Participating in the World Cup is a dream for any player. To be on the field, that player must have all the best elements to be able to represent a country and play at the biggest football festival on the planet. Just imagine, when you’re in high school and you’re called up to represent your country at the FIFA World Cup, it’s such an honor.
Throughout history at World Cup, only a handful of players have had that honor. Let’s find out Top 5 Youngest Players In World Cup History in the article below!
Norman Whiteside
– Age of participation in the World Cup: 17 years, 40 days
The first on the list of Top 5 Youngest Players In World Cup History is Norman Whiteside. As a youngster, Norman Whiteside was immediately compared to Northern Ireland star George Best, even being recruited by George Best himself for Manchester United. Whiteside only appeared in two matches in England’s highest football league club level for MU before Billy Bingham (Coach of the Northern Ireland national team) called the striker into the squad for the 1982 World Cup.
Astonishingly, the Northern Ireland team that year reached the quarter-finals of the 1982 World Cup, which included a famous 1–0 victory over Spain to qualify for the group stage, before being eliminated by a struggling French team. Michel Platini’s elevation. Although Whiteside did not score in this World Cup, his performance encouraged other young players greatly. In addition to being the youngest player to join WC Whiteside then also becoming the youngest player in the League Cup final (vs Liverpool).
Northern Ireland, and Whiteside, were back in the 1986 World Cup and he managed to put his name on the scoresheet with a corner kick against Algeria in a 1-1 draw. Then with two other losses in the group stage, they were unable to progress further into the next round.Sadly, within ten years of making his World Cup debut, Whiteside was forced to retire from football due to a knee injury that lasted throughout his later years while playing for Everton at the age of 26. He ended his career with 39 games for Northern Ireland, scoring 9 goals.
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Samuel Eto’o
– Age of participation in the World Cup: 17 years 98 days
The next name in the Top 5 Youngest Players In World Cup History must be a name that is not unfamiliar to us – Samuel Eto’ o. On the same day as Whiteside’s debut, but 16 years later, Samuel Eto’o made his World Cup debut in a 3-0 loss for Cameroon to Italy to become one of the youngest players in World history.
Seemingly, he would shine for 24 minutes in 1998 but with consecutive African Cup of Nations titles and Olympic gold medals in 2002, expectations were high that Eto’o could lead the team and replicate their quarter-final performance in 1990. A strike in a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia, would be a good start, once again the “Indomitable Lions” were eliminated in the group stage, although they surprised many people.
The following year, Cameroon finished as runners-up in the 2003 Confederations Cup – Eto’o scored the only goal in a surprise 1-0 win over Brazil. Eto’o moved to Barcelona in 2004, where he would go on to taste success in the UEFA Champions League.
Eto’o announced his retirement from international football with 118 caps, the third most in Cameroon’s history after moving to Premier League Everton from Chelsea in 2014.
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Femi Opabunmi
– Age to participate in the World Cup: 17 years and 100 days
Overall, the 2002 tournament was a disappointment for Nigeria with two defeats to Argentina and Sweden making them unacceptable. But a 0-0 draw in their final game against England saw Femi Opabunmi become the third youngest of the youngest ever to kick a World Cup.
The winger has broken through the previous year thanks to some stellar performances at the Under-17 World Cup, including a hat-trick against Australia when he won the Bronze Ball as a player. third best in the tournament.
It should have been the start of a promising career, with interest noted from the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Lyon, but sadly within four years, Opabunmi was forced to retire. all football career due to an eye problem, glaucoma and left him blind in one eye.
Salomon Olembé
– Age to participate in the World Cup: 17 years 184 days
Six days before Eto’o’s debut, Salomon Olembé became Cameroon’s youngest player at the FIFA World Cup finals after breaking through for the national team the previous year, making his debut at the World Cup at old Wembley stadium in the match against England at the age of 16.
Olembe’s debut was in a 1-1 draw against Austria with Cameroon. However, Cameroon had a really difficult season when they lost 0-3 to Italy, drew 1-1 with Chile, and could not progress further into the next round. A few months before the 1998 World Cup, Olembe set up Alphonse Tchami to score the only goal to help Cameroon beat host Burkina Faso 1-0, right in the first time playing in the Africa Cup.
In total, Olembe scored 5 goals in 64 appearances for Cameroon, was an important member of the journey to win the Africa Cup of 2000 and 2002. At club level, Olembe played in England, Turkey, Greece. Greece and the most successful in France, culminating in the Ligue 1 championship in the 2000-2001 season with Nantes.
Pelé – Top 5 Youngest Players In World Cup History
– Age to participate in the World Cup: 17 years 234 days
Pele is an iconic player in football history, he made his World Cup debut in 1958 when he was just 17 years and 234 days old. He immediately left a mark with an assist for Vava to seal a 2-0 victory over the Soviet Union, helping Brazil continue to the top of the group. In the quarter-finals, Pele scored the only goal to help Brazil beat Wales 1-0. He then contributed three goals in the semi-final victory over France 5-2 and became the youngest player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup.
In the final, Pele continued to explode with a brace to help Brazil beat Sweden 5-2, thereby becoming the youngest player to appear and score in a World Cup Final at 179 days.
The Brazilian legend still holds many records, including being the only player to win 3 World Cups in 1958, 1962, 1970, leading in the number of assists (10) and the number of phases. scored in a final (3). In total, Pele scored 12 goals in 14 matches, ranking 5th in the list of top scorers at the World Cup.
Above is the article The Youngest Players In World Cup History that we have compiled and sent to you. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar is almost here, so what are you waiting for, book a plane ticket and enjoy the great atmosphere of the biggest football festival on the planet. If you liked this article, don’t forget to leave a comment below and share it!
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