Source: Alamy Stock Photo
Have you ever wondered about who’s scored the quickest goals at the World Cup? We’ve crunched the data, to provide a list of the World Cup’s fastest goals.
Being one of the biggest sport competitions in the world, the World Cup has a long and colourful history. But who are the players who kicked off their games with a bang by landing a goal in the first sixty seconds? And how did this go on to change the course of their match? Get ready to discover the fastest goals ever scored in the World Cup.
Who scored the fastest World Cup goal?
The fastest World Cup goal ever came in at just 11 seconds. It was scored by Turkish international Hakan Sukur in a third-place playoff match against South Korea in the 2002 Japan/South Korea World Cup. Sukur followed the goal up with two assists as Turkey won the match 3-2.
The fastest goals in World Cup history
Hakan Sukur may have scored the fastest goal in the World Cup’s history, but who were the other players who found the net right at the start of a World Cup match? Below is a list of the fastest goals scored in the history of the World Cup:
|
Rank |
Player |
Goal time |
Nationality |
Scored against |
World Cup |
|
1 |
Hakan Sukur |
11 seconds |
Türkiye |
South Korea |
2002 |
|
2 |
Vaclav Masek |
15 seconds |
Czechoslovakia |
Mexico |
1962 |
|
3 |
Ernest Lehner |
25 Seconds |
Germany |
Austria |
1934 |
|
4 |
Bryan Robson |
28 seconds |
England |
France |
1982 |
|
5 |
Clint Dempsey |
30 seconds |
USA |
Ghana |
2014 |
|
6 |
Bernard Lacombe |
31 seconds |
France |
Italy |
1978 |
|
7 |
Arne Nyberg |
35 seconds |
Sweden |
Hungary |
1938 |
|
7 |
Emile Veinante |
35 seconds |
France |
Belgium |
1938 |
|
9 |
Florian Albert |
50 seconds |
Hungary |
Bulgaria |
1962 |
|
9 |
Adalbert Desu |
50 seconds |
Romania |
Peru |
1930 |
|
9 |
Pak Seung-zin |
50 seconds |
Korea DPR |
Portugal |
1966 |
|
12 |
Celso Ayala |
52 seconds |
Paraguay |
Nigeria |
1998 |
|
13 |
Mathias Jorgensen |
55 seconds |
Denmark |
Croatia |
2018 |
The fastest English goal was scored by Bryan Robson in the 1982 World Cup against France. He managed to score in the first 28 seconds of the opening Group B fixture, then went on to net again in the second half before Paul Mariner claimed the third, with England winning the game 3-1.
Who scored the fastest substitute goal in the World Cup?
Now we’ve discussed the fastest goals taken at the World Cup, let’s see which substitutes managed to score in record-breaking time:
|
Rank |
Player |
Scored after |
Nationality |
Scored against |
World Cup |
|
1 |
Richard Morales |
16 seconds |
Uruguay |
Senegal |
2002 |
|
2 |
Ebbe Sand |
21 seconds |
Denmark |
Nigeria |
1998 |
|
3 |
Marcin Zewlakow |
59 seconds |
Poland |
USA |
2002 |
|
4 |
Randal Kolo Muani |
65 seconds |
France |
Morocco |
2022 |
|
5 |
Roger Milla |
83 seconds |
Cameroon |
Russia |
1994 |
|
6 |
Artem Dzyuba |
88 seconds |
Russia |
Saudi Arabia |
2018 |
|
7 |
Marcus Rashford |
91 seconds |
England |
IR Iran |
2022 |
|
8 |
Leroy Fer |
95 seconds |
Netherlands |
Chile |
2014 |
|
9 |
Julian Green |
99 seconds |
USA |
Belgium |
2014 |
|
10 |
Marcos Urena |
103 seconds |
Costa Rica |
Uruguay |
2014 |
From an English point of view, Marcus Rashford made an impact when he was substituted for Bukayo Saka in the 71st minute against Iran at the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar. He scored 91 seconds after coming on in England’s 6-2 win.
England went on to lose in the quarterfinals to France, and Randal Kolo Muani scored inside 65 seconds in the next round to become the quickest-scoring substitute at the 2022 World Cup.
Who scored the quickest hat-trick in World Cup history?
Between the first and third goals:
-
The quickest hat-trick in World Cup history – between the first and third goal – was achieved by László Kiss in the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Playing for Hungary, he managed to score three goals in the 69th, 72nd and 76th minute, beating El Salvador 10-1. To date, it is the only hat-trick achieved by a substitute in the World Cup.
From kick off:
What is the fastest own goal in World Cup history?
In Brazil of June 2014, Bosnian player Sead Kolašinac scored the World Cup’s fastest own goal in his match against Argentina. He scored the own goal in the first 2 minutes and 8 seconds, leading to Bosnia losing the match 2-1 in their first ever game in the World Cup.
