Who is the youngest goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history?
The FIFA World Cup is a tournament notorious for unearthing young goalscoring superstars, many of whom are teenagers when finding the net for the first time in the competition.
These wonderkids write their names in World Cup history books early on, with many going on to enjoy legendary international careers with their respective countries. As it stands though, only one player boasts a World Cup goal at the age of just 17.
Here are the ten youngest players to have scored in the men's FIFA World Cup:
AGE | PLAYER | NATION | MATCH | DATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
17y 239d | Pele | Brazil | Brazil 1-0 Wales | 19/06/1958 |
18y 93d | Manuel Rosas | Mexico | Argentina 6-3 Mexico | 19/07/1930 |
18y 110d | Gavi | Spain | Spain 7-0 Costa Rica | 23/11/2022 |
18y 190d | Michael Owen | England | Romania 2-1 England | 22/06/1998 |
18y 197d | Nicolae Kovacs | Romania | Romania 3-1 Peru | 14/07/1930 |
18y 231d | Dmitri Sychev | Russia | Belgium 3-2 Russia | 14/06/2002 |
18y 343d | Lamine Yamal | Spain | Spain 4-0 Saudi Arabia | 21/06/2026 |
18y 357d | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Argentina 6-0 Serbia and Montenegro | 16/06/2006 |
19y 25d | Julian Green | United States | Belgium 2-1 United States AET | 01/07/2014 |
19y 65d | Divock Origi | Belgium | Belgium 1-0 Russia | 22/06/2014 |
It was in 1958 when World Cup icon Pele made his debut in the competition for Brazil and almost 70 years on, he remains the youngest ever FWC goalscorer, having been 17 years and 239 days old when he scored in Brazil's quarter-final win over Wales.
The 2022 World Cup saw a new name not only crack the list, but immediately enter in the top as at just 18 years and 110 days old, Barcelona central midfielder Gavi scored for Spain in their 7-0 thrashing of Costa Rica.
He was the only Spaniard in the top ten until FIFA World Cup 2026 when teammate Lamine Yamal joined the list as the eighth youngest goalscorer in the history of the tournament after getting on the scoresheet against Saudi Arabia in what was his first FIFA World Cup start at 18 years and 343 days old.
Before both Gavi and Yamal, Lionel Messi had stood as the most recent footballer to score in the World Cup as an 18-year-old, doing so for Argentina in 2006 against Serbia and Montenegro. The USA is also represented in the form of Julian Green, who found the net at age 19 in his nation's extra-time defeat at the hands of Belgium in the 2014 World Cup round of 16.
