Craig Goodwin of Australia scored the first goal against France in the ninth minute, breaking the record of Lionel Messi, to become the quickest goal scorer in the FIFA World Cup 2022.
Starting against defending champion France, the Socceroos stunned Les Blues with an early goal as Goodwin made a clam finish, beating Hugo Lloris.
He beat the record of Lionel Messi, who scored from the spot also in the ninth minute, but in terms of seconds, it was the Australian, who beat Messi.
It was the quickest goal against France at the World Cup since Bryan Robson in 1982 (00:27) as he became the first Australian to score a World Cup non-penalty goal since Tim Cahill against the Netherlands in 2014.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 would have seen an earlier goal in the opening fixture when Ecuador’s Enner Valencia had headed the ball into the net in the third minute. However, after a VAR check, the goal was ruled offside.
Earlier today, Lionel Messi had scored from the spot against Saudi Arabia, but Argentina was eventually stunned with Saudi Arabia beating it 2-1 at the Lusail Stadium.
Is this one of the fastest-ever World Cup goal?
No. The quickest goal in the FIFA World Cup was scored by Turkey’s Hakan Suker, who took just 11 seconds to find the net. Goodwin’s goal, however, is much later than the top five fastest goals, all of which were score on or before 30 seconds of kick-off.
What was the quickest goal of the previous World Cup?
The 2018 FIFA World Cup saw Denmark’s Mathias Jorgensen score against Croatia in the 58th second, which became the fastest goal in the previous edition of the tournament.
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FIFA World Cup latest talking points:
Saudi Arabia shocks Argentina
It looked like Lionel Messi took 10 minutes and a penalty (that silenced a raucous Saudi crowd behind the team dugouts at the Lusail Stadium) to set sails for yet another World Cup adventure – his last – to exorcise the ghosts of disappointments past.
Argentina led by Lionel Messi started its World Cup campaign with a loss to Saudi Arabia. | Photo Credit: AFP
But his sails lost their wind in five terrifying second-half minutes, handing Argentina a 2-1 opening-game ambush by Saudi Arabia to give him and his mates a new nightmare.
Full story here: Saudi Arabia stuns Argentina to dent Messi’s World Cup ambitions
Can Argentina can qualify for knockouts after the shock loss?
Argentina, considered by many to be among the FIFA World Cup title favourites, began its Qatar 2022 campaign with a shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
This loss makes the Lionel Messi-led side’s chances of qualifying from Group C to the round of 16 more difficult.
How Argentina can ensure qualification for the knockout stage of the World Cup
The South American side next faces Mexico on November 27 and then takes on Poland on December 1.
Argentina needs to win both these games to give itself the best chance for qualification. Two wins would put it at six points, which could ensure a top spot depending on other results.
Full scenarios here: How Argentina can qualify for knockouts after shock loss to Saudi Arabia
Why was Ecuador goal ruled offside by VAR?
The first goal by Ecuador in the opening game of the FIFA World Cup against Qatar in the third minute was ruled out after a VAR check, leaving Ecuador fans bamboozled by the decision.
Enner Valencia, receiving the ball off a kick by Felix Torres, headed it into the net to the jubilation of thousands of Ecuadorian fans at the Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar.
But after consulting the video assistant referees, the goal was ruled out as off-side.
Full story here: Explained: FIFA World Cup, Why was Ecuador goal ruled offside by VAR?
Why so much injury time is added in Qatar WC?
One noticeable change in the ongoing Qatar World Cup has been the increase in stoppage time added in each half.
In the five matches played so far, there have been a combined total of 90 minutes played -- which is a duration of a football match.
The Netherlands‘ Davy Klaassen scored in the ninth minute of added time, despite the officials adding eight minutes of injury time. It’s not so common to see the amount of added time in World Cup matches as seen in this edition.
Why is it so? Read here: FIFA World Cup 2022: Why is so much injury time added in Qatar WC?
