The fastest goals in football history

Who scored the fastest goal in football history? We rank the quickest strikes ever recorded.

Football usually takes its time. 

Teams feel each other out, building up slowly with probing passes and pressure before launching an attack and repeating the process over again. But sometimes, the action is immediate. 

Fast goals are some of the most chaotic moments in football history. They arrive before teams have time to breathe and before defences are properly set. In pure football stats terms, they’re extreme outliers. In reality, they’re moments of brilliance that always make the highlights.

Here’s a look at the fastest goals ever scored, where they happened, and why these moments keep appearing in the record books.

The fastest goals ever scored in professional football

The fastest goals in football history are measured in seconds, not minutes. In fact, every goal in the all-time top ten has been scored inside four seconds.

The current record holder is Gavin Stokes, who scored after just 2.1 seconds for Maryhill against Clydebank in 2017. From the halfway line, straight from kick-off, Stokes spotted the goalkeeper’s position and struck immediately. The ball was in the net almost before the crowd had clocked what happened. 

Close behind him is Vuk Bakic, who scored in 2.2 seconds during a Serbian league match in 2012, again straight from kick-off. Similar goals follow throughout the list, with players like Ryan Hall, Jack Lyons, and Marc Burrows all striking within the first three seconds of a match.

Many of the fastest goals in football history come from lower leagues and youth competitions. That’s not a coincidence. Less structured kick-off routines and goalkeepers positioned high off their line create the perfect conditions for instant goals.

Fastest goals in major competitions

At the top level, fast goals are rarer but still remarkable.

The fastest goal in Premier League history was scored by Shane Long for Southampton against Watford in 2019, clocked at 7.69 seconds. Long capitalised on a defensive error straight from kick-off, pressing aggressively and finishing before Watford knew what was happening. 

In the UEFA Champions League, the fastest goal belongs to Roy Makaay, who scored after 10.12 seconds for Bayern Munich against Real Madrid in 2007. That goal came from intense pressing and a quick tackle rather than a long-range effort.

In international football, the fastest World Cup goal was scored by Hakan Şükür for Turkey against South Korea at the 2002 World Cup, taking just 11 seconds.

These moments show that while elite teams are better prepared, fast goals can still happen when concentration slips or pressure is applied immediately.

Why so many record-breaking goals come from kick-off

A pretty consistent pattern across the fastest goals list is how many come directly from kick-off. At kick-off, teams are at their most vulnerable. Defensive lines are high and players are still orienting themselves, which means single touch, a quick glance, and a shot from distance can exploit that moment of imbalance. 

Many of the fastest goals involve spotting a goalkeeper off their line and shooting immediately from the centre circle or just inside the opposition half.  

Why are lightning-fast goals so rare at elite level?

At the highest level, preparation reduces the likelihood of mistakes. Goalkeepers are drilled to stay alert at kick-off, a team’s defensive structure is tight, players are more disciplined, and attacking players rarely engage in huge risky plays early in matches. 

That’s why the very fastest goals tend to appear lower down the pyramid, where spontaneity still outweighs structure. When fast goals do happen at elite level, they’re usually remembered for decades.

Although the fastest goals are rarely the most important goals, they stick in our memory because they disrupt everything we expect from a match. From Gavin Stokes’ 2.1-second strike to Shane Long’s Premier League banger, these goals remind us that the game can be decided before it’s even begun.

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Some games take time to reveal themselves, but others are decided in an instant. The opening seconds can expose nerves, poor positioning, or a lapse in concentration that changes everything. 

Match Bingo lets you stay connected to those early shifts as they happen. You can follow how pressure builds, how possession swings, and how quickly a match tilts in one direction, long before the scoreline tells the story.

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