5 youngest players who featured in the FIFA World Cup
Since the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930, Uruguay, the number of young players and countries from across the world competing for a spot in the World Cup has steadily increased. With the next World Cup in Russia in just under six months, players from the 32 countries who have qualified are battling it out to make their nation's World Cup squad.
With eleven venues across Russia hosting all the games during the one-month extravaganza, fans and audiences will flock to the venues to get a glimpse of the most event in the world.
The 32 participating teams are bound to contain a number of young and talented stars who will look to light the tournament up with their performances.
That being said, here we take a look at 5 of the youngest players to have ever played in a FIFA World Cup:
#5 Pele (Brazil)
Widely considered to be one of the greatest ever players to have graced the beautiful game, Brazilian legend and forward player, Pele, is 5th on the list of youngest ever players to compete in a FIFA World Cup tournament, doing so at the age of 17 years, 7 months, and 23 days.
A 3-time World Cup winner and possibly the greatest attacking player of the previous century, Pele is the most known footballer in the history of the sport. His first World Cup triumph was as a 17-year-old in 1958, as Brazil thrashed hosts Sweden by 5 goals to 2 in the final.
Pele made his debut earlier in the tournament against the Soviet Union in a game that ended 2-0 to the Brazilians. He won the World Cup again four years later in Chile and went on to claim his third World Cup trophy 8 years after Chile, in Mexico, in 1970.