Baumgartner broke the record for fastest goal six seconds later with a 25-meter shot past the goalkeeper.
Austria's Christoph Baumgartner breaks the international record for fastest goal by scoring in less than seven seconds against Slovakia.
Baumgartner, 24, was on the record in a friendly match in Bratislava on Saturday.
The Leipzig attacker burst through the home defense from the kick-off and fired a 25-meter shot past Martin Dubravka and into the goal.
“I've done this variation of sprinting from the kickoff before,” Baumgartner said after his team's 2-0 win. He told Austrian public broadcaster ORF.
“Of course it's really great and I'm very happy. The fact that I hit it like that… is sensational, of course.”
The Austrian Football Federation described Baumgartner's goal as the fastest goal in international football history.
Baumgartner's goal broke the record of seven seconds it took Lukas Podolski to score for Germany against Ecuador in 2013.
“Of course we got off to a very good start. That goal alone was worth the price of admission,” said Austrian national team coach Ralf Rangnick.
Possibility of world record for fastest international goal by Christophe #Baumgartner 🤯🤯 https://t.co/mUcD1CTofa
— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) March 23, 2024
Meanwhile, Germany's Florian Wirtz scored a quick goal within seven seconds against France in a friendly match in Lyon late Saturday, giving Germany a 2-0 victory.
The Leverkusen player beat goalkeeper Brise Samba with a brilliant shot that hit the underside of the crossbar.
“I don't think anyone understood or realized what was going on. We were all very surprised, but obviously there was a lot of joy,” Wirtz said after his first goal for his country, speaking on German television. He told the station ZDF.
“You can't start the game any better.”
The fastest goal in a World Cup was by Turkey's Hakan Sukur after 11 seconds against South Korea in 2002.
