Want to see who has the most clearances at the 2026 World Cup so far? Check the latest World Cup clearances stats below.
Nobody puts clearances on a poster or chants a defender’s name because he headed a cross off the line in the 67th minute. But clearances keep teams in tournaments – and at a World Cup, staying in the game is everything.
Clearances is one of the most underappreciated defensive metrics in football. It measures the unglamorous but essential work that stops shots, breaks up attacks and protects leads. With 48 teams competing across the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer, the defenders putting their bodies on the line deserve their moment in the data.
What Counts as a Clearance?
Opta records a clearance whenever a defending player deliberately moves the ball away from their own goal to relieve pressure. The key word is deliberately – the action must be intentional.
Opta splits clearances into two types. An open-play clearance covers any clearance made during normal play. A headed clearance is recorded separately whenever a player clears the ball with their head rather than their foot.
Opta does not credit a clearance if a defending player simply passes the ball or plays it to a teammate under no real pressure. The action must reflect a genuine attempt to remove a threat. Own goals that result from attempted clearances do not count as clearances – they count against the defender in a far more painful column.
Why Do Clearances Matter?
Clearances tell you which defenders face the most pressure – and which ones handle it.
A centre-back racking up high clearance numbers is operating in a team that faces significant defensive pressure. That context matters. A player making 12 clearances per game is probably not playing in a side that dominates possession. But they may well be the reason their team is still in the tournament.
At a World Cup, knockout football places enormous pressure on defensive units. One lapse in concentration, one failure to deal with a cross or a set-piece delivery, can end a nation’s tournament. Clearances do not prevent every threat – but the defenders who consistently make them give their team the best chance of surviving.
Clearances also highlight the value of players who operate in less fashionable roles. A no-nonsense centre-back or a defensive midfielder who drops to clear danger rarely appears in the assist or chances created charts. The clearances column is where their contribution shows up most clearly.
Who Made the Most Clearances at the 2022 World Cup?
Defenders from sides that faced sustained pressure and navigated deep into the tournament dominated the clearances chart in Qatar. Centre-backs and holding midfielders from compact, defensively organised sides tend to accumulate the highest totals.
Morocco’s extraordinary defensive run to the semi-finals placed enormous demands on their backline. Their defenders were among the busiest in the tournament, making clearances in big numbers as they repelled attacks from Belgium, Spain, Portugal and France. Their clearance numbers told the story of one of the great World Cup defensive performances.
Who Has Made the Most Clearances in World Cup History?
Comprehensive clearance data only exists for tournaments where Opta holds full event tracking, which limits direct historical comparisons across all editions of the competition.
What the available data consistently shows is that defenders from physically demanding, low-block sides accumulate the highest career totals. Players who appear at multiple World Cups and routinely reach the knockout rounds build significant numbers over time. The defenders who top those all-time charts are rarely the ones collecting Ballon d’Or nominations – but they are the ones their teammates trust most when it matters.
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