'Japanese Messi' sets record

Japanese media hailed wonderkid Takefusa Kubo on Sunday after he became the youngest scorer in the J-League at 15 with a strike for FC Tokyo's under-23 side.

At 15 years, 10 months and 11 days, Kubo fired the winner in Saturday's 1-0 win at Cerezo Osaka's under-23s in a J-League third division game to beat the previous mark, which was held by Takayuki Morimoto, who scored two days shy of his 16th birthday in 2004.

Kubo, a former YouTube sensation dubbed the 'Japanese Messi' during his time as a member of Barcelona's youth set-up, broke the record in style, dribbling past two defenders before smashing the ball home.

"I'm just really happy -- hopefully I can continue helping the team win like this," Kubo told local media.

“I don't like being compared to Messi," he added. "But one day I hope to be like him."