Every World Cup title, there are always young players who appear in the biggest football event of four years. However, among them, there were only a few who were the youngest. Here are the five youngest players in World Cup history:
1. Norman Whiteside (Northern Ireland)
In the first order there is the name Norman Whiteside. The former Manchester United player is the youngest footballer to ever play in the World Cup, which was in the 1982 edition which was held in Spain. At that time, Norman Whiteside competed in the World Cup at the age of 17 years and 40 days.
2. Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
The second youngest player in the history of the World Cup was inscribed by former Barcelona and Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o. Samuel Eto’o is included in the list of youngest players because he played in the World Cup at the age of 17 years and 98 days. At that time, Eto’o had to undergo a match against Italy in the group stage of the 1998 World Cup which was held in France.
3. Femi Opabunmi (Nigeria)
Femi Opabunmi is a footballer from the African continent who is included in this list besides Eto’o. The former Nigerian national team striker made his debut at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea-Japan during the match against England in the Group F stage. At that time, Femi Opabunmi made his debut at the age of 17 years and 100 days.
4. Salomon Olembe (Cameroon)
Still from the African continent, now there is Salomon Olembe who has defended Cameroon in the World Cup when he was 17 years 184 days. At that time, he played for Cameroon in the 1998 World Cup and played against Austria.
5. Pele (Brazil)
The man whose full name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento or familiarly called Pele is fifth in the list of the five youngest players in World Cup history. Pele made his World Cup debut at the age of 17 years and 234 days.
The former New York Cosmos player made his debut during Brazil’s match against the Soviet Union at the 1958 World Cup. In his first appearance on the World Cup stage, Pele managed to bring Brazil to become champions for the first time after defeating the host Sweden with a score of 5-2.
