Spain star Lamine Yamal scored his first FIFA World Cup goal at 18 years and 343 days, younger than Lionel Messi and matching a rare record held by Pele.
Lamine Yamal's first FIFA World Cup goal puts him alongside Messi and Pele (PC: FIFA/X)
Spain’s teenage sensation Lamine Yamal etched his name alongside some of football’s greatest icons after scoring his first FIFA World Cup goal in Sunday’s Group H clash against Saudi Arabia at the Atlanta Stadium.
The 18-year-old opened the scoring in the 11th minute, becoming one of the youngest players ever to find the net on football’s biggest stage. At 18 years and 343 days, Yamal scored his maiden World Cup goal just 14 days younger than Lionel Messi was when the Argentine legend netted his first FIFA World Cup goal at 18 years and 357 days.
Advertisement
The Barcelona star also joined an exclusive club featuring only one other player. According to Opta, Yamal is just the second footballer aged 18 or younger to open the scoring for his country in a FIFA World Cup match, after Brazilian legend Pele, who achieved the feat as a 17-year-old against Wales in 1958.
Advertisement
The goal added another milestone to Yamal’s rapidly growing list of achievements. Opta statistics show that he is now the youngest player in history to score in both the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship, underlining his status as one of world football’s brightest young stars.
Yamal’s influence on Spain’s fortunes continues to grow. According to Opta, Spain remains unbeaten in the 21 matches he has started, winning 15 and drawing six. During that run, La Roja have scored 60 goals, with Yamal directly contributing to 16 of them through five goals and 11 assists.
His early strike set the tone for a dominant Spanish display. Mikel Oyarzabal added two goals as Spain raced into a commanding 3-0 lead against Saudi Arabia, bouncing back strongly after their frustrating goalless draw against tournament debutants Cape Verde in the opening match.
Spain XI
Unai Simon; Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Rodri, Dani Olmo, Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Alex Baena, Mikel Oyarzabal.
Saudi Arabia XI
Mohammed Alowais; Ali Lajami, Abdulelah Alamri, Hassan Altambakti, Saud Abdulhamid, Moteb Alharbi; Nasser Al-Dawsari, Musab Aljuwayr, Abdullah Alkhaibari, Feras Albrikan, Salem Al-Dawsari.
Advertisement
