CHRISTIAN BENTEKE SCORED the fastest goal in World Cup qualifying history by netting the first strike of his hat-trick after seven seconds as Belgium won 6-0 against Gibraltar in Group H.
Belgium remain top of the section after their emphatic victory in Faro, with Crystal Palace striker Benteke scoring his first international goals since March 2015.
Despite Gibraltar kicking off, they lost possession rapidly and Benteke ran through on goal to score the record-breaking opener, adding his team’s third before half-time after Axel Witsel’s deflected drive made it 2-0.
Dries Mertens scored Belgium’s fourth after 51 minutes, beating helpless goalkeeper Deren Ibrahim with a lofted finish, before Benteke completed his treble with a neat backheel from Eden Hazard’s pass.
And captain Hazard himself wrapped up the scoring after 79 minutes, slotting home following a mistake by the Gibraltar captain Roy Chipolina created a clear chance in the box.
Belgium are joined at the top of Group G by Greece, with both sides having taken a maximum nine points from their three games, while Gibraltar remain pointless.
Benteke’s quick-fire goal eclipsed the previous best of 8.3 seconds achieved by San Marino’s Davide Gualtieri in a World Cup qualifier against England in November 1993.
The record for the fastest goal in a World Cup finals match is 10.8 seconds by Turkey’s Hakan Sukur against South Korea in 2002.
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