Lamine Yamal Scores First World Cup Goal Earlier Than Messi, Ronaldo

Lamine Yamal and Spain returned to the pitch for their second Group H match on Sunday, hoping for a significantly better performance than their opening match against Cape Verde.

In their first game, Spain was unable to score any goals, settling for a stunning 0-0 draw with Cape Verde, raising immediate concerns about their chances as a top contender in this year’s World Cup.

Those concerns seemed to get answered in just the first half of Sunday’s game, as the team came out on a mission, officially ending their scoreless drought.

And it was the 18-year-old international football phenomenon Yamal who got things started by scoring his first-ever World Cup goal to make it 1-0 against Saudi Arabia.

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His career first goal reportedly came at an official age of 18 years, 343 days, which was younger than when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo scored their first World Cup goals. When Messi scored his first World Cup goal, he was 14 days older, while Ronaldo was 21 years and 132 days when he scored his first.

Just 10 minutes into the match, Spain was on the attack towards Saudi Arabia’s goal with a strong pass sent over to the right. Yamal sped in and delivered a sliding kick for an exciting start to the game and likely the first of many goals in his FIFA World Cup career.

Mikel Oyarzabal would score two more goals in the first half, coming at the 21 and 24-minute marks to make it a 3-0 halftime lead. As of this writing, it was 4-0, as Saudi Arabia’s Hassan Altambakti scored an own goal to add further issues for his team’s chances.

With all the talk of the greats and superstars such as Messi, Ronaldo, Kane, and Haaland, it’s refreshing to see the potential for a new superstar to emerge at the World Cup. Yamal has to have received a major confidence boost now that his first goal is officially in the books, and that he did it at a younger age than Messi or Ronaldo.

More importantly, a 4-0 lead at this point seemed to be a solid path to a massive victory, something Yamal and Spain seriously needed after going scoreless in their first match. The win would likely strengthen their chances of winning Group H and qualifying for the Knockout Round.

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This story was originally published June 21, 2026 at 6:41 PM.