Who are the youngest players to score at the World Cup? We chart the 10 male players to score their first World Cup goal at the youngest age, as well as some other related records.
Youngest Goalscorers in World Cup History
Pelé (17 years, 239 days) – Brazil vs Wales, 19 June 1958 Manuel Rosas (18 years, 93 days) – Mexico vs Argentina, 19 July 1930 Gavi (18 years, 110 days) – Spain vs Costa Rica, 23 November 2022 Michael Owen (18 years, 190 days) – England vs Romania, 22 June 1998 Nicolae Kovács (18 years, 197 days) – Romania vs Peru, 14 July 1930 Dmitri Sychev (18 years, 231 days) – Russia vs Belgium, 14 June 2002 Lionel Messi (18 years, 357 days) – Argentina vs Serbia, 16 June 2006 Julian Green (19 years, 25 days) – USA vs Belgium, 1 July 2014 Divock Origi (19 years, 65 days) – Belgium vs Russia, 22 June 2014 Martin Hoffman (19 years, 88 days) – East Germany vs Chile, 18 June 19741. Pelé (17 years, 239 days)
Brazil vs Wales – 19 June 1958
Pelé is the youngest player to score at a men’s FIFA World Cup finals. In fact, the Brazilian is the only player ever to score while under the age of 18 in tournament history, which is made even more impressive considering he scored six goals while still 17 on the way to glory with Brazil at the 1958 World Cup. He is therefore responsible for all six goals scored by a player before turning 18 years old in World Cup history.
His goal in the quarter-final match against Wales came when he was aged just 17 years and 239 days old.
As if scoring six goals as a 17-year-old in his first ever World Cup wasn’t impressive enough, his goals included a hat-trick in the semi-final against France, before he added two more in the final against Sweden to help Brazil win their first ever FIFA World Cup title.
Pelé remains the fifth youngest player to play in a World Cup – that record belongs to Northern Ireland’s former Manchester United midfielder Norman Whiteside, who was 194 days younger than the Brazilian on his debut.
Read more:
World CupThe Youngest Players In World Cup History
23 hours ago Graham Bell2. Manuel Rosas (18 years, 93 days)
Mexico vs Argentina – 19 July 1930
Mexican defender Manuel Rosas is the second-youngest goalscorer in a men’s World Cup match, but he did actually score a ‘goal’ at an even younger age.When aged just 18 years and 93 days old in July 1930, Rosas scored two goals for Mexico in their 6-3 defeat to Argentina. Just three days earlier, however, he scored at an even younger age (18 years, 90 days), but it was an own goal in the wrong net for Chile.
This was the first own goal scored in FIFA World Cup history, while his first goal at the right end – the one which makes him the second youngest scorer in World Cup history – was the first penalty ever scored in the history of the competition.If you’re answering a quiz question about World Cup firsts and you’re in doubt, just guess Manuel Rosas.
3. Gavi(18 years, 110 days)
Spain vs Costa Rica – 23 November 2022
Gavi not only became Spain’s youngest ever player when he started their opening group game against Costa Rica in the 2022 World Cup, he also marked that special occasion with a goal.
In doing so, he became the third-youngest goalscorer in World Cup history, and the youngest European to net at the tournament.
Gavi’s sweet volley from the edge of the box was Spain’s fifth goal in a 7-0 rout of Costa Rica, a game where they also broke the World Cup record for the highest possession and most successful passes in 90 minutes.
4. Michael Owen (18 years, 190 days)
England vs Romania – 22 June 1998
Michael Owen is the fourth-youngest player to score a World Cup goal, and was the youngest European for 24 years before Gavi broke that record. His first World Cup goal came in England’s group stage game against Romania in June 1998, when Owen was aged just 18 years, 190 days old.
At the time, former Liverpool, Newcastle and Real Madrid striker Owen had become the only teenager to score either for or against the England men’s national team at a World Cup and the only player aged under 22 years old to score at the tournament for the Three Lions. That remained the case until a 19-year-old Jude Bellingham scored against Iran at the 2022 World Cup.
The 2001 Ballon d’Or winner added another goal at the 1998 World Cup, scoring one of the most memorable England goals in World Cup history in their last-16 meeting with Argentina.
Unfortunately for England and Owen, that game ended in defeat and Owen’s quest for more World Cup goals as a teenager stopped there.
5. Nicolae Kovács (18 years, 197 days)
Romania vs Peru – 14 July 1930
Romanian forward Nicolae Kovács scored his only goal at a FIFA World Cup in Romania’s 3-1 win over Peru at the 1930 tournament. Kovács would go on to play one more game at the 1930 finals, before playing at both the 1934 tournament and in 1938 without scoring.
With teammate Constantin Stanciu also scoring for Romania earlier in this match when aged just 19 years and 92 days old, this is the only occasion in World Cup history where two teenagers have scored in the same game.
The Youngest Player to Score a World Cup Hat-Trick
Not content with being the youngest scorer in men’s World Cup history, Pelé scored a hat-trick just five days later in Brazil’s semi-final victory over France at the 1958 World Cup.The Brazilian is the only player under 19 years old to score a hat-trick in the competition’s history (17 years, 244 days old), with the next youngest Germany’s Edmund Conen (19 years, 198 days) against Belgium in 1934.
The youngest player to score more than three goals in a single men’s World Cup match was Ernst Wilimowski for Poland against Brazil in 1938. He was 21 years and 347 days old when he scored four in a single match, 20 years before Pelé entered the World Cup scene.
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2 days ago Matt FurnissThe Youngest Player to Score in a World Cup Final
Let us shock you. Pelé also holds the record for the youngest player to score a goal in a men’s World Cup final match.
The Brazilian legend scored twice in Brazil’s 5-2 win over Sweden in the 1958 final, aged just 17 years and 249 days old. His brace meant he ended the tournament with six goals, despite not yet turning 18.
The only other teenager to score in a World Cup final is Kylian Mbappé for France in the 2018 final versus Croatia. Mbappé was just 19 years and 207 days old when scoring in the final in Moscow, which France eventually won 4-2.
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