THE BALL – António Silva also beat Ronaldo’s record (Portugal)
It is already known that, since the day before yesterday, the day Portugal played against South Korea, António Silva became the youngest Portuguese player to play in a World Cup, aged 19 years and 33 days, surpassing Futre. The weirdo was 20 years and 96 days old when, in the World Cup in Mexico, in 1986, he played against England, coming on in the 73rd minute to replace the great and unforgettable Fernando Gomes.
António Silva also overtook Cristiano Ronaldo as the youngest ever starter for the National Team in World Cup final stage matches. In 2006, at the World Cup in Germany, Ronaldo started against Angola, in the opening game, aged 21 years and 126 days. That is, for those who like to record, although there are many people who do not, António Silva won, in one fell swoop, the marks of Paulo Futre and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Let’s see the youngest of Portugal in each final stage of a World Cup: 1966 – António Simões (22 years and 239 days); 1986 – Paulo Futre (20 years and 96 days); 2002 – Nuno Frechaut (24 years and 256 days); 2006 – Cristiano Ronaldo (21 years and 126 days); 2010 – Fábio Coentrão (22 years and 94 days); 2014 – William Carvalho (22 years and 75 days); 2018 – Gonçalo Guedes (21 years and 196 days); 2022 – António Silva (19 years and 33 days).