With 44 games gone in this wonderful, memorable World Cup we are enjoying a feast of football — and a starring role for the super-subs.

Of the 129 goals scored, a total of 24 came from the bench — and 16 of those had a real impact on the result of the fixture.

Leading the way is Germany goal machine Miroslav Klose. Yes, most people reading this would have fancied themselves to bag a couple against the Saudi Arabia side that gifted him a hat-trick during the 8-0 rout at the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea, but that, as they say, is football.

Klose caught Brazil’s Ronaldo at the top of the all-time World Cup scoring charts, with Germany’s equaliser against Ghana giving him a total of 15. And it came with his first touch after replacing Mario Götze.

One man who will already have his sights set on that record is Memphis Depay. At just 20 years old, the flying Dutchman has already struck twice in this tournament, and he didn’t start in either of his two appearances.

Depay delivered the winner in Holland’s frantic 3-2 win over Australia and then made the game safe against Chile after team-mate Leroy Fer, another substitute, had broken the deadlock.

Neighbours Belgium called substitutes Marouane Fellaini and Dries Mertens to the rescue as they trailed 1-0 to Algeria and it was another replacement, Divock Origi, who supplied the only goal of the game against Russia.

The United States had substitute John Brooks to thank for the late header that brought them three points against Ghana, but they were on the receiving end when the fresh legs of 69th-minute replacement Silvestre Varela took him into the space to head an equaliser for Portugal in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time.

Both Swiss goals in a fightback from 1-0 down against Ecuador came from substitutes, as did both goals in Russia’s 1-1 draw with South Korea.

At the same stage in the 2010 tournament, the total number of goals was only 95, demonstrating just why this year’s World Cup is setting pulses racing. Substitutes accounted for only 13 of them, with nine significant in terms of deciding a game or making it safe.

Maybe this rush of super-subs is down to the conditions. In draining heat and humidity, a substitute will have a correspondingly greater advantage than when being introduced on a mild day. Or perhaps it is a reflection of tactics, with coaches keeping things tight and then pushing for a late goal.

Whatever the reason, substitutes are having a huge impact — although not always in the positive sense.

It was Ivory Coast substitute Giovanni Sio who clipped Georgios Samaras to concede the added-time penalty that gave Greece a golden chance to progress. Samaras stroked the ball home to send the Greeks through and the Ivorians home.

World Cup six-pack

Heroes: Costa Rica rode their luck against the “plucky outsiders” from England but managed to top their group with an unbeaten record. Who would back against them beating Greece to reach the last eight?

Zeros: Luis Suárez. No need to ask why. But also Giorgio Chiellini. The referee’s reluctance to act when they clashed must have been influenced by the Italian’s play-acting throughout the match.

Scorer: Neymar’s opening goal against Cameroon was the 100th of an amazing tournament, but the most spectacular was Tim Cahill’s thunderbolt against Holland, and he was sorely missed as the Australians plodded to defeat by Spain.

Saviour: Tim Howard was wrong-footed and off-balance when Eder seized on the rebound as Nani’s shot flew back off a post, but somehow the goalkeeper managed to stretch his left arm and drag the ball over the top.

Hollywood I: It seems a lifetime ago now but the blunder by Igor Akinfeev in fumbling Lee Keun Ho’s shot into the net was a comedy routine more at home in a Laurel and Hardy movie. It certainly silenced the Russian goalkeeper.

Hollywood II: Expect a rush of television screenings of Jaws and the various sequels after the latest instance of an ugly creature with huge teeth savaging anything that gets in its way.

Phil Ascough, the author of Never Mind The Penalties — The Ultimate World Cup Quiz Book (foreword by Kevin Kilbane) and Never Mind The Tigers, both published by The History Press, was a senior reporter and sub-editor at The Royal Gazette from 1989 to 1992