68.9% of football matches have at least one goal during the first half, based on 374,596 fixtures in our database.
The data covers more than 80 leagues from around the world over the past decade, but the overall average only tells us so much.
First-half goal rates can vary considerably from one league to another, which is why it can be useful to look beyond the overall figures.
At Goal Profits, we use our historical football data when researching matches to trade.
There’s a huge amount of information available, making it easy to dig deeper into the stats that matter for a particular trade.
In this article, I'll dig into the first-half goal stats, including the top leagues for first-half goals... and the worst!
How often is there a goal in the first half?
Almost seven in ten matches have had at least one goal before half time.
The numbers become more interesting when we look at how many goals were scored before the break:
First-half goals | Percentage of matches |
|---|---|
Over 0.5 goals | 68.9% |
Over 1.5 goals | 32.8% |
Over 2.5 goals | 11.4% |
Over 3.5 goals | 3.1% |
The average number of first-half goals across the whole database is 1.17 goals per match.
Which half has more goals?
One thing that stands out from the data is that second-half goals are more common.
The average number of goals scored per match between 2015 - 2026 was:
- First half: 1.17 goals
- Second half: 1.49 goals
- Full match: 2.66 goals
77.7% of matches have had at least one second-half goal.
Matches often open up as they progress, particularly when one team needs to chase the game.
This is one of the reasons Goal Profits has separate first-half goals and second-half goals trading strategies, as the two halves often behave quite differently.
Do home teams score more first-half goals?
Home teams have been more likely to score before half time than away teams:
- 47.9% had at least one home goal during the first half
- 39.9% had at least one away goal during the first half
Home teams also scored two or more first-half goals in 14.0% of matches, compared with 9.5% for away teams.
It’s a useful comparison, although individual team and league data gives a much clearer picture when looking at a specific match.
First-half goals by league
First-half goal percentages can vary quite a lot from one league to another.
To compare them, I used Team Stats Trends to look at the percentage of matches with at least one first-half goal during the 2025/26 season.
The ten leagues with the highest percentages were:
1. | Slovenia Prva Liga | 86% |
2. | Netherlands Eredivisie | 81% |
3. | Singapore Premier League | 80% |
4. | Croatia HNL | 77% |
5. | Germany 3. Liga | 77% |
6. | Germany Bundesliga | 77% |
7. | Netherlands Eerste Divisie | 77% |
8. | Switzerland Super League | 77% |
9. | Denmark Superliga | 76% |
10. | Vietnam V. League 1 | 76% |
At the other end of the table, these leagues had the lowest percentage of matches with a first-half goal:
1. | Egypt Premier League | 58% |
2. | Bosnia and Herzegovina WWIN Liga | 59% |
3. | Japan J League | 60% |
4. | Bulgaria efbet League | 62% |
5. | Italy Serie C - Group B | 63% |
6. | Portugal Liga 2 | 64% |
7. | India Super League | 66% |
8. | Italy Serie A | 66% |
9. | Italy Serie C - Group A | 66% |
10. | England League Two | 67% |
The gap between the highest and lowest leagues is quite significant.
In Slovenia’s Prva Liga, 86% of matches had a first-half goal during 2025/26, compared with just 58% in the Egyptian Premier League.
The Netherlands also featured twice inside the top ten, while three Italian leagues appeared among the ten lowest.
Having access to this sort of information can be a huge help when putting together your trading shortlist for the day.