Hungary's 10-1 Victory Over El Salvador Remains Biggest Win in World Cup History
This article analyzes the historic 1982 World Cup match between Hungary and El Salvador, which holds the record for the largest margin of victory in tournament history. Played in Elche, Spain, Hungary dominated the game from the start, with Gabor Poloskei opening the scoring early. The highlight of the match was Laszlo Kiss’s record-breaking hat-trick scored in just seven minutes after coming off the bench. Although Luis Ramírez Zapata scored El Salvador’s only World Cup goal in the 64th minute, Hungary responded with five more goals to seal a 10-1 victory. Despite this offensive display, Hungary was eliminated in the group stage after subsequent losses to Belgium and Argentina. The article attributes the rout to significant disparities in technical preparation and logistical support, noting El Salvador faced civil war and training difficulties. It also lists other high-scoring World Cup matches, such as Yugoslavia’s 9-0 win over Zaire, but confirms that the 10-1 result remains the unmatched record for offensive production in a single ninety-minute World Cup match.
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