38 July 2022 FourFourTwo
THE GOAL GRABBER (LITERALLY)
Rashidi Yekini netted a record 37 goals for
Nigeria – but none were more famous than
his strike against Bulgaria at the 1994 World
Cup. Having top-scored as Nigeria captured
the Africa Cup of Nations earlier that year,
Yekini’s goal against the Bulgarians was his
country’s first ever at a World Cup, putting
them on course for a historic 3-0 victory –
not bad, considering their opponents went
on to reach the semi-finals. ‘The Goalsfather’
celebrated by grabbing the goal net and
shaking it in weepy joy. It remains one of the
World Cup’s most iconic goal celebrations.
PHIL IN THE BLANKS
No England-born footballer has ever scored
more international goals than Wayne Rooney,
who struck 53 times in 120 games for the
Three Lions. Then it’s Bobby Charlton and
Harry Kane sharing second place on the list
with 49 goals each, right? Well... no. Ellen
White has netted a record 50 times for the
England women’s team, but even she trails
behind the mighty Phil Younghusband, the
Surrey-born star who bagged a record 52
goals for the Philippines between 2006 and
- He was minding his own business in
Chelsea’s reserve team when the Philippines
Football Federation reached out in 2005 – his
Filipino heritage had been listed on Football
Manager, prompting an anonymous gamer
to alert the federation. Phil was swiftly
called up alongside older brother James –
another Chelsea youth team graduate who
later represented AFC Wimbledon, Staines,
Woking and Farnborough. Both became
national heroes – as well as breaking the
Philippines’ goal record, Phil had a successful
club career in Southeast Asia and even
married a Filipino-Spanish model, thus
becoming an actual young husband. Aww.THE JOURNO WHO HUMBLED HITLER
If Erling Haaland wants to become Norway’s
record scorer, he’ll have to overhaul a man
who wasn’t even a full-time pro. Forget Ole
Gunnar Solskjaer and John Carew – all three
of the country’s leading scorers struck their
goals before 1960. Harald Hennum and Einar
Gundersen were unable to match the 33-
goal tally of record holder Jorgen Juve,
who played for Norway while also working
as the sports editor for national newspaper
Dagbladet, which is one way of guaranteeing
positive headlines for your performances.
Juve only actually operated as a striker for
22 of his 45 caps – after breaking the goal
record, he moved back into defence and
captained Norway at the 1936 Olympics in
Berlin. There, Adolf Hitler turned up to watch
a football match for the first time, expecting
to use a German victory as propaganda –
instead, Norway beat the hosts 2-0 and an
irked Fuhrer never attended another game.FRIENDS WITHOUT BENEFITS
Asamoah Gyan was lethal on the pitch during
a successful international career – but he
was swift to deny that he’s lethal off it, too.
In 2014, Ghana’s record scorer was bizarrely
accused of murdering a disappeared rapper
as a ritual sacrifice to enhance his own
playing career. Gyan’s friend went missing
during a jet ski outing and was suspected to
have simply drowned, yet rumours weirdly
persisted, prompting the striker to declare his
innocence. “We state without the slightest
doubt in our minds that we are not blameable
for the disappearance,” read a Gyan family
statement. “The allegation of spiritual
sacrifice can by no stretch of the imagination
be propped up.” Gyan has since become
a boxing promoter, set up his own airline
and steered well clear of ritual sacrifices.SAN MARINO’S SELVA LINING
Andy Selva only had to find the net eight
times to become San Marino’s leading
scorer... but one of them was their most
famous in history. Selva’s tally means he’s
bagged almost a third of the 27 goals his
tiny nation have registered, in 186 official
fixtures spanning back to 1990. They’ve
scored two in a game just twice, and even
then they couldn’t win – drawing 2-2 with
Liechtenstein in 2003, before losing 3-2 to
Malta in 2012. But Selva did deliver their one
and only victory in 2004, the SPAL forward
firing home a free-kick to beat Liechtenstein
1-0 on home soil. The 200 spectators who
bothered to turn up must have gone wild.RECORD
SCORERSKLOPP, THE HUMAN
LIGHTHOUSE AND
SEXY SANTA
When Harry Kane reaches Wayne Rooney’s tally of 53 England goals, he’ll
join a motley crew of record scorers around the world who are leading
the way for their respective nations, some better known than others...Words Chris Flanagan