Top 5 Youngest FIFA World Cup Goal Scorers in History

Scoring at the FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest dreams for every footballer, but doing it at a very young age makes the feat all the more extraordinary. Only a handful of stars have managed to achieve this feat over the decades. Here are five of the youngest FIFA world cup goal scorers :

1. Pelé – 17 Years, 239 Days

Pele is the youngest player to score a goal in the FIFA world cup and is the only player to do it before even turning an adult. The Brazilian prodigy achieved this feat during the 1958 FIFA World Cup quarter-final against Wales.

Pelé’s tournament became historic as he went on to score a marvellous number of six goals, including a hat-trick in the semi-final and two goals in the final against Sweden. At just 17, he carried Brazil to their first-ever World Cup title and became a global superstar overnight. His record still stands even after seven decades showing the sheer dominance he had back in his era.

2. Manuel Rosas – 18 Years, 93 Days

Mexico’s Manuel Rosas is the second youngest goal scorer in the FIFA world cup history and was also the youngest for 28 years before Pele broke his record. He achieved this feat at the 1930 world cup tournament against Argentina.

Interestingly, Rosas had also created another unique record in the same tournament by scoring the first own goal in World Cup history just days earlier. Despite Mexico’s struggling in this competition, Rosas’ achievement remains one of football’s oldest standing records.

3. Gavi – 18 Years, 110 Days

Spanish midfielder Gavi had entered the history books during the 2022 FIFA world cup after scoring against Costa Rica. He scored a beautiful volley that helped Spain score a dominant win against Costa Rica with 7-0 while also making him one of the youngest goal scorers ever

4. Michael Owen – 18 Years, 190 Days

England striker Michael Owen announced himself to the world at the 1998 FIFA world cup in France. He scored his first world cup goal against Romania before going on to produce a mind blowing performance against Argentina in the round of 16.

5. Nicolae Kovács – 18 Years, 197 Days

Romanian forward Nicolae Kovács is the final entry on our list of the youngest goal scorers in the FIFA world cup. He achieved this feat in the 1930 world cup against Peru. Kovács played an important role in early World Cup history and his record has survived for nearly a century. Highlighting his dominance back in the day.