Despite what was supposed to be some unfavourable conditions in the heat of Qatar, some of the fastest players in the world have clocked impressive speeds at the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
While France’s Kylian Mbappe and Canada’s Alphonso Davies are regarded as two of the most rapid runners in the game, it’s not the pair who feature at the top.
Ghana’s Kamaldeen Sulemana gets the top honours at the end of the group stages in the team’s 2-0 defeat to Uruguay when he ran at a speed of 35.7 kmph.
So far in the tournament, Argentina captain Lionel Messi’s top speed has been 31.4 kmph in the defeat to Saudi Arabia, while his archrival Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal has touched 32.1 kmph in the win over Ghana.
Only 13 players registered speeds of 35kmph and above in the 48 matches of the group stages.
Top speeds (in kmph)
Kamaldeen Sulemana (Ghana) – 35.7 vs Uruguay
Alphonso Davies (Canada) – 35.6 vs Croatia
Nico Williams (Spain) – 35.6 vs Germany
David Raum (Germany) – 35.5 vs Spain
Dan James (Wales) 35.4 vs Iran
Antonee Robinson (USA) 35.4 vs Wales
Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) 35.4 vs Netherlands
Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) 35.3 vs Croatia
Tejan Buchanan (Canada) 35.2 vs Belgium
Kylian Mbappe (France) 35.2 vs Denmark
Nemanja Maksimovic (Serbia) – 35.2 vs Brazil
Alphonso Davies (Canada) – 35.1 vs Belgium
Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon) – 35 vs Serbia
Ismail Jakobs (Senegal) – 35 vs Netherlands
Fastest players by nation
