Hungary’s biggest World Cup win stands after 44 years

Hungary's commanding 10-1 victory against El Salvador in the 1982 FIFA World Cup stands as the tournament's most emphatic win, a record that has endured for 44 years. This remarkable scoreline occurred during the group stage match in Spain, where Hungary became the only team to score 10 goals in a single men's World Cup game.

The nine-goal margin of victory also remains a joint World Cup record. A notable highlight of that match was substitute László Kiss, who achieved the unique feat of scoring a hat-trick off the bench. His three goals, scored in just seven minutes, constitute the fastest hat-trick in World Cup history.

While Germany recently achieved a significant 7-1 win over debutants Curaçao, it fell short of Hungary's long-standing record. The article revisits other substantial victories in World Cup history, including Hungary's own 9-0 triumph over South Korea in 1954. That Hungarian team, known as the Golden Team, also holds records for most goals in a single edition (27) and highest aggregate goal difference (+17).

Other notable large margins include Yugoslavia's 9-0 defeat of Zaire in 1974, where they scored the most goals in a first half of a World Cup match. Sweden's 8-0 victory over Cuba in 1938, featuring two hat-tricks from the same team, and Uruguay's 8-0 win against Bolivia in 1950 are also mentioned as significant historical results.