Guinness World Records 2018

International Soccer

SPORTS

MOST GOALS AT THE FIFA FUTSAL

WORLD CUP BY AN INDIVIDUAL

Alessandro Rosa Vieira (BRA, right), better known

as Falc‹o, scored 48 goals from 18 Nov 2000 to

21 Sep 2016. Widely regarded as the greatest

indoor footballer ever, he won the Futsal World

Cup twice and was runner-up once. In his final

game ever, Falc‹o scored a hat-trick in defeat

to Iran to reach 10 goals at the 2016 World Cup.

The “Viking clap” popularized by Iceland fans at Euro 2016

originated with fans of Scottish club side Motherwell.

Oldest player at an Africa Cup of Nations
finals tournament
Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary
(b. 15 Jan 1973) played in the 2017 Africa Cup of
Nations final against Cameroon aged 44 years
21 days. His hopes of a record fifth tournament
victory were dashed as Cameroon ran out 2–1
winners at the Stade de l’Amitié in Libreville,
Gabon, on 6 Feb.

Oldest player at a UEFA
European Championships
Gábor Király (b. 1 Apr 1976) was aged
40 years 74 days when he played for
Hungary in their first-round match
against Austria at the Stade Matmut
Atlantique in Bordeaux, France, on
14 Jun 2016. He made his debut
against the same side in 1998.
Most games as coach of the
same international soccer team
Kscar Tabárez (URY) has managed Uruguay
171 times in two separate spellsDZ 1988–90
and 2006–17. The previous best was 167, by
German coach Josef ȠSeppȡ Herberger.

Most frequently played

international soccer fixture

As of 2 Sep 2016, Argentina and Uruguay had

played each other 187 times. Argentina had

won 87 times and Uruguay 57, with 43 draws.

Most penalty shoot-out defeats

in the Copa América by a team

Argentina have been knocked out of the

Copa América on penalty kicks five timesDZ

in 1995, 2004, 2011, 2015 and 2016.

FIRST BROTHERS TO PLAY

AGAINST EACH OTHER IN THE

UEFA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Granit and Taulant Xhaka found themselves on

opposing sides when Switzerland played Albania

in a European Championship group game in Lens,

France, on 11 Jun 2016. Younger brother Granit

came out on top, with Switzerland winning 1 –0

and Taulant being substituted. The brothers

were born in Switzerland to Albanian parents.

Longest winless streak by

an international soccer team

Andorra failed to win a game in 86 attempts

from 17 Nov 2004 to 13 Nov 2016. On 22 Feb

2017, they beat San Marino 2–0 in a friendly.

Most games won by a coach with

the same international soccer team

Germany won 97 games under Joachim LÏw

(DEU) between 16 Aug 2006 and 26 Mar 2017 –

most notably the final of the 2014 World Cup.

Highest annual earnings

for a footballer (current year)

Cristiano Ronaldo (PRT, below) earned an

estimated ȯ88 m (ȳ60.2 m) in the 12 months

to 1 Jun 2016, according to Forbes.

SMALLEST COUNTRY BY

POPULATION TO QUALIFY FOR THE

UEFA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS

Iceland qualified for the 2016 European

Championships with a population of just 331,918.

At the finals in France, they reached the knockout

stages, beating England 2–1 before losing 5–2 to

France in the quarter-finals on 3 Jul.

FASTEST GOAL

SCORED IN A FIFA

WORLD CUP

QUALIFIER

On 10 Oct 2016,

Christian Benteke

found the net for

Belgium against

Gibraltar just 8.1 sec

after kick-off at the

Estádio Algarve in

Algarve, Portugal.

Gibraltar started with

the ball, but after just

two touches Benteke

was through on goal.

He scored twice more

as Belgium went on

to win the match 6–0.

MOST GOALS SCORED

BY A SUBSTITUTE IN A

COPA AMÉRICA MATCH

On 10 Jun 2016, Lionel Messi came off the

bench for Argentina to score three times

against Panama at Soldier Field in Chicago,

Illinois, USA. He equalled the feat of Paulo

Valentim, who scored a hat-trick for Brazil

against Uruguay at the Estadio Monumental

in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 26 Mar 1959.

MOST UEFA

EUROPEAN

CHAMPIONSHIP

GOALS (INDIVIDUAL)

At Euro 2016, Cristiano

Ronaldo notched his

ninth Championship

goal during Portugal’s

2–0 semi-final victory

over Wales on 6 Jul. He

equalled the mark set

by Michel Platini (FRA),

who scored nine goals

at the 1984 European

Championships.

Ronaldo has also

achieved the most

UEFA Euro Finals

tournaments scored

in by a player – four,

from 2004 to 2016.

After

missing a

penalty in the

2016 Copa América

final shoot-out, Lionel

Messi announced his

international retirement.

A huge campaign by

fans persuaded him

to reverse his

decision.