What is the highest-scoring match in FIFA World Cup history?
Answer
Austria 7–5 Switzerland
Austria 7–5 Switzerland is the highest-scoring match in FIFA World Cup history.
The 1954 quarter-final in Lausanne produced 12 goals, a record that still stands. Switzerland took an early lead, but Austria recovered to win 7–5. The match was played on 26 June 1954 at the Stade Olympique de la Pontaise.
Austria’s Theodor Wagner and Josef Hügi of Switzerland each scored three goals. Austria’s other goals came from Robert Körner, Ernst Stojaspal, and Erich Probst. Switzerland’s remaining goals were scored by Robert Ballaman and Alfred Bickel.
The game was part of the unusually high-scoring 1954 tournament in Switzerland. Teams scored 140 goals in 26 matches, an average of more than five goals per game. Austria reached the semi-finals but lost 6–1 to West Germany, while West Germany eventually won the tournament by defeating Hungary in the final.