Four-time champions Germany looked capable of setting a new record for the biggest win in FIFA World Cup history on Sunday as they romped to a 7-1 victory over debutants Curaçao. However, 44 years after Hungary’s record 10-1 demolition of El Salvador, no team has managed to surpass the tournament’s biggest-ever win. ABIODUN ADEWALE revisits some of the World Cup’s most emphatic victories
Hungary 10-1 El Salvador – 1982
In June 15, 1982, exactly 44 years ago, Hungary became the only team to score 10 goals in a single men’s World Cup match, defeating El Salvador 10-1 in their opening game at the tournament in Spain. The nine-goal winning margin remains a joint World Cup record.
In that historic victory, substitute László Kiss stole the show. Coming off the bench in the second half, he scored a hat-trick. Not only is it the only World Cup hat-trick scored by a substitute, it also remains the fastest hat-trick in tournament history, with Kiss scoring his three goals in the space of just seven minutes.
Hungary 9-0 South Korea – 1954
Twenty-eight years before their record-breaking win over El Salvador, Hungary recorded a 9-0 victory against South Korea.
The triumph came courtesy of Hungary’s famed Golden Team of the 1950s, built around a core of six outstanding players: Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis, Nándor Hidegkuti, Zoltán Czibor, József Bozsik and Gyula Grosics.
Gusztáv Sebes’ side were overwhelming favourites to win the tournament in Switzerland and opened the competition in superb style by dismantling South Korea 9-0.
Hungary’s performance at the 1954 World Cup remains record-breaking. They hold the records for the most goals scored in a single edition (27), the highest aggregate goal difference (+17) and the highest goals-per-game average (5.4).
Yugoslavia 9-0 Zaire – 1974
Yugoslavia’s 9-0 victory over first-time qualifiers Zaire helped them top a group that also featured defending champions Brazil and Scotland.
The Yugoslavs raced into a three-goal lead within the opening 20 minutes and were 6-0 ahead by half-time — the most goals scored by one team in the first half of a World Cup match. Dušan Bajević led the rout with a hat-trick.
Sweden 8-0 Cuba – 1938
This quarter-final between Sweden and Cuba remains technically the biggest World Cup victory recorded outside the group stage, although there was no group phase in the tournament’s 1938 format.
A crowd of approximately 7,000 spectators in Antibes watched Sweden score eight unanswered goals against Cuba. Gustav Wetterström and Harry Andersson each scored a hat-trick.
The match remains unique in World Cup history as the only game in which two players from the same team scored hat-tricks.
Uruguay 8-0 Bolivia – 1950
Uruguay’s first and only group-stage match at the 1950 World Cup came against Bolivia.
France had originally been drawn into Group 4 but withdrew before the tournament, citing the extensive travel required for their fixtures in Brazil.
As a result, while teams such as Brazil, Yugoslavia, Spain and England battled through four-team groups, Uruguay needed only one match to progress.
It proved to be a straightforward assignment. With four goals in each half, Juan López Fontana’s side cruised to an 8-0 victory. Óscar Míguez scored a hat-trick, becoming one of only three Uruguayans to achieve the feat at a World Cup.
Germany 8-0 Saudi Arabia – 2002
Germany’s 8-0 victory over Saudi Arabia at the 2002 World Cup remains the biggest winning margin recorded in the 21st century.
The World Cup’s all-time leading scorer, Miroslav Klose, netted a hat-trick in the match. Klose is only the second player in tournament history to score a hat-trick consisting entirely of headers, after Tomas Skuhravy achieved the feat for Czechoslovakia against Costa Rica at Italia ‘90.
He was also one of 13 players to score a hat-trick on their World Cup debut, and no player has repeated that achievement since June 2002.
Other seven-goal victories
Aside from the matches highlighted above, five teams have recorded seven-goal winning margins at the World Cup:
Uruguay 7-0 Scotland (1954)
Turkey 7-0 Korea Republic (1954)
Poland 7-0 Haiti (1974)
Portugal 7-0 DPR Korea (2010)
Spain 7-0 Costa Rica (2022)
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