Yamal's World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia makes him seventh-youngest scorer in history

Lamine Yamal scored his first World Cup goal on 21 June 2026 in Atlanta, netting Spain’s opener against Saudi Arabia after just 10 minutes to become the seventh-youngest scorer in the tournament’s history. The Barcelona forward, 18 years and 343 days old at the time, tapped in a driven cross from Mikel Oyarzabal at the back post to break the deadlock against a Saudi side set up with a back five.

The goal places Yamal in elite company but stops short of the record books. Pele remains the youngest World Cup scorer of all time, having netted against Wales at the 1958 tournament in Sweden aged just 17 years and 239 days — a margin so large that the record may never be threatened. Yamal’s Barcelona and Spain team-mate Gavi sits third on the list, having scored against Costa Rica at Qatar 2022 aged 18 years and 110 days.

Between Pele and Yamal on the all-time list sit Manuel Rosas, Michael Owen, Nicolae Kovacs, and Dmitri Sychev. Notably, Yamal’s seventh-place finish puts him fractionally ahead of Lionel Messi — the man whose No. 10 shirt Yamal inherited at Barcelona.

Spain entered the match as clear favourites but arrived with a degree of caution after a shock draw against Cape Verde in their opening group game. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, carried their own pedigree for upsets, most memorably defeating eventual champions Argentina in the group stage at Qatar 2022.

Yamal was making his first start of the 2026 tournament and looked sharp from the opening whistle before producing the finish that opened his World Cup account. It is unlikely to be his last.