Victor Osimhen holds the record for the most goals scored in a single edition of the FIFA U17 World Cup, Soccernet.ng reports.
The Nigerian forward scored a tournament-high ten goals to power the Golden Eaglets to glory at the 2015 edition.
Osimhen’s extraordinary exploits at the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup remain one of the competition’s defining stories.
A decade later, his astonishing ten-goal haul still stands as the all-time record but the mark he shattered so spectacularly in Chile is now suddenly under serious threat.
Before Osimhen’s arrival on the global stage, the record belonged jointly to France’s Florent Sinama Pongolle and Ivory Coast’s Souleymane Coulibaly, who scored nine goals in 2001 and 2011 respectively. Pongolle powered France to the title in Trinidad and Tobago, while Coulibaly electrified Mexico with his ruthless finishing.
Then came Osimhen; 16 years old, fearless, relentless, unstoppable.
His tournament was a masterclass in consistency and hunger. One goal in the opener against the United States, a brace against hosts Chile, and another strike in the narrow defeat to Croatia saw him advance from the group stage already on four goals.
A hat-trick followed in a 6–0 demolition of Australia in the Round of 16. Then came Brazil; swept aside 3–0, with Osimhen once again on the scoresheet.
He converted a penalty in the semi-final win over Mexico and delivered a record-breaking tenth goal in the final as Nigeria defeated Mali 2–0 to seal their fifth U17 world crown.
Victor Osimhen’s brilliance was so overwhelming that Germany’s Johannes Eggestein, the Silver Boot winner, managed only four goals.
Since that unforgettable night in 2015, two players, England’s Rhian Brewster (2017) and Argentina’s Agustín Ruberto (2023), have reached eight goals but both fell short when it mattered most.
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Victor Osimhen’s record: Moser, Cabral and the race for history
Now, at the 2025 FIFA U17 World Cup in Qatar, Austria’s Johannes Moser has ignited a fresh chase for immortality.
The 17-year-old striker has already scored eight goals, including both strikes in Austria’s 2–0 semi-final victory over Italy. A brace in the final against Portugal would see him equal Osimhen’s decade-long record. A hat-trick would rewrite the tournament’s history altogether.
But Portugal have their own prodigy capable of swinging the Golden Boot race. Benfica starlet Anísio Cabral sits on six goals and remains a genuine threat should the final turn chaotic or goal-heavy. Portugal booked their place in the final after a tense penalty shootout triumph over Brazil.
While Austria and Portugal chase history, Nigeria, the most successful nation in U17 World Cup history with five titles, are absent from the tournament. Despite CAF having ten representatives, the Golden Eaglets failed to qualify. Africa’s strongest performers were Morocco and Burkina Faso, but both bowed out in the quarter-finals.
