Just Fontaine’s 13-goal WC record still stands tall after nearly seven decades

Every FIFA World Cup produces a new race for the Golden Boot, with the world’s finest strikers chasing goals and records. Yet, despite football evolving dramatically over the past 68 years, one remarkable achievement continues to stand untouched — Just Fontaine’s incredible tally of 13 goals in a single World Cup.
The French forward set the record during the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, scoring 13 times in just six matches — a feat no player has managed to surpass. Ironically, Fontaine’s historic campaign almost never happened. He was not France’s first-choice striker and only entered the starting line-up after teammate René Bliard suffered an injury before the tournament.
To make matters more extraordinary, Fontaine even played the opening match wearing borrowed boots after damaging his own pair in training.His tournament began with a hat-trick against Paraguay and never slowed down. Fontaine found the net in every match, including four goals in France’s 6-3 victory over West Germany in the third-place play-off, sealing a record that has endured for generations.Unlike today’s leading goalscorers, Fontaine never received a Golden Boot trophy. The award had not yet been introduced, and instead a Swedish newspaper honoured him with an air rifle, describing him as a “sharp shooter”. FIFA later recognised his achievement in 2014 by presenting him with a special platinum boot.The expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup has given modern forwards more opportunities to score, with teams reaching the latter stages now playing eight matches instead of seven. Even so, Fontaine’s benchmark remains elusive.Legends such as Gerd Müller, Eusébio and more recently Kylian Mbappé have come close, but none have matched the Frenchman’s astonishing total. Since 1970, only Müller has managed to score double figures in a single men’s World Cup, finishing with 10 goals in 1970.
Born in Marrakesh in 1933, when Morocco was under French rule, Fontaine represented France internationally and enjoyed a successful club career with Nice and Reims, winning four French league titles and reaching the 1959 European Cup final. (Agencies)