French · Marrakesh, Morocco · Born 18 August 1933 · Died 2023-02-28Owner of the most extraordinary single-tournament record in football history — 13 goals in 6 games at the 1958 World Cup.
Just Fontaine was born on 18 August 1933 in Marrakech, in what was then French Morocco, and began his career with USM Casablanca before moving to France to join OGC Nice and then Stade de Reims in 1956. At Reims, he became part of a golden era for the club, winning two French league titles and the Coupe de France while forming a formidable strike partnership that carried the team to the 1959 European Cup final, which they lost to Real Madrid. Fontaine was a surprise, last-minute inclusion in France's squad for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, having benefited from an unplanned rest during a knee operation the previous winter that left him fresher than his rivals heading into the tournament. He didn't even have his own boots in working order, borrowing a pair from teammate Stéphane Bruey after damaging his own in practice. What followed remains one of the most extraordinary individual feats in World Cup history: Fontaine scored in every one of France's six matches, including a hat-trick against Paraguay and four goals in the third-place play-off against West Germany, finishing the tournament with 13 goals — a single-edition record that has stood for over six decades and seems unlikely ever to be broken, with West Germany's Gerd Müller (10, in 1970) the closest anyone has come since. France reached the semi-finals, their best World Cup finish to that point, before losing to a Brazil side inspired by a 17-year-old Pelé. Fontaine's career was cut brutally short in March 1960, when a horrific leg fracture suffered in a routine tackle forced his retirement at just 28, having scored 200 goals in 213 club games and 30 in 21 appearances for France. He later managed the French national team, Paris Saint-Germain, and Morocco. Known for his self-deprecating humour about his enduring record, Fontaine died on 1 March 2023, at the age of 89.
Scoring 13 goals in the 1958 World Cup, a single-tournament record
His 13 World Cup goals in a single tournament is a record that has stood for over 65 years and may never be broken.
Did You Know?How They Played
Clinical finisher with excellent positioning and pace in the penalty area
Lasting Impact
Holds the unbroken record for most goals scored in a single World Cup tournament
Career Honours
- 1958 World Cup Golden Boot: 13 goals in 6 games (all-time record)
- World Cup 3rd Place 1958
- 30 France goals in 21 games
- French Championship 1958
- French Championship 1960
- French Championship 1962
| Club | Period | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Marocaine | 1950–1953 | 48 | 62 |
| Nice | 1953–1956 | 69 | 42 |
| Reims | 1956–1962 | 131 | 122 |
 France | — | 21 | 30 |
French Athletes