3 players in World Cup history to score in double-digits in a single edition

Football, 1970 World Cup Semi Final, Azteca Stadium, Mexico, 17th June 1970, Italy 4 v West Germany 3, West Germany+s Gerd Muller races away to celebrate after he scored his side+s third goal past Italian goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi and Gianni Rivera (on

Fun Fact: The 1982 World Cup was the first World Cup in which the prestigious Golden Shoe Award was given to the tournament's top goal-scorer.

Another fun fact: In 2010, the Golden Shoe Award was renamed as the Golden Boot Award.

So if one's to go by technicality here, there have been only seven Golden Shoe Award winners and only three Golden Boot Award winners in World Cup history so far. Because from 1930- the first World Cup that was hosted in Uruguay- to 1978 there was no official award given to the tournament's top goal-scorer.

The FIFA Golden Boot Award is an extremely prestigious award that's given to the player who scores the most goals in a World Cup.

In the event of a tie, a situation wherein two or more players have scored the exact same number of goals in the tournament, the winner is decided on the basis of the number of penalty goals scored by each player. The player with the lesser number of penalty goals wins. This rule has been implemented since the 1994 World Cup.

In a situation wherein, even after considering the number of penalty goals scored by each player there's no clear winner, it then goes down to the number of assists tied to the player's name. If the matter still remains unsolved, the award then goes to the player who's played the least number of minutes in the entire tournament.

Winning the Golden Boot Award is every striker's dream. However, winning it is no easy feat. From the first World Cup held in the year 1930 until now, 2018, there's never been a player who's won this award twice.

This is an award that's eluded some of the most prolific goalscorers that the game has ever seen. Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Ferenc Puskas; these are the names of just a few legends who fell short of winning this award in their illustrious career.

Each and every individual who's won the Golden Boot Award has created a legacy for themselves, not just in their country but around the world. These are names that football enthusiasts do not forget in a heartbeat, let alone a lifetime.

Yet, even within these extraordinary individuals, there are some who just defied all odds and rewrote the history books to include their names.

There are only three players to hit the double-digits in goals in a single World Cup. These three players are:


#3 Gerd Muller (West Germany)

Gerd Muller is Germany's most prolific goal-scorer ever. He represented West Germany 62 times, scoring 68 goals in total. Very few players have a better goals-to-games ratio than him.

In fact, amongst the best players in the world, he has the third best goals-to-games ratio and is ranked 12th on the list of all-time top international goal-scorers.

Between 1970-1974, he was at the peak of his goal-scoring prowess.

In the 1970 World Cup, he scored 10 goals in 6 games carrying West Germany to the semi-finals. Sadly, their campaign had to end there with a 4-3 loss coming against Italy.

In 1974, he corrected this wrong by winning the World Cup for West Germany. He scored 4 goals in that tournament and the all-important goal in the Finals.

Muller is one of the best strikers to ever grace the football field. He has a bunch of individual honours to his name. In 1970, he was the Best European Player in the World and was given the all coveted Ballon d'Or.

#2 Sandor Kocsis (Hungary)

1954. Sandor Kocsis of Hungary.
1954. Sandor Kocsis of Hungary.

Sandor Kocsis is a name that may be new to a lot of you. However, in Hungary, he's very much a household name.

Arguably one of the greatest goal scorers ever, he scored 75 goals in 68 appearances for Hungary. He was a clinical finisher and fierce header of the ball.

He has the best goals-to-games ratio than any other top player. Only Gerd Muller and Ferenc Puskas have comparable goals-to-games ratios with him.

In 1954, he announced himself to the world by scoring two hat-tricks in one World Cup. He was the first ever player to do so and he ended the tournament as the highest goal-scorer with 11 goals to his name.

He has the best goals-to-game ratio in World Cup football history at 2.2 goals/game.

The 1954 World Cup ended on a sad note as Hungary were unable to overcome the last obstacle in the face of West Germany. Yet, it was a memorable year for all Hungarian fans thanks to Sandor Kocsis's heroics!

#1 Just Fontaine (France)

France's Just Fontaine, top scorer in the 1958 World Cup tournament in Sweden with thirteen goals, an all time record.

The 1958 World Cup was a memorable one. Two big things happened in this World Cup.

Pele, the 17-year old boy wonder won Brazil the World Cup. The youngest ever player to score in the World Cup Finals.

And, Just Fontaine knocked in 13 goals in 6 games for France. The most number of goals scored by a single player in one World Cup.

To date, both these records stand and from the looks of things, it's going to take a super-human effort to break either of these records.

Just Fontaine was one of the most prolific goal scorers in Europe at the time and the 1958 World Cup was the highlight of his career. Post-retirement, he won a few prestigious individual honours that were awarded to him by the likes of FIFA and UEFA.

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Edited by Amar Anand