FIFA World Cups are notable for the variety of teams that qualify. It can take the best of the best teams and pit them against relatively lower-ranked teams. But even when two sides face each other on completely different sides of the rankings, they have rarely ended in a beating.
In fact, in the history of the FIFA World Cup, there have only been 23 matches in which a team won by a margin of six goals or more. This translates to just over one in each of the 22 tournaments to date.
When these anomalous games take place, they can act as a viewing spectacle for fans of the winning team and the neutral teams alike. Here are the nine biggest wins in FIFA World Cup history.
Biggest FIFA World Cup Wins
Rank: Team 1 – Scoreline – Team 2 – Year
1: Hungary 10-1 El Salvador – 1982
2=: Hungary 9-0 South Korea – 1954
2=: Yugoslavia 9-0 Zaire – 1974
4=: Sweden 8-0 Cuba – 1938
4=: Uruguay 8-0 Bolivia – 1950
4=: Germany 8-0 Saudi Arabia – 2002
7=: Turkey 7-0 Republic of Korea – 1954
7=: Portugal 7-0 North Korea – 2010
7=: Spain 7-0 Costa Rica – 2022
(Note: Matches with a margin of victory are ranked by goals scored)
Published on June 15, 2026
