Russia striker Dmitry Kirichenko scored in the second minute of the Euro 2004 Group A football match against Greece on Sunday to earn the distinction of notching the fastest goal in European Championship finals history.

He pounced on some hesitant defending by the Greeks outside the penalty area and rifled home a little into the second minute.

It was the first goal of the tournament for Russia, who went on to beat Greece 2-1.

But the victory came too late to save them from elimination following defeats by Spain and Portugal.

Sergei Alenikov of the Soviet Union held the previous record. He scored against England in the 1988 European championship after two minutes and eight seconds.