Victor Osimhen’s long-standing FIFA U17 World Cup scoring record faces serious pressure. Austria’s Johannes Moser is now within two goals of matching it at the ongoing 2025 tournament in Qatar.

Our own Osimhen set this impressive record in 2015. He scored ten goals, helping Nigeria secure their fifth U17 World Cup title.

His performance in Chile stands as one of the most dominant individual campaigns ever seen in the competition’s history.

Osimhen’s Historic Campaign

Before Osimhen’s achievement, the record stood at nine goals. France’s Florent Sinama Pongolle (2001) and Ivory Coast’s Souleymane Coulibaly (2011) jointly held this mark.

Osimhen surpassed both players with a spectacular scoring run. He began with one goal against the United States. He added two more against Chile. Another goal came in a narrow loss to Croatia.

He then netted a hat-trick against Australia in the Round of 16. Another goal followed in Nigeria’s 3-0 quarter-final win over Brazil. Osimhen converted a penalty against Mexico in the semi-final. His tenth goal came in the final, as Nigeria defeated Mali 2-0.

His closest competitor that year was Germany’s Johannes Eggestein. Eggestein finished the tournament with four goals.

Since then, only two players have approached this remarkable record. England’s Rhian Brewster scored eight goals in 2017. Argentina’s Agustín Ruberto also netted eight in 2023. However, neither player managed to surpass Osimhen’s tally.

Moser’s Current Challenge

At this year’s tournament, Moser has already scored eight goals. This includes both goals in Austria’s 2-0 semi-final victory over Italy. He now needs two goals in the final against Portugal to equal Osimhen’s record. Three goals would see him break it entirely.

Portugal also features a player in contention for the Golden Boot. Benfica’s young talent, Anísio Cabral, has six goals. He could still challenge if the final sees many goals. Portugal secured their spot in Thursday’s final. They defeated Brazil in a penalty shootout.

Nigeria’s Absence from the Tournament

Nigeria, the most successful nation in U17 World Cup history, is notably absent from this tournament. They failed to qualify, even though Africa received ten slots. The continent’s top performers, Morocco and Burkina Faso, both exited in the quarter-finals.