The Biggest World Cup Wins in History

Despite being embroiled in political turmoil, the small island nation of El Salvador qualified for the World Cup for just the second time in its history. Hungary, on the other hand, was a seasoned World Cup competitor and the overwhelming favorite.

Needless to say, the Hungarians overpowered the underdogs. Not only did Hungary become the first country to score ten goals in a single World Cup game, but Laszlo Kiss became the first substitute to score a hat-trick.

Back in the 1950s, Hungary was a powerhouse in world soccer. South Korea, on the other hand, were in their first-ever World Cup. With Sandor Kocsis leading their front line, Hungary raced to a 4-0 lead in the first half before continuing to dismantle South Korea in the second half.

With three goals against South Korea, Kocsis ended the tournament as the top scorer with 11 goals, while Hungary went on to finish as the tournament’s runner-up.

Then known as Zaire, the Democratic Republic of Congo was the only African nation at the 1974 World Cup. While determined to do their continent proud, Zaire found themselves up against Yugoslavia, who were hungry to score after a goalless draw with Brazil.

Yugoslavia came out strong from the very beginning, scoring six goals in the first half. Dusan Bajevic claimed himself a hattrick, leading Yugoslavia to a historic win and claiming the top spot in their group.

This quarterfinal clash saw Sweden come face-to-face with Cuba, who had defeated Romania 2-1 in response to their previous 3-3 draw. Although the Cubans had proven themselves to be a hard-working squad, they proved no match for the Swedes, with Harry Andersson and Gustav Wetterstrom both grabbing hat tricks.

Although ruthless against Cuba, Sweden was unable to replicate this performance in the semifinals, getting thumped 5-1 by Hungary before losing 4-2 to Brazil in the third-place playoff.

Despite only playing one group game (France had withdrawn from the competition), Uruguay still made their group performance a memorable one, making shots left and right to record the biggest scoreline of the competition.

But, while Uruguay may have been heavy favorites, their impressive form didn’t end there. Uruguay proved to be a formidable force, drawing 2-2 with Spain before defeating Sweden 3-2 and impressively beating hosts Brazil 2-1 to lift their second World Cup trophy.

Captained by Michael Ballack, Germany proved to be a force to be reckoned with in their opening group-stage game against Saudi Arabia. Most notably, all-time leading World Cup goalscorer Miroslav Klose netted a hat-trick.

Ultimately, Klose was the tournament’s second-top scorer with five goals in total. This decisive victory catapulted Germany to the top of their group as they made it all the way to the final, where they ultimately lost to Brazil.

Despite being placed in a group with Italy and Argentina, Poland proved to be a dominant force, defeating both of them and sweeping Haiti aside 7-0 to top the group with a 100% record.

Andrzej Szarmach proved to be Poland’s standout player against Haiti with a hat-trick. Viewers continued to watch Poland play until a 2-0 loss to West Germany saw them eliminated from the competition. Still, the Polish clinched third place after defeating Brazil 1-0.

For both Turkey and South Korea, this game was more about saving face than anything else. While Turkey had lost their first group game to West Germany 4-1, South Korea has been hammered 9-0 by Hungary, meaning that both teams were out of the running for progression from the group.

Suat Mamat scored two to hand Turkey a healthy lead, while Barhan Sargun scored a hat trick, thereby ensuring that his team would exit with a bang, not a whimper.

In what was a World Cup full of one-sided games, reigning champions Uruguay were set to face Scotland in their final group game. Considering Uruguay’s emphatic 2-0 victory over Czechoslovakia in the previous game and Scotland’s 1-0 defeat to Austria, it wasn’t hard to guess who the favorites were.

Naturally, Uruguay ripped the Scottish defense wide open, securing first place in the group, while Scotland went home after coming last in the group.

After a goalless draw with Ivory Coast, the pressure was on Portugal to defeat North Korea, especially with a game against Brazil on the horizon. Needless to say, the Portuguese were not about to let a prime opportunity to grab three points go to waste.

While Portugal went into the half-time break with a 1-0 lead, they came out swinging in the second half — grabbing six goals and securing progression to the knockouts.

La Furia Roja got their 2022 World Cup off to a blistering start, putting seven goals past minnows Costa Rica who has appeared in just five previous tournaments. This game saw six Spanish players getting their names on the scoresheet, including Ferran Torres who bagged a brace of his own.

