Paraguay midfielder Matias Galarza has entered the record books by scoring the fastest goal of the FIFA World Cup 2026 so far, finding the net just 64 seconds into his side’s Group D match against Türkiye on Saturday (June 20) in San Francisco.

The 24-year-old, who did not feature in Paraguay’s opening match of the tournament, was named in the starting lineup for the second group-stage game and made an immediate impact.

Within the second minute, Galarza capitalised on an early attacking move and fired a powerful left-footed shot into the net to give his side an early lead.

Record broken from Ismael Saibari

Galarza’s strike set a new tournament record, surpassing Morocco’s Ismael Saibari, who had scored in the 70th second earlier the same day against Scotland.

Galarza’s effort came six seconds quicker, making it the fastest goal of the tournament.

At the time of reporting, the match between Paraguay and Türkiye was still ongoing, with Paraguay leading 1-0 thanks to Galarza’s early goal.

Türkiye, already trailing, faced elimination if they failed to equalise before the final whistle.

Both teams came into the match searching for their first points of the tournament after opening defeats.

Türkiye had lost 2-0 to Australia, while Paraguay were beaten 4-1 by the United States.

Other World Cup results

Elsewhere on the same day, hosts United States defeated Australia 2-0 to advance to the next round, while Morocco edged Scotland 1-0.

Brazil also registered a convincing 3-0 win over Haiti.