The FIFA World Cup has been the most anticipated tournament ever in the history of soccer. The event is played once every four years in a league/knockout format.
Football fans all over the world wait patiently for this tournament to commence as they get to see some of the most enthralling games between the qualified national teams.
There have been some memorable moments that occurred during the mega event. Among these, we will look at the fastest goal scored in FIFA World Cup history.
The fastest goals scored in the FIFA World Cup
We have seen that some of the players that have scored goals in the blink of an eye have registered themselves in the history books.
Fun fact:
Fastest goal in FIFA World Cup history was scored by Hakan Şükür (Turkey) vs South Korea in the 2002 Third Place play-off after 11 seconds from kick-off 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/ShosBJFxc8
— BocaGalactico™️ (@BocaGalactico) November 20, 2020
Here’s a list of the top 5 fastest goals scored in FIFA World Cup history:
| Footballers | Nationality | Match | Time | Stage | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hakan Sukur | Turkey | Turkey vs South Korea | 00:10 | Third place | 2002 |
| Vaclav Masek | Czech | Czech vs Mexico | 00:16 | Group stage | 1962 |
| Ernst Lehner | Germany | Germany vs Austria | 00:25 | Third place | 1934 |
| Bryan Robson | England | England vs France | 00:27 | Group stage | 1982 |
| Clint Dempsey | USA | USA vs Ghana | 00:29 | Group stage | 2014 |
Hakan Sukur scores the fastest goal in the World Cup
The fastest goal in the World Cup was scored by Turkey’s Hakan Sukur in just 11 seconds. He scored the goal in the third-place play-off match against South Korea in 2002.
The record was made in the third place playoff match in the World Cup. Turkey’s Captain, Hakan Sukur, took advantage of abysmal defending from the Korean player Hong Myung-bo to score in just 10.8 seconds.
Happy Birthday to @hakansukur – who scored the fastest goal in @FIFAWorldCup history, just 11 seconds into Turkey's 2002 third place play-off against South Korea ⚽️🇹🇷😲
In our collection we have his strip from the 2000 @UEFA Cup final, which he won with @Galatasaray! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/GkYyYwXA7T
— FIFA Museum (@FIFAMuseum) September 1, 2019
Hakan Sukur astounded everyone in the World Cup by taking only 10 seconds to score a goal. In a match between Turkey and South Korea in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Sukur, with his mastermind ability, scored a sensational goal.
The Turkish international took the ball between his opponents with his outstanding skills and made it impossible for the Korean goalkeeper to stop the goal by hitting the ball with immense technique and power.
Thus, he registered his name in the history books by scoring the fastest goal in World Cup history. Meanwhile, Turkey went on to finish in the third position to win the Bronze medal in the 2002 World Cup.
What teams did Hakan Sukur play for, and how many goals he scored in his career?
Hakan Sukur has played for many big clubs such as Blackburn Rovers, Inter Milan, Parma, Torino, and Galatasaray. He retired from international football in 2008 after shifting into politics from football.
He also enjoys a special status at his club Galatasaray, where he went on to win the Uefa Cup (now called Europa Cup) in 2000. Galatasaray became the first Turkish side to achieve this accolade.
Hakan Sukur has scored 217 goals in 392 games, with a record 8 Super Lig titles during his time at Galatasaray. Hakan Sukur has netted 260 goals in 540 matches at his club career level.
Sukur has scored 51 goals in 112 matches for the Turkish national team. Hakan’s best moment came in the 2002 Japan and South Korea World Cup, in which Turkey finished third, where he was the charismatic figure in Turkey’s glory.
What happened to Hakan Sukur? Is the World Cup legend an Uber driver?
The 48-year-old legend, due to a change in fortune has been working as an Uber driver in the USA. After a compelling career and a record of scoring the fastest goal in the World Cup, the future didn’t go as he planned.
Sukur, who shifted to politics after retiring from football, was sent into exile as he was accused of being a part of an alleged coup attempt in his country in July 2016.
It has been speculated that Turkey’s president Erdogan confiscated all his wealth and sent him out of his country in 2017.
In an interview, he said, “Now I drive for Uber and I sell books. I have nothing left, Erdogan took everything: my right to liberty, freedom of expression, and right to work.
Nobody seems able to explain what my role in this coup was supposed to be. I never did anything illegal, I am not a traitor or a terrorist.
After the split with Erdogan, I started to receive threats. My wife’s shop was attacked, my children were harassed, my father was put in prison and all my assets were confiscated.
So I moved to the United States, initially running a café in California, but strange people kept coming into the bar.”
OTD, 2014: @clint_dempsey scores the fastest FIFA World Cup goal in @USMNT history! 🇺🇸🐐 pic.twitter.com/sixmfKmS8H
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) June 16, 2021
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Luiz Suarez, Edison Cavani, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Neymar Jr, Robert Lewandowski, Karim Benzema, and Sergio Ramos, as the list goes on, will play their last World Cup in Qatar in November 2022.
Who will lead his national side to one last glory to claim the most prestigious trophy in the history of football? Time has all the answers wrapped up in it. Stay tuned with Sportsmanor for the latest news and updates.
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