New Delhi: Spain’s dominant 4-0 victory against Saudi Arabia on Sunday at the Atlanta Stadium came with an opener from teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, who entered the top-10 list of youngest footballers to score in the FIFA World Cup. Scoring the goal at 18 years and 343 days, Yamal secured the eighth spot in the coveted list.
The Barcelona winger’s clinical 10th-minute finish also set the tone for La Roja’s first victory in North America this summer. Their much-needed dominating display came at the heels of a lacklustre goalless draw against minnows Cape Verde last week.
Opening the scoring for Spain, Yamal’s strike also pushed Argentine maestro Lionel Messi down to ninth position on the World Cup’s all-time youngest goal scorers list. Messi had held the eighth-place spot since his exploits in 2006 in Germany, where he scored against Serbia and Montenegro aged 18 years and 357 days. It was the first of his 16 World Cup goals for Argentina.
Pele in pole position
Brazilian legend Pelé remains the youngest ever scorer in FIFA World Cup history, holding the top spot since the 1958 edition when he scored against Wales aged just 17 years and 239 days. Brazil ultimately lifted the trophy in 1958, making Pelé also the youngest ever to win football’s ultimate prize. He was 17 years and 249 days old when Brazil was crowned champions.
Manuel Rosas of Mexico sits in second spot, thanks to his strike against Argentina in the very first edition of the FIFA World Cup in 1930, hosted and won by Uruguay. Rosas was 18 years and 93 days old when he entered football’s history books. With his goal, he also became the first player to score a penalty in a World Cup match. Rosas was also the first player in World Cup history to score an own goal, during Mexico’s 3-0 loss against Chile in the same edition.
Rounding off the top three in the list of all-time youngest goal scorers in men’s World Cup finals is England talisman Michael Owen. He was just 18 years and 190 days when he equalised for England against Romania in a thrilling match in the 1998 edition that ultimately ended in a 2-1 defeat for the Three Lions. The tournament was hosted and won by France.
As La Roja aim to go all the way this summer, Lamine Yamal is a vital cog in their wheel, even at the age of 18. His inclusion in the Spanish World Cup squad came as a huge relief to fans and football lovers, as he was in a serious race against time to be fit for the showpiece event after sustaining a hamstring injury in late April playing for his club FC Barcelona.
Yamal and Spain next face Uruguay at the Guadalajara Stadium, Mexico, in their final Group H clash early Saturday.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)