The FIFA World Cup provides the ultimate platform for the best young players in the world to burst onto the scene.
Even better, when they announce themselves on the world stage with a goal.
Lionel Messi was just outside the top five of this list when he scored against Serbia in the 2006 World Cup.
5. Nicolae Kovacs
(18 years, 197 days) – Romania vs Peru, 14 July 1930
Romania opened Group 3 of the first-ever World Cup in 1930. On just the second day of the competition, they played Peru.
Kovacs scored the third goal for Romania, which helped them to a 3-1 victory. Despite the win, they lost their other group game against the hosts, Uruguay and didn’t qualify for the knockout stages.
This goal was his second of six goals scored by Kovacs in his 37-game career for Romania. By playing in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups, he was one of only five players who played in all three.
4. Michael Owen
(18 years, 190 days) – England vs Romania, 22 June 1998
Michael Owen shot onto the scene for Liverpool and became England’s youngest international when he made his debut in February 1998. Despite a career filled with injury, the Ballon d’Or winner went on to win 89 caps and score 40 goals.
Owen scored his first international goal in a pre-tournament friendly against Morocco to become England’s youngest ever scorer.
He came off the bench in the first game of the World Cup and replaced Teddy Sheringham when he came on to score the equaliser against Romania. England did concede late on to lose the match.
At 18, he had done enough to earn his spot in the starting team for the final group match and the famous last-16 game against Argentina.
Owen scored, but England lost on penalties after David Beckham got sent off. In total, he played in 12 World Cup games, scoring four goals.
3. Gavi
(18 years, 110 days) – Spain vs Costa Rica, 23 November 2022
Gavi, incredibly was making his 14th appearance for Spain when he scored in their opening game of the 2022 World Cup.
The midfielder has had struggles with injuries since then, so he has only played one international game since 2023.
He could feature in the 2026 version of the tournament, but has missed a majority of the season with a meniscus injury.
2. Manuel Rosas
(18 years, 93 days) – Mexico vs Argentina, 19 July 1930
Rosas took the record for the youngest goalscorer in the first World Cup just five days after Nicolae Kovacs scored for Romania.
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He played in all three games for Mexico at the 1930 World Cup and scored twice in the game against Argentina. A few days earlier, he scored the first-ever World Cup own goal.
1. Youngest goalscorer in World Cup history – Pelé
(17 years, 239 days) – Brazil vs Wales, 19 June 1958
Pele is one of the most legendary names in football, and a large element of that is reflected in his World Cup pedigree.
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He is the only player in history to score at a World Cup at the age of 17; he did so six times. The first goal of these six came in the quarter-final against Wales.
His second-half goal was the only goal of the match, followed by a hat-trick in the semi-final and a brace in the final win over hosts Sweden.
Pele was also the fifth youngest player to ever play at a World Cup by making his debut in 1958.
