Image via Complex Original
Julian Green's trip to Brazil was supposed to be a glorified vacation. As the last choice American attacker on a team with an array of veterans at the position, he never figured to see the field. But, the 19 year old German third division striker's journey ended up being a one month crash course on How To Be A World Cup Player—and a valuable one at that. His inclusion in the squad came at the cost of sort-of "taking" Landon Donovan's spot in the side—you know, the greatest American soccer player ever—yet Green, was selected for the future. Green's place on the 23-man United States roster was manager Jurgen Klinnsmann's way of preventing him from committing himself to Germany in 2018. That's how good Klinnsmann thinks Green can be.
Green's goal against Belgium exhibited a glipse of his upside, and made him one of 18 teenagers in history to score at a World Cup. It's close company, and some of the names Green joins are quite legendary: Lionel Messi and Mazzola both now share a resume bullet point with Julian Wesley Green. But who else shares this distinction? There might be a few other notable names on Green Pastures: How Every Teenage World Cup Goal Scorer Ended Up.
Note: Data via Statbunker.
Constantin Stanciu
Country: Romania
Age: 19
Date scored: 7/14/1930
Game: Peru @ Romania
Unfortunately, because Constantin Stanciu is someone who played in the 1930s in a lame Romanian professional league, there isn't much info on him. In fact, the most famous Constantin Stanciu is probably the one who's been a senior software design engineer for Microsoft for the past 15 years.
Aleksandar Tirnanic
Country: Yugoslavia
Age: 18
Date scored: 7/14/1930
Game: Brazil @ Yugoslavia
Aleksandar Tirnanic is a really old Yugoslavian soccer lord. He scored twelve times in 50 appearances for Yugoslavia and coached the national team from 1948-1960, leading them to two World Cups and winning one Olympic Gold mdeal.
Nicolae Kovacs
Country: Romania
Age: 18
Date scored: 7/14/1930
Game: Peru @ Romania
Nicolae Kovacs played for both Romania and Hungary across his 11 year international career. He played all but one of his international matches for Romania, and was one of five players to appear in every pre-war World Cup.
Manuel Rosas
Country: Mexico
Age: 18
Date scored: 7/19/1930
Game: Mexico @ Argentina
Manuel Rosas owns the distinction of the first scorer of a penalty kick in the World Cup. That goal also made him the youngest scorer in World Cup history, a record that was later broken by Pele. He owns a few other World Cup firsts too (which is what happens I guess when you play in the first World Cup ever): First Mexican to score multiple World Cup goals and first player to score an own goal.
Note: the photo above is of Manuel Rosas, the Argentine Confederation dictator from 1829 to 1852, not Manuel Rosas, Mexican soccer player. There were no photos of the latter.
Edmund Conen
Country: Germany
Age: 19
Date scored: 5/27/1934
Game: Belgium @ Germany
Edmund Conen owns a small piece of German football history, and it's not for his playing exploits. In 1934, he told the German Football Association that teams were paying players. At the time, German professional soccer was like college professional football. Players were basically professionals but they weren't paid. He ended up getting past the scandal to become the 1934 World Cup's second leading scorer.
Oscar Heisserer
Country: France
Age: 19
Date scored: 6/12/1938
Game: France @ Italy
He played during a time in soccer tactics where an "inside-forward" was a thing. His soccer career was unremarkable and actually more of a footnote in his life, which isn't something that like we think is possible in today's athlete-celeb sporting culture. Sure, he was the captain of France, but he lived in a region that swapped hands with Germany ever few decades until Hitler seized it. Under Nazi rule, Heisserer was pressured to join the SS, play for the German national team, and just become a full-time Nazi shitbag. He defied all of that pressure though and somehow wasn't harmed. After the war, he was awarded the captaincy of France. Cool dude.
Radivoje Ognjanovic
Country: Yugoslavia
Age: 19
Date scored: 6/15/1958
Game: Yugoslavia @ Paraguay
His Wikipedia bio was three sentences and the other links on the first three pages of Google were mostly in Russian or something. Fun fact: He managed the Cameroon and Ivory Coast national teams in the 1980s, and the Chinese U-23 team for a year.
Pele
Country: Brazil
Age: 17
Date scored: 6/19/1958
Game: Wales @ Brazil
Dude's been the GOAT soccer God for over 30 years. And, his smile could potentially create world peace if used properly. The youngest goalscorer in World Cup history, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, or Pele, is a three-time World Cup champion—a feat that's lowkey one of the most unbreakable records in sports. There have been 19 two-time World Cup winners, but nobody's got more winner's medals than Pele da Gawd.
Jose Altafini
Country: Brazil
Age: 19
Date scored: 6/8/1958
Game: Austria @ Brazil
Ah, Mazzola! Jose Altafini is now a soccer pundit in Italy, which is where he scored 305 times, making him the 4th highest scorer in Serie A history. He played for A.C. Milan, won them a European Cup, then played for Napoli and Juventus. He's beloved in the North and South of Italy, scored five times for the country, and played for them in the 1962 World Cup . Altafini, however, was born in Brazil and played for Brazil in the 1958 World Cup using a different identity than the one he's well-known for now. Mazzola is a Brazilian World Cup scorer, but Jose Altafini is an Italian legend.
