    LAST                                           M/WEEK   W/END   FINAL

WEEK  WEEK   NAME                              GOALS   GOALS   TOTAL

       1             -      V. CRUICKSHANK            79             210          289           

       2             -      P. O’DONOGHUE                83             204          287 

       3             -      GRAHAM PHILLIPS           55             227          282 

       4             -      G. BOLBERY                        72             207          279 

       5            6      T. GUY (2)                             72             207          279 

      6             5      S. STUBBS (2)                       85            193          278 

      7             -       K. SETNA (2005/06)             70            203          273 

      8             9      D. WOOD                               75           198          273 

      9            8       H. ADKINS                             81           192          273 

    10            -        T. GUY (3)                              83           190          273 

    11          13       C. SETFORD                          72           200          272 

    12          11       D. SOMERVILLE (2009/10)  84           187          271 

    13          12      K. RATTLE                              99           171          270 

    14          17      M. WALKER                            60           208          268 

    15          18      A. EYLES                                 61           207          268 

    16          14      L. GRIMWOOD                       73           194          267 

    17          15      S. STEPHENS                           74          193          267 

    18          16      J. BLYTH                                  56           210          266 

    19          20      M. JOHNSTON                        60           204          264 

    20          21      T. GUY (1) (10/11 & 22/23)     62           201          263 

    21          23      ALBIE/BOBBY                        72           191          263 

    22          28      A. STUBBS (2012/13)              73          190          263 

    23          19      B. BARNES (1)                         97         166          263 

    24          27      R. NETTING                             66         196          262 

    25          29      J. SOMERVILLE                      85         177          262