Lucas Paul Knecht (born 30 March 1993) is a football player who holds the record as the youngest ever player in a men's international match. He made his debut for the Northern Mariana Islands national team aged 14 years and 2 days.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lucas Paul Knecht | ||
| Date of birth | March 30, 1993 | ||
| Place of birth |
Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| MP United | |||
| Mount Albert | |||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2012–2014 | GSW Hurricanes | 8 | (0) |
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| MP United | |||
| International career‡ | |||
| 2006 | Northern Mariana Islands U14 | ||
| 2007–2014 | Northern Mariana Islands | 11 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 12:57, 10 January 2019 (UTC) | |||
Early life
editCollege career
editHaving already made his international debut, Knecht went on to study at the Mount Albert Grammar School in New Zealand, before moving to America to study at the Georgia Southwestern State University, playing for the Hurricanes soccer team. He made 8 appearances during his time there, without scoring.[2]
Club career
editAfter leaving the Georgia Southwestern State University, it is unclear as to whether Knecht joined a club side, with some reports claiming he played for 3. Liga outfit VfL Osnabrück.[3]
International career
editHe started playing youth international football with the Northern Mariana Islands when he was 13, being selected for a U14 tournament in Beijing, China.[1]
He played in Northern Mariana Islands men's first international soccer victory.[4][5]
Knecht holds the record for being the youngest ever male international footballer, when he made his Northern Mariana Islands debut aged just 14 years and 2 days against Guam in a 9–0 defeat on 1 April 2007.[6][7][8] Since then, he has made 11 appearances for the Blue Ayuyu. He played in all three games as his nation failed to qualify for the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup.[9][10][11]
Career statistics
editInternational
edit- As of matches played 6 January 2019.[12]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Mariana Islands | 2007 | 1 | 0 |
| 2008 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 11 | 0 | |
References
edit- ^ a b Monroyo, Roselyn (14 July 2014). "Knecht, Barry give back, suit up for Blue Ayuyus". Saipan Tribune. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- ^ "Lucas Knecht". Georgia Southwestern State University. 1 January 2015. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ "Lucas Knecht". footballdatabase.eu. 11 January 2017. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ "For the love of soccer: ex-NMI team members recall sacrifices". mvariety.com. Archived from the original on 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
- ^ "Looking back at the NMI men's first international soccer victory". mvariety.com. Archived from the original on 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
- ^ "Oldest and Youngest Players and Goal-scorers in International Football". RSSSF. 4 February 2016. Archived from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ "Norwegian Teenage Sensation Gets National Team Call-Up". Paste Magazine. 19 August 2014. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ "Ethan Ampadu: Exeter City 15-year-old gets first-team chance while on school holiday". BBC. 10 August 2016. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ "Nepal 6-0 Northern Mariana". AFC. 2 March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ^ "Northern Mariana 0–9 Palestine". AFC. 4 March 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ^ "Bangladesh 4-0 Northern Mariana". AFC. 6 March 2013. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
- ^ Lucas Knecht at National-Football-Teams.com
External links
edit- Lucas Knecht at Soccerway