The most important thing about football is a goal. It causes happiness and heartbreak concurrently. With FIFA World Cup 2022 all set for the kick-off, let us visit the moment of the earliest goals in the quadrennial tournament.
In 2002, in Asia’s first World Cup jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan, Turkey’s Hakan Sukur scored the fastest goal of the World Cup.
In the third-place playoff between South Korea and Turkey, Sukur put his country in the lead when he found the back of the net in 10.8 seconds. Turkey won the match 3-2 and secured third place - its best-ever performance in the FIFA World Cup. Although he played just one World Cup, the goal cemented Hakan Sukur’s name in the record book.
His goal broke Vaclav Masek’s 40-year-old record. In the 1962 World Cup, the Czech striker scored in the 16th second into the first half against Mexico. It is now the second-fastest goal of the tournament.
The record for the third fastest goal belongs to English football legend Bryan Robson who scored within 27 seconds from kick-off against France at the 1982 World Cup. In 2014, USA’s Clint Dempsey scored in the 30th second of a group stage tie against Ghana to notch the record for the fourth fastest goal of the mega event.
Comments
SHARE