Max Dowman, a 16-year-old Arsenal winger, became the Premier League's youngest ever scorer with a remarkable stoppage-time goal in his team's 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday.
Dowman collected the ball midway in his own half, dribbled around two Everton players and raced clear unchallenged from the halfway line to tap into an empty net, with Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford stranded upfield having gone forward for a corner.
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Arsenal's Viktor Gyoekeres, left, and Max Dowman celevrate after a goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton in London, England, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Everton's Vitaliy Mykolenko pulls Arsenal's Max Dowman during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton in London, England, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Arsenal's Max Dowman scores during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton in London, England, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Arsenal's Max Dowman in action to scoreduring the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton in London, England, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
An English soccer prodigy, Dowman — at 16 years, 73 days — was playing just his third Premier League match after two previous substitute appearances at the start of the season.
“He doesn’t seem to be fazed by the occasion or the moment or the context or the opponent, he just plays so naturally,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “He makes decisions to make things happen, and what he delivered was incredible.”
Asked what he said to Dowman after deciding to bring him on, Arteta replied: “Go and do your thing and win us the game.”
Dowman broke the record of former Everton player James Vaughan, who was 16 years, 270 days when he scored against Crystal Palace in 2005.
In November, Dowman became the youngest player in Champions League history at 15 years, 308 days when he entered as a second-half substitute against Slavia Prague.
Dowman is still in school. He was 14 when he was asked by Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta to train with the senior team in December last year and he starred on the club’s preseason tour of Asia in matches against AC Milan and Newcastle.
To abide by Premier League regulations for players under 18, Dowman has to change into his Arsenal kit for training sessions and matches in a separate locker room than his senior teammates.
1. Max Dowman: 16 years, 73 days (for Arsenal against Everton on 2026)
2. James Vaughan: 16 years, 270 days (for Everton against Crystal Palace in 2005)
3. James Milner: 16 years, 356 days (for Leeds against Sunderland in 2002)
4. Wayne Rooney: 16 years, 360 days (for Everton against Arsenal in 2002)
5. Rio Ngumoha: 16 years, 361 days (for Liverpool against Newcastle in 2025)
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Arsenal's Viktor Gyoekeres, left, and Max Dowman celevrate after a goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton in London, England, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Everton's Vitaliy Mykolenko pulls Arsenal's Max Dowman during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton in London, England, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Arsenal's Max Dowman scores during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton in London, England, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Arsenal's Max Dowman in action to scoreduring the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton in London, England, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
SAO PAULO (AP) — Oscar Schmidt, the Basketball Hall of Famer known to his Brazilian compatriots as the “Holy Hand,” died Friday. He was 68.
Schmidt’s family said in a statement that he fought a brain tumor for 15 years “with courage, dignity and resilience . . . while remaining a role model of determination, generosity and love of life. Oscar leaves a legacy that transcends sport and inspires generations of athletes and admirers in Brazil and worldwide.”
Earlier, Hospital e Maternidade Municipal Santa Ana in the city of Santana de Parnaiba, outside metropolis Sao Paulo, said Schmidt’s family requested privacy without elaborating.
Schmidt is beloved in Brazil for committing to the national team for 19 years and becoming one of the most prolific scorers in basketball history. He also starred in an historic victory over the United States in the final of the 1987 Pan American Games.
“The biggest player of Brazilian basketball history bids farewell as an absolute symbol of sport, the holder of a trajectory that redefined the boundaries of what was possible in a court,” the Brazil Basketball Confederation said in a statement. “His death closes an era. But his greatness remains.”
Schmidt, who didn't playing in the NBA, began his professional career in 1974 and most of it was at home and Italy, where he became a childhood idol of future great Kobe Bryant.
In 1984 the NBA’s New Jersey Nets drafted him in the sixth round and he trained with them but declined a contract. At the time NBA players were not allowed to play for national teams. Schmidt said he had no regrets at his Hall of Fame induction.
“I was the choice (No,) 144,” he said. His idol Larry Bird laughed next to him. “They came to offer me a no-cut contract to play for the New Jersey Nets. I said thank you very much but if I play one game here I will never again play for my national team.
“Three years later we beat the Americans here in the U.S. Sorry, that was the greatest thing I did in basketball.”
Bird released a statement Friday, saying: “I always admired Oscar and considered him a friend. He was, without a doubt, one of the greatest players to ever play the game. It was an honor of a lifetime when Oscar asked me to present him at his well deserved induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. My sincere condolences to Oscar’s family.”
Portland Trail Blazers coach Tiago Splitter and NBA champion Anderson Varejao, two Brazilians in the league, mourned Schmidt in their social media channels.
Standing 2.03 meters (6-foot-8), he was a keen 3-point shooter in the 1980s when many coaches advised against it. That earned him the nickname “Mão Santa” (Holy Hand). Schmidt didn’t believe he was worthy of the tag.
“I don’t have a holy hand. I have a trained hand,” Schmidt used to say in interviews.
He debuted for Brazil at 19 in 1977 and made 326 appearances, averaging 23.6 points per game.
He played in a record-tying five Olympics and four World Cups. He’s the all-time leading scorer in both tournaments. He still has seven of the 10 highest scoring games in Olympic history and he holds the single-game records for points scored in the Olympics (55 vs. Spain in 1988) and World Cup (52 vs. Australia in 1990).
“More than results and medals, Oscar represented values that define the Olympic spirit; dedication, resilience and respect to the opponents,” Brazil’s Olympic committee said in a statement.
The 1987 Pan Am Games victory in Indianapolis marked the first time a U.S. team lost a major international tournament on home soil. Brazil won 120-115 and Schmidt led with 46 points.
Schmidt retired in 2003 at 45. He passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to be the unofficial career highest scorer and his known tally of 49,737 points for club and country was eclipsed by LeBron James in 2024.
“For decades, he united the country around the courts with unforgettable shots and indisputable leadership,” Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on social media. “His dedication elevated the name of the country and made him an inspiration for generations of athletes and sports lovers.”
Schmidt was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2010, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, and the Italian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
After retirement, Schmidt became one of his country’s most popular motivational speakers. He often talked about his battle with the brain tumor diagnosed in 2011, his love for Brazil and basketball.
Schmidt is survived by wife Maria Cristina Victorino, whom he married in 1981, and two children. One of them, Filipe, spoke about his father’s death on social media.
“Now you rest in peace, dad. You are in the hall of fame of life,” he said.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
FILE - Brazil's Oscar Schmidt (14) drives past Scottie Pipen (8) of the United States during the quarterfinals of basketball competition at the Centennial Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, July 30, 1996. Schmidt, whom his Brazil compatriots know as the “Holy Hand,” died. Friday, April 17, 2026. He was 68. (AP Photo/Hans Deryk, File)
FILE - Brazil's former basketball player Oscar Schmidt shows a miniature basketball containing the name of a country during the draw for the London 2012 Olympic men's basketball tournament in Rio de Janeiro, April 30, 2012. Schmidt, whom his Brazil compatriots know as the “Holy Hand,” died. Friday, April 17, 2026. He was 68. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano, File)
FILE - Inductee Oscar Schmidt, of Brazil, speaks during the enshrinement ceremony for this year's class of the Basketball Hall of Fame, at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass., Sept. 8, 2013. Schmidt, whom his Brazil compatriots know as the “Holy Hand,” died. Friday, April 17, 2026. He was 68. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
FILE - Inductee Oscar Schmidt, of Brazil, speaks during the enshrinement ceremony for the 2013 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass., Sept. 8, 2013. Schmidt, whom his Brazil compatriots know as the “Holy Hand,” died. Friday, April 17, 2026. He was 68. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