See, after the 1958 World Cup, Mazzola moved to play for A.C. Milan, which basically blacklisted him from playing for the Brazilian national team. At the time, Brazilian internationals who played abroad risked not being picked for the national team based on their professional geography alone. Faced with the possibility of being cut, he swapped paint and got an Italian passport. In the World Cup record books, however, it's Mazzola who scored in 1958 for Brazil against Austria.
Georgi Sokolov
Country: Bulgaria
Age: 19
Date scored: 6/3/1962
Game: Bulgaria @ Hungary
Georgi Sokolov only played in 14 matches for Bulgaria, but he scored five times. His club career in Bulgaria was lengthier and just as productive. 58 goals in 186 apperances across 11 seasons and a two Bulgarian A Group winner titles is an impressive resume as far as Bulgarian professional soccer players go.
Tostao
Country: Brazil
Age: 19
Date scored: 6/15/1966
Game: Brazil @ Hungary
Tostao scored at the 1966 World Cup, but his 1970 tournament was his finest. He scored twice en route to Brazil lifting the World Cup trophy in Mexico. In the 1960s, Tostao's vision on the pitch and Brazilian technique made him one of the best passers in the world. His passing pedigree was only matched by his scoring ability-he netted 271 times across his 12 year club career in Brazil. Considering his passing vision, it's a bit ironic that he was forced to retire at age 27 due to sight problems.
Martin Hoffman
Country: East Germany
Age: 19
Date scored: 6/18/1974
Game: Chile @ East Germany
Martin Hoffman rode his 1974 World Cup goal to a distinguished club career in the East German first division. He scored 78 times in 256 appearances for FC Magdeburg, helped his team beat A.C. Milan in the 1974 European Winner's Cup (now the Europa League), and won a Gold medal at the 1976 Olympics. Not too shabby.
Ronald Gonzalez
Country: Costa Rica
Age: 19
Date scored: 6/23/1990
Game: Czechoslovakia @ Costa Rica
Ronald Gonzalez transferred to Dinamo Zagreb after scoring at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Why a Costa Rican international would move to the Soviet Union in 1990 (it was kind of falling apart at the time) is a question that only Gonzalez can answer, but regardless: it was his one shot at European soccer. He spent the next two years wandering the Eastern European footballing landscape before retreating back to Costa Rican professional soccer. At Saprissa, the Costa Rican club that he won five league titles with as a player, Gonzalez has taken the taken the reigns as their manager.
Michael Owen
Country: England
Age: 18
Date scored: 6/22/1998
Game: England @ Romania
When looking back at Michael Owen's career as a whole, "SMH" is probably the only acronym needed. Although, WGHS (Will Get Healthy Soon), SOS (Sorry Option for a Striker), and FYI (Fuck, You're Injured) are appropriate as well. The 2001 Ballon d'Or winner's career took a nosedive soon after the 2002 World Cup. His career going forward was constantly beseiged by leg and back injuries and conflicts with officials and fans at the clubs he played for. For all his lost promise, however, 150 Premier League goals and eight club trophies adds up to a very accomplished career.
Dmitri Sychev
Country: Russia
Age: 18
Date scored: 6/14/2002
Game: Russia @ Belgium
After his electric 2002 World Cup, Dmitri Sychev moved to Olympique Marseille of Ligue 1 from the Russian Premier League. Dubbed the "Russian Michael Owen" for his speed and scoring success so early on, Sychev's transfer to France was his big shot at climbing the hierarchy of European club soccer. It didn't work out that way. He scored five times in 33 games, and was shipped right back to Russia after two seasons. Like many before him, Sychev was unable to turn his World Cup form into consistent club play, and was a victim of his own hype in the years following the 2002 World Cup.
Lionel Messi
Country: Argentina
Age: 19
Date scored: 6/16/2006
Game: Serbia and Montenegro @ Argentina
Eight years and 41 goals for Argentina later, Lionel Messi stands as the best player since Maradona. He's made out alright since his opening his World Cup scoring account in 2006.
Divock Origi
Country: Belgium
Age: 19
Date scored: 6/22/2014
Game: Russia @ Belgium
Divock Origi's impressive shifts at striker as a substitute in the Group Stage earned him the start against the United States, and until he was subbed off, looked lively relative to incumbent Romelu Lukaku's lethargic showings. Origi has pace and stands tall with the ball at his feet, making him an fascinating physical prospect. Liverpool have reportedly already made a £9.8 million bid for his services—hopefully he capitalizes on his newfound fame with a big transfer.
Julian Green
Country: United States
Age: 19
Date scored: 7/1/2014
Game: Belgium @ United States
Although Julian Green scored in the 2014 World Cup (on his first touch of the ball in his World Cup debut, no less), there's little time to reflect for the player. The United States lost, his World Cup is over, and he'll be back training with Bayern Munich in Germany in a few short weeks. Green's first World Cup appearance will give us plenty to salivate about, and a future star to track in the coming years.
Everything about his goal—the timing of his diagonal run, the pace, the technique and creativity to score a volley of that caliber—will have fans replaying that goal over and over until Green gives us more. Expectations will saddle him with every touch (ask Juan Agudelo how that's worked out since he scored against Argentina in 2011), but the United States has yet to produce a player with Green's ceiling.
