As he was helping to mastermind Netherlands' 5-1 demolition of Spain on Friday, Arjen Robben recorded the fasted speed ever clocked up by a footballer: 37km/h.

FIFA's official records have confirmed that Robben eclipsed a record held by England's Theo Walcott, who had been clocked at 35.7km/h. Walcott won't be able to try and better Robben's achievement at this World Cup as he misses the finals through injury.

The quickest speed ever recorded by a human was Usain Bolt's 44.72km/h that came between metres 60 and 80 in the final of the 100m World Championship in Berlin 2009. There he set a new world record of 9.58s.

Cristiano Ronaldo is sixth in the list of the world's quickest players, having registered 33.6km/h, behind his teammate Gareth Bale, who has reached 34.7 km/h.

Robben also smashed his previous record, attained in Bayern Munich colours, of 30.7km/h. Given the speeds recorded by Robben in his scoring of the fifth goal, he would have run the 100m in 10.28 seconds. He did this with the ball under control and after 80 minutes of play.

After Robben, the list of the world's fastest is as follows:

Theo Walcott, 35.7 km/h: The Arsenal and England winger misses Brazil 2014 with a knee ligament injury, and will be sorely missed by the Three Lions.

Antonio Valencia, 35.1 km/h: The Ecuador international has previously held the title of the fastest player, clocking up 35.1km/h last September.

Gareth Bale, 34.7 km/h: The Real Madrid player showed everyone how quick he was when he scored against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final. He will turn 25 in July, and must watch the World Cup from home.

Aaron Lennon, 33.8 km/h: The diminutive Tottenham winger is the second English player on the list; however this was not enough for Roy Hodgson to call him up for Brazil.

Cristiano Ronaldo, 33.6 km/h: The Real Madrid player is noted for his ability to impeccably control the ball at high speeds on the counter attack.

Lionel Messi, 32.5 km/h: The Argentina international is as explosive as they come, capable of carrying the ball on his famous left foot at full pelt.

Wayne Rooney, 31.2 km/h: The England forward is deceivingly quick and showed his pace as he set up his side's equaliser against Italy.

Franck Ribery, 30.7 km/h: The Bayern Munich winger misses out on Brazil due to a back injury.

Sergio Ramos, 30.6 km/h: The Real Madrid centre-back was clocked at 30.6km/h as he chased Robben.