Who scored five goals for Russia in one 1994 World Cup match?

Oleg Salenko scored five goals for Russia in a single match against Cameroon at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

The record-setting performance came on 28 June 1994 at Stanford Stadium, where Russia defeated Cameroon 6–1 in the group stage. Salenko scored five times, becoming the first and still only player to score five goals in one World Cup match. Several of the goals came from the penalty spot, but the achievement remains unmatched in the tournament’s history.

Salenko’s total for the competition was six goals because he had also scored against Sweden earlier in the group stage. That earned him a share of the Golden Boot with Bulgaria’s Hristo Stoichkov. A common mix-up is to credit Stoichkov or another 1994 star for the five-goal game, but Salenko’s feat belongs specifically to Russia’s final group match against Cameroon. Russia nevertheless failed to reach the knockout stage.