The best way to start a game of football is by scoring a goal. It puts the opposition on the back foot immediately and ruins their whole game plan. Teams have used strategies throughout the years to maximize their position from the kick-off and try to catch their opponents off guard. Here are the three fastest goals ever scored in the FIFA World Cup.
Ernst Lehner
Ernst Lehner may not be a household name outside of Germany (or inside of Germany for that matter) but he scored the third-fastest goal in the world cup in 1934. Lehner managed to score in just 25 seconds. At the time he was said to be the best non-pro footballer in the world and represented his country at two world cups.
Vaclav Masek
In the 1962 world cup Masek was able to score in just 16 seconds. The player represented Czechslovakia at the time who ended runners up in the tournament. While Masek is only the second-fastest goal scorer, at least he knows no one will ever score a faster goal for Czechslovakia.
Hakan Sukur
Hakan Sukur is a man that is famous for a number of reasons. He was a prolific striker in his time scoring 383 goals throughout his career, 51 of which were for Turkey having represented the country 112 times. This makes him the nation’s top goalscorer of all time. He spent most of his career at Galatasary and finished top scorer in the league on three occasions. In his 13 seasons with the team, he scored double digits 12 times.
Sukur retired from football in 2008 and went on to be elected as MP for Istanbul. He later resigned from the party to run as an independent. However, since 2016 Sukur is living in exile in the United States as he is wanted for being a member of the Gulen movement.
Still, most of us will remember him for his 2002 exploits when he scored the fastest world cup goal, ever. He managed to score in just 10.8 seconds proving he really was an incredible striker.
