Football is a game of many styles. Some teams play possession play while others focus on counter attacking football. Some play elegant while the others play physical. A viewer can expect anything from this game from half line shots to blazing volleys, but one seldom expects the game to start and boom a goal. Nothing upsets the opposition fans more than your team scoring a goal in the initial moments of the game. Now lets narrow things down a bit. When one talks about the initial moments of the game, the usual thought is a goal scored in the first 5 minutes of the game. But there are few goals which are far more quicker. Goals so quickly scored that the fans can’t even settle into their seats that they must get up awestruck by what their team just achieved. Without much delay, let’s look at our top 10 fastest goals in football history.
List of Top 10 Fastest Goals in Football History
10. Christian Eriksen - 10.54 seconds (Tottenham Hotspurs vs Manchester United)
One of the most amazing goals in football history and the then fastest goal in the premier league history since Opta started keeping record of time, Christian Eriksen created a moment for the history books in the 2017-18 EPL season. Jan Vertonghen launched the ball forward which was then controlled by Harry Kane who then tried to pass Phil Jones but was taken forward by Dele Alli. He tried a shot but that got deflected off Smalling. Eriksen latched on to that ball and curled it around David De Gea. It was one of the most wonderful scenes of that season. This display stunned everyone including the then United manager Mourinho. This goal currently is the fourth fastest goal in English Premier League history.
9. Alan Shearer - 10.52 seconds (Newcastle United vs Manchester city)
A name that is synonymous to Premier League football is Alan Shearer. The footballing legend had 260 goals under his name and holds the record for the most goals scored in the league ever. One day in the 2003 EPL season, Newcastle faced Manchester City. City got the ball rolling and made a back pass. Then Shearer pressed and the defence passed the ball further back to Keiren Westwood. This mistake proved fatal for the team as Shearer pounced on the attempted long kick from Westwood and ended up slotting the ball into an empty Manchester City net. Passing back to the keeper was always viewed as a dangerous move and City proved it to the whole wide world by giving Shearer the honour of the fastest goal of the year and one of the fastest goals in the premier league history.
8. Roy Makaay - 10.12 seconds (Bayern Munich vs Real Madrid)
In 2007 during the second leg tie between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League round of 16, Roy Makaay and Hasan Salihamidzic turned on their mojo to take their team into the next round on away goals. Real Madrid started the match and lost possession early to Hasan Salihamidzic who then skidded off towards the right side of the field. From there, the path was clear. He made an inch perfect pass to Makaay who prolifically scored on his first touch. The goal was the fastest goal in the Champions League history and is one of the fastest goals scored in the world.
7. Ledley King - 9.82 seconds (Tottenham Hotspurs vs Bradford city)
A little breakdown before we get into how he became the then fastest goal scorer in Premier League history, King was a central defender and generally would play around the halfway line when the team had possession much like any other central defender in the world. Now one fine day this gentleman who is now a Spurs legend decided to stun the whole wide world. In the year 2000, Spurs faced Bradford City in one of the most engaging games of that season. A topped-up header fell at Ledley Kings feet who ran forward with the ball like a bullet and at about 30 yards from goal decided to test his luck. This gamble ultimately paid of and the ball ended up in the net taking a slight deflection from the Bradford defence. This made the goal one of the fastest in the world and gave him the honour of the fastest goal in premier league history at that time.
6. Shane Long - 7.69 seconds (Southampton vs Watford)
Southampton has produced many wonderful players and developed many more once they joined their team. One such player is Shane Long. The forward went berserk in the game against Watford in the 2018-19 EPL season. He charged forward at incredible pace, intercepted a clearance by Craig Cathcart and dinked the ball over Ben Foster the Watford keeper. This goal helped him break the record held by Ledley King for almost 19 years. He now holds the record for the fastest goal in premier league history. The goal currently is the third fastest goal in football ever scored on the British soil but falls just shy of the five fastest goals in football.
5. Tim Cahill - 7 seconds (New York Red Bulls vs Houston Dynamo)
Tim Cahill is regarded as one of the faster players in the world of football but what he achieved in the penultimate game of the 2013 season was extremely fast for even his standards. Cahill started the game by rolling the ball to his teammate and darted towards the right side of the penalty area. He received the ball around 10 yards from the box controlled it with his chest, bounced it over the defender and shot the ball into the top right corner from just outside the box. This goal was then one of the fastest scored in the world ever and is the fastest goal in history of the premier league and looks like it will remain so for times to come.
4. Jim Fryatt - 4 seconds (Bradford Park Avenue vs Tranmere Rovers)
This goal was scored way back in time. By way back we mean the 1964-65 season. Bradford Park was a fourth division English team playing against Tranmere Rovers. Now, there is no data on how he really scored the goal or what happened in the match, but the feat alone is incredible. Scoring a goal in a mere 4 seconds no matter what level of football you are playing in is not a lowly thing. That goal to date is the second fastest goal in football scored on British soil and is one of the fastest goals scored in football history.
3. Nawab al abed - 2.4 seconds (Al Hilal vs Al Shoalah)
Al Hilal met Al Shoalah in a Qatar Cup match during the 2010-11 season. Al Abed saw that the keeper was out of position at the start and was not covering the goal completely. What happened next was completely astonishing. He took the Kick-off but instead of passing to his teammate, he took the shot. A shot so crisp that no one could understand what was happening till the ball ended up in the back of the Al Shoalah net as it whistled past the keeper in the top right-hand corner and he was to dumbstruck to react. Though the keeper was at fault, we still must agree that the technique in hitting the inch perfect shot is a commendable feat. This goal cements his name in the top three fastest goals scored ever till someone decides to be even more audacious and break his 2.4 second mark. The goal is also the second fastest goal in football history ever scored from the kick-off spot.
2. Marc Burrows - 2 seconds (Cowes Sports vs Eastleigh)
Just when you thought that no goal can be faster than the goal by Al Abed. Like how can it right? Well that is where you are wrong. Let us tell you a tale of the fastest goal ever scored in the world from Kick-off. Yes, you heard it right. This is the fastest goal in football history scored from a kick-off. In 2004, Marc Burrows of Cowes Sports club scored a goal in 2 seconds after the match started and most of that two second was his build-up run towards the ball when his partner rolled the ball along the half line for kick-off. He hit the ball so hard that it went sailing forward. Just the way Abed had hit, the ball sailed over the keeper and into the top right corner of the net. Like we said earlier, this is the fastest goal ever from the kick-off.
1. Nicklas Bendtner - 1.8 seconds (Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspurs)
This is technically supposed to be out of scope, but you cannot simply ignore a goal scored by anyone in a mere 1.8 seconds of them being on the pitch. Yes, you read it right, 1.8 seconds. That is all the time it took Lord Nicklas Bendtner to make his appearance as a substitute for Arsenal against Spurs and net home a wonderful header from the corner taken by none other than the master passer Cesc Fabregas. He may not have had the most stellar of careers in world football but Bendtner did manage to record the fastest goal in football history.
With this we conclude our list of the top 10 fastest goals ever scored in the world.
10. Christian Eriksen - 10.54 Seconds
9. Alan Shearer - 10.52 Seconds
8. Roy Makaay - 10.12 Seconds
7. Ledley King - 9.82 Seconds
6. Shane Long - 7.69 Seconds
5. Tim Cahill - 7 Seconds
4. Jim Fryatt - 4 Seconds
3. Nawab Al Abed - 2.4 Seconds
2. Marc Burrows - 2 Seconds
1. Nicklas Bendtner - 1.8 Seconds
- By Aditya Bharadwaj