Fastest goals in FIFA World Cup history: Hakan Sukur the quickest scorer - top 10 list
The Turkish footballer scored in 11 seconds against South Korea in the third-place match of the 2002 FIFA World Cup to enter the record books.
Football
Quickfire goals have always been a precious commodity in football. Taking the lead early, especially in big matches like FIFA World Cup clashes, is almost always advantageous to a team and helps them dictate the pace of the game.
Over the years, fans have witnessed several famous blink-and-you-miss goals in the FIFA World Cup.
Former Turkish football player Hakan Sukur holds the record for the fastest goal in the FIFA World Cup, courtesy his 11th-second strike vs South Korea in the 2002 World Cup. Here’s the top 10 fastest World Cup goals ever recorded.
Fastest goals in FIFA World Cup
1. Hakan Sukur (Turkey) - 11 seconds vs South Korea in FIFA World Cup 2002
Turkey’s third-place finish at the FIFA World Cup 2002 co-hosted by Japan and South Korea was one of the big talking points from the edition.
Captain Hakan Sukur, 31 at the time, led Turkey from the front but failed to get on the scoresheet in the first six matches, including the semi-final defeat to eventual champions Brazil.
However, in the third-place playoff match against hosts South Korea at the Daegu World Cup Stadium, the former Inter Milan striker came alive. Hakan Sukur scored the opening goal of the match 11 seconds after kick-off to record the fastest World Cup goal in football history and followed it up with two assists as Turkey won 3-2.
Hakan Sukur’s 11th-second strike in Daegu, incidentally, is also the fifth-fastest goal in international football history. Germany striker Lukas Podolski holds the record for the quickest goal in international men’s football, having netted six seconds after the kick-off against Ecuador in an international friendly in 2013.
2. Vaclav Masek (Czech Republic) - 16 seconds vs Mexico in FIFA World Cup 1962
Vaclav Masek played only 16 matches for the Czech Republic national men’s football team in his short career, and only one of them came in a World Cup finals.
However, it was all it took for the Sparta Prague striker to etch his name into the history books and perch himself atop the list for fastest goal scorers in FIFA World Cup history for almost four decades.
Perhaps the highlight of his career, Vaclav Masek’s goal, on his FIFA World Cup debut, came 16 seconds after kick-off during Czechoslovakia’s final Group 3 match versus Mexico during the 1962 edition in Chile. The goal, one of Masek’s only five goals in international football, stood as the fastest goal in the FIFA World Cup for 40 years before Sukur broke the record.
The Czech team eventually lost the match 3-1 against Mexico but managed to reach the final, where they lost to Brazil.
3. Ernst Lehner (Germany) - 24 seconds vs Austria in FIFA World Cup 1934
Germany made their FIFA World Cup debut at the Italy 1934 edition and finished third in the edition.
Ernst Lehner, then a 22-year-old striker who would go on to score 31 times in 65 international appearances, was Germany’s hero in the third-place playoff match against Austria, scoring two goals to lead his team to a 3-2 victory.
The first, Lehner’s maiden FIFA World Cup goal, came 24 seconds in, breaking Romanian Adalbert Desu’s record of 50 seconds from the inaugural edition in 1930. Desu’s goal is still among the top 10 fastest goals in the FIFA World Cup.
The fastest goal in a FIFA World Cup final, meanwhile, was scored by the Netherlands’ Johan Neeskens, who converted from the penalty spot after 90 seconds against West Germany to give the Dutch the lead in the 1974 World Cup final. The German team fought back to win the match 2-1.
Fastest goal in FIFA World Cup 2022
Canada's Alphonso Davies scored the fastest goal in the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. He netted inside 70 seconds vs Croatia in his team's second group match.