10-1, 7-5, 8-3: World Cup’s biggest wins and most prolific games | OneFootball

The World Cup has long delivered lopsided results and goal-fests. Germany’s 7-1 over Curaçao as the 23rd edition begins underlines the theme, with teams from first to 83rd in FIFA’s ranking meeting. This tournament promises more heavy scorelines.

According to L'Équipe, sizeable gaps appeared from the outset in 1930, when Argentina beat the United States 6-1 and Uruguay defeated Yugoslavia 6-1 in the semi-finals.

The first true rout came in 1938, Sweden overwhelming Cuba 8-0 in the quarter-finals. Later, two games finished 9-0 in the group stage, Hungary over South Korea in 1954 and Yugoslavia against Zaire in 1974.

The record winning margin, however, belongs to Hungary, who beat El Salvador 10-1 in the 1982 group stage. With 11 goals in total, it is the second most prolific World Cup game, a mark shared with Brazil’s 6-5 win over Poland in the 1938 round of 16.

The other 11-goal contest was Hungary’s 8-3 victory against West Germany in the 1954 group stage. That tournament also produced the most prolific match in World Cup history, Austria’s 7-5 quarter-final win over Switzerland. The 12-goal record remains unmatched, with only Hungary-El Salvador of 1982 coming close.

Source: L'Équipe