The highest scoring games in FIFA World Cup History
World Cups are defined by their most memorable matches, thrilling fans with high-scoring affairs which can see teams on both sides throw caution to the wind and attack at will, but can also see countries beat their opponents by a gigantic margin. We’ve seen some incredible scorelines in the history of the World Cup, whether they be comprehensive thrashings or end-to-end thrillers.
Perhaps the most recent such fixture in World Cup history was Germany’s memorable 1-7 demolition of the Brazil in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals in Belo Horizonte. However, even that failed to make it into the top ten highest scoring games in World Cup history, which you can see below.
The fact that the most recent World Cup fixture to make the list took place in 1982 tells you that such large scorelines are now an extreme rarity in this tournament. There is not so much of a skill gap between opponents and teams also look to prioritise defensive stability, with perhaps the importance of goal difference in the group stage playing a part in that. Only five matches in World Cup history have seen a double figure number of goals scored. This includes that fateful game in 1982 which saw Hungary defeat El Salvador by ten goals to one.
Another fixture that saw 11 goals scored took place all the way back in the 1938 World Cup and is the only match in the top ten to have included extra time, as Brazil overcame Poland 6-5 in an incredible Round of 16 encounter. However, the match which stands alone as the highest scoring fixture in World Cup history was between Austria and Switzerland in June 1954, Austria winning a thrilling quarter-final in Lausanne by seven goals to five.
