Oleg Salenko - International Career

International Career

Salenko set a World Cup record by scoring five goals in one game, for Russia against Cameroon on 28 June 1994. Salenko finished the 1994 World Cup with six goals (scoring his sixth goal from the penalty spot against Sweden), sharing the Golden Boot with Hristo Stoichkov, a remarkable feat since Russia was knocked out in the first round, and Stoichkov's Bulgaria played another four games in the tournament. This mirrored Salenko's achievement in the 1989 U-20 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, where he was top scorer when he scored 6 goals in the tournament. He is the only player to win the Golden Boot at both the U-20 World Cup and FIFA World Cup.

Salenko played a total of only nine international matches, one of them for Ukraine, and he never scored in an international game before or after the 1994 World Cup. He remains the sole player ever to win the Golden Boot award on a team eliminated from World Cup contention at the group stage.

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