Just Fontaine’s 1958 World Cup record under threat from Messi, Mbappé and Haaland | OneFootball

Just Fontaine’s 13 for France at Sweden 1958 has stood unmatched. After two games in 2026, Lionel Messi has five, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland have four, and Vinicius has four from one extra outing.

Speaking to FIFA in 2014, Fontaine said: "I am not a clairvoyant, I do not know what will happen, but I hope I can keep the record." In that interview he even replied with a joke about a mummy asking whether he still held it.

Only a few have come close in one edition, Sándor Kocsis hit 11 in 1954, Gerd Müller 10 in 1970, Ademir de Menezes 9 in 1950 and Eusébio 9 in 1966. Miroslav Klose’s all time benchmark has been surpassed by Lionel Messi and reeled in by Kylian Mbappé, the record now stands at 18 and rising.

In 1958 Fontaine struck a hat-trick against Paraguay, a brace versus Yugoslavia and one against Scotland in the group. He added two in the quarter-final against Northern Ireland, then scored in the 5-2 semi-final defeat to Brazil, where Pelé, aged 17, hit a hat-trick. He finished with four against West Germany in the third-place match, 13 in six games.

Born in Marrakech on 18 August 1933 to a French father and Spanish mother, he arrived at that World Cup soon after meniscus surgery in December 1957, returning in February. He started thanks to an injury to the first-choice striker and, after his only boots broke before the opener, played in a borrowed pair.

In 1960 he suffered a severe leg break and retired at 28. He died in 2023 aged 89. His 68-year-old record endures, and with a new last 32 in place, any semi-finalist now gets two more games than Fontaine to chase 13.

Source: Superdeporte