At 18 years and 110 days old, Gavi became the youngest World Cup goalscorer since Pele in 1958, as well as the youngest scorer in Spain’s history.

For the 1934 edition of the World Cup, the group stage was scrapped in favor of a straight knockout tournament. Facing off in the round of 16 were the United States and Italy. Although Team USA had more World Cup experience, it was the Italian newcomers who reigned supreme.

An Angelo Schiavio hat-trick led the Italians to an emphatic victory over the Americans, providing them with the perfect launchpad to surge to their first World Cup trophy.

As winners of their respective groups, the game between Brazil and Sweden in the final group stage was expected to be a close one. Instead, the Brazilians ran riot, with Ademir scoring four goals while Sweden could only get on the scoresheet thanks to a penalty.

Astonishingly, the Brazilians ultimately fell short of the title after Uruguay leapfrogged them at the top of the table by defeating Brazil 2-1 in the final game.

Now known as Indonesia, this was the Dutch East Indies’ only appearance at a World Cup. Not much was expected of them when they came face-to-face with Hungary, quarter-finalists at the previous tournament. As expected, the Hungarians steamrolled them from the start, opening the scoring in the 13th minute.

Following this round of 16 victory, the Hungarians made it all the way to the final. Indonesia, on the other hand, has never returned to the World Cup.

As hosts of the tournament, Brazilian fans had exceptionally high expectations for their national team. By making it to the semifinals, it appeared as if World Cup glory was within reach.

The Germans, however, had other plans, netting seven goals to crush Brazil’s dream. Following this crushing victory, Germany went on to lift the World Cup trophy, while Brazil was blown away again — this time by the Netherlands — in the third-place playoff.

Expectations were high for reigning champions West Germany as they came head-to-head with Mexico in the first round of the 1978 World Cup. Although slight favorites, few would have expected this clash to be so one-sided, with the West Germans sweeping the Mexicans aside with a six-goal victory.

Shockingly, the Mexicans exited the World Cup after losing all their games, while West Germany was eliminated during the following round after failing to win a single game.

After drawing against Brazil, Argentina knew that it was imperative to defeat Peru in order to stand a chance of winning the group and thereby clinching a spot in the World Cup final.

With this in mind, Argentina left nothing to chance, putting six goals past their South American counterparts. Thanks to this victory, Argentina were able to win the group and secure progress to the final, where they defeated the Netherlands to lift the World Cup trophy.

While Hungary may have been a force to be reckoned with in the 1950s, this game proved that, by 1986, they were simply a shadow of their former selves. By hammering their opponents 6-0, the Soviets surged above close contenders France in the Group C standings.

Following their resounding win, the Soviet Union won Group B while Hungary bowed out of the competition. Still, the Soviets’ tournament was cut short after a 3-4 loss to Belgium.

Considering that they were sharing a group with the Netherlands, Argentina knew how important it was to get their tournament off to the right start. Following a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast, the Argentinians would come up against minnows Serbia and Montenegro.

The Argentinians took full advantage of their superior talent, earning a resounding victory that handed them the number one spot in the group.

2018 was the first time that Panama had qualified for a World Cup. In their second game of the tournament, they were due to face England — a seasoned team that had qualified for every tournament since 1998.

The Three Lions’ experience soon showed. With captain Harry Kane scoring a hat-trick, England thumped Panama to secure qualification from the group before facing off with fellow giants Belgium.

In what was the inaugural World Cup, both Argentina and the United States won their respective groups to qualify for the semifinals. In fact, the Americans had not conceded a single goal during the group stage, which is what made this result all the more surprising.

With this victory, Argentina secured their place in the final; however, a strong Uruguayan side would prevent them from clinging to the World Cup trophy.

Considering that both teams won their respective groups with ease, the second-round clash between Brazil and Spain was expected to be a tight affair. Still, Brazil looked to continue the fine form they exhibited in their 7-1 victory over Sweden in the previous game.

Brazil overwhelmed Spain, thereby knocking the Spanish out of the running and setting up a nail-biting final showdown for themselves with Uruguay.

Having lost 8-3 to Hungary in a thrilling group stage game, West Germany was determined to overcome this embarrassment and launch a World Cup title challenge that would prove how strong they still were.

In the semifinals, they would get a prime opportunity to do just that. Not only did they dismantle Austria, but they ended up defeating Hungary in the final — the very opponent who humiliated them in the group stage.

