Top 5 Fastest Goals in World Cup History
With the FIFA World in Qatar due later this year, fans are already wondering which team will win the famous trophy.
So, they’re also wondering which other memorable moments they’ll witness and whether any records will be broken. For example, will we see any goals faster than the following strikes?
Hakan Şükür, Turkey – 10.8 seconds
Hakan Şükür was a prolific goal scorer for Galatasaray and Turkey, and he represented his country in the 2002 World Cup. This is where he scored possibly the most famous of this career total of over 400 goals. His moment of glory came in the third place play-off against South Korea, as he scored his only goal of the tournament just 10.8 seconds after it started.
The Bull of the Bosphorus would go on to score a total 52 goals for Turkey, making him the nation’s leading scorer. However, after retiring from the game, Şükür was embroiled in controversy as he entered politics and ended up having to live in exile in the US as he’s wanted for arrest in Turkey due to his political beliefs.
He was last known to be working as an Uber driver in America. As for Turkey, a look at the latest World Cup 2022 Qatar odds confirms that this team didn’t make it to Qatar. They lost to Portugal at the play-off stage and now need to build towards the 2026 event in North America.
Václav Mašek , Czechoslovakia – 16 seconds
His name might be largely forgotten now, but Czech player Václav Mašek held the record of having scored the fastest goal in the World Cup Finals for 40 years. He set the record of just 16 seconds in the 1962 World Cup in Chile, where his nation lost the final to Brazil. However, his legendary goal came against Mexico.
With just 16 teams divided into 4 groups, the Czech team had already progressed from the group stages when they played Mexico in the final group match. This was where Mašek struck early in the first minute before the Mexicans ran out 3-1 winners. It wasn’t until Şükür struck even more quickly in 2002 that this record was finally broken.
That 1962 World Cup is remembered fondly for some of the great players that took part in the seventh tournament from FIFA. However, reports from the time suggest that it was a bad-natured affair with passions running high and players getting involved in numerous battles. FIFA will be hoping that their showpiece even goes more smoothly this year and that fans get to enjoy lots of goals and skill rather than unsavory moments.
Ernst Lehner, Germany – 24 seconds
We need to go all the way back to the 1934 World Cup in Italy for the next rapid-fire goal. This was the edition of the FIFA tournament and 16 teams took part, with the host nation beating Czechoslovakia in the final. This was the backdrop to the third-fastest goal in World Cup history, and a record that stood for 28 years as the quickest goal until Mašek’s strike in 1962.
There are little details to be found online now, but we know that Ernst Lehner was an exceptionally quick and skillful player who was famous for scoring directly from corner kicks. His fast goal came in the third place play-off against Italy. The Germans won 3-2, although looking back on it now we can’t help but wonder about the moment in which an Italian player sat on the ball to ridicule an opponent, but lost the ball to set up the final German goal.
Bryan Robson, England – 27 seconds
The 1982 World Cup in Spain was memorable for various reasons, and one of them was Bryan Robson’s lightning –fast goal for England. This came in the opening match in group 4, where the English faced up to France. Robson ran through the French defense to score in just 27 seconds, with his team eventually winning the game by 3 goals to 1.
This World Cup produced one of the most iconic finals in history, as Italy defeated Germany 3-1. West Germany has progressed thanks to their victory over France in the first-ever World Cup Finals penalty shoot-out. However, the tournament’s top scorer, Paolo Rossi, struck first in the final and the Italians went on to record a famous victory.
Clint Dempsey, USA – 29 seconds
The most recent goal on the list came in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. It was scored by American Clint Dempsey after just 29 seconds of the game against Ghana. This came in a group game against Ghana that the US won 2-1, with the second American goal coming right at the end.
No doubt many fans immediately checked out whether this was the fastest World Cup goal ever scored. They’ll have been surprised to find 4 quicker goals ahead of it on the list. Will 2022 bring us even faster goals, we’ll need to wait and see what exciting moments are in store in Qatar.