FIFA World Cup 2022: The top passers from the group stages

Here are the top five players in key passing metrics from the group stages at the FIFA 2022 World Cup.

Passing Completion Percentage (min. 100 passes attempted)

• Leander Dendoncker, Belgium: 97.5%
• Axel Witsel, Belgium: 96.1%
• Aurélien Tchouaméni, France: 95.7%
• Declan Rice, England: 95.6%
• César Azpilicueta, Spain: 95.5%

Line-Breaking Passes Completed

• Rodri, Spain: 39
• John Stones, England: 37
• Frenkie de Jong, Netherlands: 35
• Manuel Akanji, Switzerland: 33
• Sergio Busquets, Spain: 32

Defensive-Line-Breaking Passes Completed

• Bruno Fernandes, Portugal: 6
• Kevin De Bruyne, Belgium: 4
• Mohamed Kanno, Saudi Arabia: 4
• Raheem Sterling, England: 4
• Leroy Sané, Germany: 3
• Mateo Kovacic, Croatia: 3
• Dusan Tadić, Serbia: 3
• Bernardo Silva, Portugal: 3
• Ali Gholizadeh, Iran: 3
• Brenden Aaronson, United States: 3
• Xherdan Shaqiri, Switzerland: 3
• Harry Kane, England: 3

Through Balls Completed

• Kieran Trippier, England: 7
• Bruno Fernandes, Portugal: 6
• Youssouf Sabaly, Senegal: 6
• Lionel Messi, Argentina: 6
• Leroy Sané, Germany: 5
• Dusan Tadić, Serbia: 5
• Ali Gholizadeh, Iran: 5
• Collins Fai, Cameroon: 5

Key Passes

Note: A key pass is a pass that leads to a shot. Goal assists are not included.

• Christian Eriksen, Denmark: 11
• Dusan Tadić, Serbia: 11
• Lionel Messi, Argentina: 10
• Antoine Griezmann, France: 10
• Kevin De Bruyne, Belgium: 9
• Hirving Lozano, Mexico: 9
• Jamal Musiala, Germany: 9