Hungary scored the most goals by a country in a single FIFA World Cup tournament, totaling 27 in 1954.
The Hungarian Golden Team produced that record in Switzerland while playing only five matches. They opened with a 9–0 victory over South Korea, then defeated West Germany 8–3 in the group stage. Hungary also beat Brazil 4–2 in a famously aggressive quarter-final and Uruguay 4–2 after extra time in the semi-final.
Sándor Kocsis was the leading force, scoring 11 goals, including four against West Germany and four across the semi-final. Ferenc Puskás added four, while Nándor Hidegkuti and Zoltán Czibor also made major contributions.
The remarkable twist is that Hungary did not win the tournament. West Germany recovered from the group-stage defeat to beat Hungary 3–2 in the final, a match remembered as the Miracle of Bern. Brazil’s 22 goals in 1950 and France’s 23 in 1958 are the nearest earlier-era challenges, but neither surpassed Hungary’s 27.