For both Czechoslovakia and Argentina, the 1958 World Cup proved a disaster, with both teams facing the threat of elimination from their group after the first two games. With everything to play for in the final group game, Czechoslovakia would prove to be the more determined of the two.

Even after thumping Argentina, Czechoslovakia could not progress in the tournament after losing a playoff game against fellow group member Northern Ireland, making it a tournament to forget.

As runners-up in 1954, Hungary was eager to return to the summit of world soccer following a disappointing group stage exit in 1958. With this in mind, the Hungarians showed no mercy against first-timers Bulgaria, with Flórián Albert scoring in the first minute en route to a hattrick.

This decisive victory saw Hungary emerge as group winners, while Bulgaria bowed out of the tournament after coming last in the group.

Although stuck in the “group of death” alongside Uruguay and West Germany, the Danish showed no fear as they sought to dominate the group. Preben Elkjær Larsen opened the scoring in the 11th minute, going on to grab a hattrick as Denmark showed no mercy with Uruguay.

Ultimately, it was only a penalty that put Uruguay on the scoresheet as Denmark marched into the knockouts as group winners.

For Russia and Cameroon, the 1994 World Cup was one to forget, with both teams eliminated after just two games. With only pride left to play for, the two Group B minnows would face off in what would be the final game of the tournament for both of them.

Russia turned out to be more hungry on the day, rolling six goals past the Cameroonian defense in an effort to end their tournament on a high note.

Following a shock 3-2 opening game loss to Nigeria and a goalless draw with Paraguay, Spain was desperate to turn their World Cup challenge around in their final group game against underdogs Bulgaria.

With everything to play for, the Spanish gave it their all, starting their goal-fest in the sixth minute. Unfortunately, this emphatic victory was not enough for Spain, with La Furia Roja bowing out of the group as Paraguay ousted Nigeria 3-1 to grab the second knockout qualification spot.

As runners-up in 1950, Brazil was determined to launch another strong title challenge as they came up against Mexico in their first game of the tournament. This hunger certainly came through as the Brazilians scored five unanswered goals to catapult themselves to the top of the group.

While Brazil emerged from the group as a force to be reckoned with, they were eliminated straight after following a 4-2 loss to Hungary in the round of 16.

After two group games, Yugoslavia was tied with Uruguay at two points each. With everything to play for, the Yugoslavians proved exactly why they deserved a spot in the knockouts when they ran riot against Colombia, heavily improving their goal difference in the process.

Thanks to this emphatic win, the Yugoslavians secured a spot in the knockouts, while Uruguay’s loss to the Soviet Union saw them book an early flight home.

Placed in a group with fellow soccer giants Uruguay, Argentina, and Switzerland, West Germany truly found itself in this tournament’s “group of death.” Such high-profile opponents didn’t discourage the West Germans from playing a risky and aggressive game of football, however, as Switzerland would soon find out.

This convincing victory over Switzerland put West Germany in prime position to win, securing their route to the World Cup final.

With Dennis Bergkamp, Edgar Davids, and Frank de Boer among their ranks, the 1998 Dutch team proved to be one of the nation’s strongest. Following a tense goalless draw with fellow European giants Belgium, the Oranje was eager to assert their dominance on the group in their next game against South Korea.

Netherlands’ 5-0 romping of South Korea put them in poll position in the group while also putting them on track for a respectable semi-final run.

Looking to make a strong first impression in front of their home fans, Russia overpowered Saudi Arabia in what was a one-sided opening game of the tournament. From the moment that Yury Gazinsky opened the scoring in the 12th minute, it was one-way traffic.

This emphatic 5-0 victory guaranteed safe passage to the knockout stages for the hosts, while Saudi Arabia was eliminated following a 1-0 loss to eventual group winners Uruguay.

For Hungary, the 1954 tournament was an opportunity to sustain their proud World Cup legacy, having made it to the final of the 1938 tournament. But, considering that West Germany was a strong team in their own right, seeing Hungary win by five goals was a nevertheless surprising result.

Although this result saw Hungary win the group, they were shockingly defeated by West Germany in the final in what was the ultimate show of revenge.

Having been humiliated by Hungary in their previous game, West Germany needed a victory against Turkey in their playoff in order to keep their World Cup hopes alive. Maximilian Morlock grabbed a hat-trick while Hans Schäfer scored a brace to hand West Germany a place in the quarter-finals.

This result completely turned West Germany’s World Cup campaign around, as they rose from group-stage strugglers to World Cup champions.