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Lamine Yamal took just over 10 minutes to break the deadlock in Spain's Group H fixture against Saudi Arabia, etching his name into the record books in doing so.
The teenage sensation was badly missed for most of Spain's opening match against Cabo Verde, with the African nation holding the reigning European champions to a surprise goalless draw in Atlanta. When Yamal finally came off the bench in the second half, it proved too little, too late.
However, after being declared fit to start the clash with Saudi Arabia by head coach Luis De la Fuente, Yamal lost no time making his mark on the world stage in what was his first-ever World Cup start.
A sliding back-post finish to open the scoring early in the first half makes the Barcelona winger one of only nine players to have scored at a World Cup before reaching the age of 19.
Here's a look at all those remarkably gifted youngsters who make the rest of us feel inadequate about our own teenage years.
The Youngest Goalscorers in World Cup History
9. Lionel Messi (18 years & 357 days)
A fresh-faced, long-haired Lionel Messi netted Argentina's sixth goal late in a 6–0 thrashing of Serbia & Montenegro in the group stage back in 2006 ...
Nobody ever heard from the young forward again.
8. Lamine Yamal (18 years & 343 days)
A European champion at just 16, Yamal would almost certainly have scored his first World Cup goal sooner had a tournament been available to him earlier.
Blame FIFA for that one, Lamine.
7. Dmitri Sychev (18 years & 231 days)
The youthful Dmitri Sychev was briefly touted as football's next superstar after dazzling in the group stages at the 2002 World Cup, netting in a 3–2 loss to Belgium.
He would go on to spend the bulk of his career at Lokomotiv Moscow, following a short stint at French heavyweights Marseille.
6. Nicolae Kovacs (18 years & 197 days)
Nicolae Kovacs held the record as one of the youngest-ever World Cup goalscorers for quite some time, having found the net in the tournament's very first edition for Romania against Peru back in 1930.
You'll forgive us for not having more details about the goal itself.
5. Michael Owen (18 years & 190 days)
Michael Owen had the world at his feet—quite literally—when he burst past half the Argentina defense to fire the ball past Carlos Roa for one of the greatest World Cup goals ever scored.
That stunning strike was actually Owen's second goal at the 1998 World Cup, with his first coming as a consolation for England in their group stage defeat to Romania.
4. Ibrahim Mbaye (18 years & 143 days old)
Remarkably, Lamine Yamal is not the youngest scorer at the 2026 World Cup.
That distinction belongs to Senegal and Paris Saint-Germain starlet Ibrahim Mbaye, who struck late against France. Unfortunately, his effort was in vain as Les Bleus claimed a 3–1 victory after Kylian Mbappé (two goals) and Bradley Barcola did the damage at MetLife Stadium in New York.
3. Gavi (18 years & 110 days)
Lamine Yamal is not even Spain's youngest World Cup scorer—that honor goes to Gavi, who hammered home a spectacular volley in a 7–0 demolition of Costa Rica in the 2022 group stage.
Took your time, Lamine ...
2. Manuel Rosas (18 years & 93 days)
Another participant in the inaugural 1930 World Cup, Mexico's Manuel Rosas—who scored twice against Argentina—also netted the competition's first-ever own goal and became the first Mexican to score a brace in the tournament.
Unsurprisingly, he doesn't feature in many (or any) online photo archives.
SI answers is our AI answer engine trained on human-created content.
1. Pelé (17 years & 239 days)
Teenage Pelé was labeled "childish" and undeserving of his squad place by Brazil's team psychologist ahead of the 1958 World Cup.
The young forward scored his first World Cup goal in the quarterfinals against Wales, before going on to bag a hat-trick in the semifinals and a brace in the final. He finished his career with 12 World Cup goals and three tournament titles.
Next time you suffer from imposter syndrome at work, just think of that psychologist.