San Marino ended a 140-match winless run – the longest in international history – by edging Liechtenstein for their first competitive victory in September. Nicko Sensoli got the only goal to spark hysteric celebrations from the Sammarinese players and fans in Serravalle. San Marino’s previous win had come 20 years back against the same opposition. Amazingly, Roberto Cevoli’s side then beat Liechtenstein 3-1 in Vaduz – it was the nation’s maiden away success – to top a three-team UEFA Nations League group and gain promotion to League C.

Viktor Gyokeres hit 62 goals in just 63 appearances to finish as the world’s leading marksman for 2024. The 26-year-old, who was playing for Coventry City in the English second flight last year, scored 52 times in 56 games for Sporting, and 10 in seven for Sweden. Erling Haaland, Gyokeres’ nearest rival, finished 13 goals behind. The only men to have netted more goals in a calendar year this century than the Stockholmer are Robert Lewandowksi (69 in 2021), Cristiano Ronaldo (69 in 2013) and Lionel Messi (91 in 2012).

Bayer Leverkusen astonishingly went 51 games without defeat in all tournaments before losing to Atalanta in the UEFA Europa League final in May. It became a record unbeaten run for any European club involved in continental competition, breaking the 48 matches Mario Coluna, Eusebio and Benfica managed between 1961 and ’۶۳٫ The accomplishment of Lukas Hradecky, Jonathan Tah, Jeremie Frimpong, Alex Grimaldo, Granit Xhaka, Exequiel Palacios, Florian Wirtz, Victor Boniface and Co was indebted to a mind-blowing series of last-gasp goals. They helped Leverkusen conquer their first Bundesliga crown, ending Bayern Munich’s streak of 11 successive titles. Xabi Alonso’s side then went on to win the DFB-Pokal and DFL-Supercup, meaning they won more titles in a few months than they had in their previous 120-year history.

Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane reached 50 Bundesliga goals in merely 43 matches in November. It comfortably snapped the record for reaching the half-century in the fewest appearances, which Erling Haaland (50) had held since overtaking Timo Konietzka (59) in 2021. The previous month Kane scored his sixth hat-trick in only his 39th game in the German top flight. It obliterated the record held by Dieter Muller, who had taken 118 games to hit six trebles.

Pepe extended his record as the oldest outfield player in the UEFA Champions League to 41. At the same age, he became the oldest man to appear in the UEFA EURO, outranking Hungary goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly. Chile’s Claudio Bravo was also 41 when he surpassed Bolivia shot-stopper Carlos Trucco to become the oldest player in Copa America history.

Caroline Graham Hansen amazingly finished the 2023/24 Liga F having registered 40 combined goals and assists in just 25 appearances. Despite only completing 90 minutes seven times, the mercurial Norwegian was the competition’s top markswoman (21 goals) and assister (19). Barcelona won the championship with 88 points from a possible 90, while goals from Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas propelled them to victory over Lyon and their third UEFA Women’s Champions League trophy in four years. A mind-blowing 40,000 culés travelled to Bilbao for that final – a record away crowd in women’s football history.

Ajax and Panathinaikos engaged in an unbelievable 34-penalty shootout in Europa League qualifying. The Amsterdammers missed four attempts to go through – Brian Brobbey was twice guilty – before finally prevailing at the fifth time of asking. Forty-year-old goalkeeper Remko Pasveer was the hero of the 13-12 victory, saving five penalties and scoring one. It broke the record for penalties taken in a shootout in any UEFA competition, which had been 32 in a Netherlands-England semi-final in the 2007 UEFA European U-21 Championship. On that occasion, Boy Waterman, Hedwiges Maduro, Ryan Babel, Royston Drenthe and Co had edged the likes of Scott Carson, Anton Ferdinand, James Milner and Ashley Young.

Twenty matches unbeaten is the run on which the USWNT finished 2024 (18 wins, two draws). During that time, USA won the inaugural Concacaf W Gold Cup, the SheBelieves Cup and, under new coach Emma Hayes, their fifth gold from eight Women’s Olympic Football Tournaments. Brazil’s Marta, for her part, became the third footballer to score in 20 calendar years after Cristiano Ronaldo (21) and Christine Sinclair (23).

Temwa Chawinga struck 20 goals in 25 games for Kansas City Current to set a new record for an NWSL campaign. It had been held by Sam Kerr for her 18 goals for Chicago Red Stars in 2019. Chawinga, en route, became the first player to score in eight straight regular-season matches, and the first to net against all 13 other teams in the division. The 26-year-old Malawian’s 26 goal contributions were also unprecedented in an NWSL campaign. Kerr lost another landmark in the competition this year. Her 78-goal record was eclipsed by her former team-mate Lynn Williams, who now has 80 to her name.

Lamine Yamal became, at 16 years and 338 days, the youngest player in UEFA EURO history when he appeared in Spain’s opener against Croatia, before bagging a beauty against France to become its youngest scorer, smashing Johan Vonlanthen’s milepost by 17 months. Back at Barcelona, Yamal registered his 20th career assist for club and country at the age of merely 17 years and 49 days – more than four years quicker than it took Lionel Messi. The Esplugues de Llobregat native then became the youngest player in history to be nominated for The Best FIFA Men’s Player award.

Argentina claimed their 16th CONMEBOL Copa America to become its outright record winners for the first time since Uruguay powered into pole position in 1995. It left La Albiceleste, who went 28 years without a senior title until 2021, having captured four in three years. During the tournament, Lionel Messi ended ‘El Sapo’ Livingstone’s 71-year reign for most Copa America appearances, and became the first player to set up a goal in seven of its editions. Meanwhile James Rodriguez became only the fourth player to register at least five assists in one Copa America after Denilson in 1997, Alex in 2004 and Messi in 2021.

Cavan Sullivan, at 14 years and 293 days, became the youngest player to appear in a major professional league in the USA in July. The midfielder was sent on for Philadelphia Union just after his 20-year-old brother Quinn had put them 5-1 up against New England Revolution. Sullivan broke the record Freddy Adu had held since 2004 by 13 days.

Iraq’s Ayman Hussein was international football’s leading marksman of the year with 14 goals in 16 games. He was followed by Qatar’s Akram Afif (13 in 19). Hussein succeeded Harry Kane (16 goals in 2021), Lionel Messi (18 in 2022), and Romelu Lukaku (14 in 2023) in scoring the most times for his country in a calendar year.

Christoph Baumgartner sensationally scored the fastest goal in international history after only six seconds in March. After receiving the ball from kick-off, the Austria No19 dashed between two Slovakians, side-stepped another, carried the ball forward and arrowed it into the bottom corner from just outside the box. Unbelievably, that same day, Florian Wirtz netted after just seven seconds for Germany against France. Lukas Podolski, who was also on the mark for Germany seven seconds into a game, against Ecuador in 2013, had held the record until it was burgled by Baumgartner.

Racheal Kundananji became the most expensive female footballer of all time when she moved from Madrid CFF to Bay FC for $0.79 million in February. Her Zambia team-mate Barbra Banda became the second-costliest the following month when swapping Shanghai Shengli for Orlando Pride for $0.74 million. Overall, eight of the top nine priciest switches in history took place in 2024, with the others being Mayra Ramirez going from Levante to Chelsea, Tarciane from Corinthians to Houston Dash, Lena Oberdorf from Wolfsburg to Bayern Munich, Priscila from Internacional to Club America, Kika Nazareth from Benfica to Barcelona, and Ewa Pajor from Wolfsburg to Barcelona.