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Contact Us Page Last Updated 14 December 2021
 
Goalscorers Index

Fastest Goals from Kick-off

Last update includes no.1068 against Republic of Ireland on 17 November 2024
 

Arranged by Time of Goal

 

12 seconds

Tommy Lawton
 Chelsea
21 September 1947 - Belgium 2 England 5, Stade du Heysel, Bruxelles Fr AW

16 seconds

Bill Nicholson
 Tottenham Hotspur
19 May 1951 - England 5 Portugal 2, Goodison Park, Liverpool Fr HW
One source claims at best, 16 seconds, another at 19 seconds, but most round it up to 30 seconds.

17 seconds

Tommy Lawton
 Chelsea
25 May 1947 - Portugal 0 England 10, Estadio Nacional, Lisboa Fr AW

22 seconds

Harold Hassall
 Bolton Wanderers
11 November 1953 - England 3 Ireland 1, Goodison Park, Liverpool BC HW

27 seconds

Bryan Robson
 Manchester United
16 June 1982 - France 1 England 3, Estadio San Mamés, Bilbao WCF NW

30 seconds

Edgar Chadwick
 Everton
2 April 1892 - Scotland 1 England 4, Ibrox Park, Glasgow BC AW
Jack Cock
 Huddersfield Town
25 October 1919 - Ireland 1 England 1, Windsor Park, Belfast BC AD

36 seconds

Gareth Southgate
 Middlesbrough
22 May 2003 - South Africa 1 England 2, ABSA Park, Durban Fr AW

38 seconds

Bryan Robson
 Manchester United
13 December 1989 - England 2 Yugoslavia 1, Wembley Stadium, Wembley Fr HW

42 seconds

Gary Lineker
 Tottenham Hotspur
12 June 1991 - Malaysia 2 England 4, Merdeka Stadium, Kuala Lumpur Fr AW

44 seconds

Bryan Robson
 Manchester United
23 February 1982 - England 4 Northern Ireland 0, Wembley Stadium, Wembley BC HW

45 seconds

Dennis Wilshaw
 Manchester United
2 April 1955 - England 7 Scotland 2, Empire Stadium, Wembley BC HW

55 seconds

Geoff Hurst
 West Ham United
13 October 1971 - Switzerland 2 England 3, Sankt Jakob Stadium, Basel ECP AW

Notes

These goal times are mostly taken from official Football Association records, except Lawton's twelve second goal, which was taken directly from Clifford Webb's original match report.

Those for Jack Cock in 1919 and Edgar Chadwick in 1892 are estimates.

Tommy Lawton and Bryan Robson each share the distinction of scoring two of the 10 fastest England goals in history.  Lawton's two came in consecutive matches, in the last match of one season and the first match of the next..  Robson's effort against Yugoslavia in 1989 is the fastest England goal scored at Wembley.  His goal against France in 1982 is the fastest scored by England and the third fastest scored by any team in World Cup final tournament play.

Both Jack Cock and Bill Nicholson scored inside the first minute of their international debuts.  Nicholson's strike came on his first touch of the ball in an England shirt, but he was never again capped.

No England player has matched the fastest goal ever scored against England, by Davide Gualtieri for San Marino at 8.3 seconds of the final match of the ill-fated World Cup 1994 qualifying campaign in Bologna, Italy on 17 November 1993.  Here is Jonathon Pearce's radio commentary as the match kicked off: 
"Welcome to Bologna on Capital Gold for England versus San Marino with Tennent's Pilsner, brewed with Czechoslovakian yeast for that extra Pilsner taste and England are one down."

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