The youngest and oldest goalscorers in World Cup history
Pelé scored at 17 in 1958 and Roger Milla at 42 in 1994. Between those two extremes lies the entire scoring history of the World Cup.
The scoring history of the World Cup has two extremes that seem lifted from a legend. On one side, a teenager; on the other, a man in his forties. Between them, six decades of football.
The youngest goalscorer in World Cup history is Pelé. In 1958, aged just 17 years and 239 days, the Brazilian scored against Wales in the quarter-finals. He did not stop there: he netted a hat-trick in the semi-final against France and a brace in the final against Sweden, also becoming the youngest scorer in a final and the youngest-ever world champion.
At the opposite extreme is Roger Milla. The Cameroonian striker scored against Russia at the 1994 World Cup aged 42 years and 39 days, a record for veteran scoring that remains intact and sums up his incredible longevity.
The list of prodigies includes other famous names, such as Northern Ireland's Norman Whiteside, who in 1982 became, at 17, the youngest player ever to appear at a World Cup, even ahead of Pelé himself.
Youth and experience go hand in hand at a tournament that crowns both the prospects who burst onto the world stage and the veterans who refuse to say goodbye. Every World Cup, without fail, unveils a new teenage star and bids farewell to some eternal figure.
Source: Wikipedia (Pelé; Roger Milla; FIFA World Cup records and statistics).