Salvador goal and tree count rises further

The Belgian game with 22 attempts on target could have easily seen more goals.

The venue with most goals at this year’s World Cup saw the least strikes of its now four games despite chances galore in the United States-Belgium game.

But the 2-1 result meant that another 3,333 trees are to be planted in the area.

The State government of Bahia, where Salvador is located, pledged before the World Cup to plant 1,111 trees for each World Cup goal scored in the six games at the stadium.

The Belgian game — which, given 22 attempts on target overall in the game, could have easily seen more goals — brought the Salvador tally to 24 goals, following the Netherland’s 5-1 over Spain, Germany’s 4-0 against Portugal, France’s 5-2 drubbing of Switzerland, and Bosnia’s 3-1 over Iran.

And as the locals are also counting in the strike from Frenchman Karim Benzema which came after the final whistle against the Swiss, the tree tally now stands at 27,775.

The Netherlands return to Salvador on Saturday to play Costa Rica in the quarterfinals, the last game at the venue.