The World Cup is the pinnacle of football, and it is the event where teams bring out their best form.
It is also an event where teams are willing to go all the way and show off their best attacking qualities. On many occasions this tends to provide a thrilling spectacle and gives us games with goals aplenty.
Over the course of its 92-year history, there have been plenty of high-scoring games at the World Cup which have broken records and created an attacking feast.
So, let’s take a look at the ten highest-scoring World Cup games in history…
10 & 9. Hungary 9-0 Korea Republic – 1954 and Yugoslavia 9-0 Zaire – 1974
Hungary are synonymous with big score lines at the World Cup and their Mighty Magyars of 1954 showed that off against Korea Republic in 1954, as they beat them 9-0.
Sandor Kocsis scored a hat-trick and Ferenc Puskas scored two as Hungary proved their credentials early on in the summer of 1954, before their heartbreaking defeat in the final that year.
Two decades later, Yugoslavia matched that score against tournament debutants Zaire in the group stages of the 1974 tournament in West Germany.
The Eastern Europeans scored three in the first 20, before a goalkeeper substitution for Zaire occurred, which didn’t help, as they conceded six more. It was 6-0 at half-time, then 9-0 at full-time, as the African nation were embarrassed on football’s biggest stage.
8. France 6-3 West Germany – 1958
West Germany were defending champions going into the 1958 tournament, and were in a good position to defend their crown, but lost in the semi-finals to Sweden.
France, meanwhile, were powered by Just Fontaine, but they were stopped by a Pele hat-trick at the same stage, leaving the two to contest a third-place play-off at the Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg.
In the third-place match, Fontaine added four more goals to his tally, taking it up to 13, as France scored six in all, with the legendary Raymond Kopa also getting in on the act for Les Bleus.
The result meant that France earned their best-ever World Cup finish, and West Germany would have to wait a little longer for a second tournament success.
7. West Germany 7-2 Turkey – 1954
West Germany and Turkey had to contest a play-off to determine who would go through group two of the 1954 FIFA World Cup.
Both teams were level on points, but West Germany were relatively shaken having lost 8-3 to Hungary earlier in the group stage. Turkey, meanwhile, looked confident having beaten South Korea seven note in their previous match three days earlier
When they took to the pitch in Zurich, West Germany were on fire as they ended up scoring seven that day.
Maximilian Morlock scored a hat-trick for them, while Hans Schafer scored two, and the legendary Fritz Walter got on the scoresheet too. West Germany ended up qualifying on their way to going all the way in the tournament.
6. Argentina 6-3 Mexico – 1930
At the first World Cup in Uruguay in 1930, Argentina met Mexico in the group stages of the tournament. The game was a goal-fest and saw nine goals scored overall as Argentina ran out 6-3 winners.
The Albiceleste, led by captain Guillermo Stabile, were one of the favourites for the tournament and they proved their credentials very early on.
Stabile scored a hat-trick that day with Adolfo Zumelzu scoring two, and while Mexico provided a valiant fight, it was not enough against the strength of the Argentines.
Argentina had a perfect record in that group and were in a good position to win that tournament but lost in the final to Uruguay, who ran out 4-2 winners in the ultimate match of the first-ever World Cup.
5. France 7-3 Paraguay – 1958
The summer of 1958 belonged to Pele, but that World Cup was dominated by France forward Just Fontaine, who set the record for the most goals by a single player in a World Cup tournament.
The forward scored 13 goals that year, a record which is yet to be matched. He only played one World Cup in his entire career, and he made sure it was a memorable one.
A chunk of his goals came in France’s 7-3 win over Paraguay. Despite the two teams going in level at half-time, France hit top form in the second-half and Fontaine’s hat-trick certainly helped them to success.
Overall his 13 goals that summer were more than double of the second-highest goalscorer that year, including Pele who scored six.
4. Hungary 10-1 El Salvador – 1982
At the 1982 World Cup in Spain, Hungary became the only team in tournament history to score ten goals in a single finals match.
It came against lowly El Salvador, who left with the consolation of just the one goal they scored. Laszlo Kiss scored a hat-trick for the Hungarians, as they made history yet again.
However, the win was in vain as Hungary were knocked out in the first round of the tournament.
Competing against two of the groups other powerhouses in Belgium and Argentina, the Hungarians fell short and were knocked out in the first round of that summer’s tournament.
Read more: World Cup 2022: Dates, Schedule, Location, Groups, Tickets, Odds And More
3. Hungary 8-3 West Germany – 1954
At the time of the 1954 World Cup, Hungary were considered the best team in the world, as the Mighty Magyars had gone nearly four years without defeat.
The first show of their strength on the world stage was the group stage of the 1954 World Cup where they put eight past West Germany in an 8-3 win.
Sandor Kocsis scored half his team’s goals as the Hungarians trounced West Germany, and they were established favourites to go all the way in the tournament.
However, when the two teams met once again in the final, matters were reversed as West Germany beat the Hungarians 3-2 to claim their first-ever World Cup prize in one of the tournament’s historic final matches.
2. Brazil 6-5 Poland – 1938
In 1938, Brazil weren’t the superpower that we all know but they were still a good team having performed well in the previous two World Cups.
Poland, meanwhile, never played at this level and only arranged their team for the World Cup a week before the tournament.
In this game, however, they took Brazil all the way. The match saw eight goals scored in normal time before a further three were added to it in extra time.
Brazil icon Leonidas da Silva scored two goals in the extra 30 minutes to complete his hat-trick and send his country to the quarter-finals of the tournament.
There was a late Polish goal, but it only proved to be a consolation. Brazil ended up finishing third in that tournament and it was the start of their successful era in football.
1. Austria 7-5 Switzerland – 1954
Only one game in history has had a total of 12 goals at the World Cup, making this the highest-scoring game in the tournament’s history. This came in the Switzerland World Cup of 1954 as Austria scored seven past the hosts in Luzern.
The match was played under 40 degrees Celsius heat and while it may have been uncomfortable for the fans due to the weather, there was plenty for them to be engrossed about on the pitch.
The two teams finished second in their respective groups and were drawn to meet each other in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
The game wasn’t expected to be a goal-fest as Austria hadn’t conceded throughout the group stages while Switzerland only scored two goals themselves. And yet it was.
Theodor Wagner and Josef Hugi scored hat-tricks for Austria and Switzerland each, and there were 12 goals in all, with the scoring stopping in the 76th minute as Austria secured the win.
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