The FIFA World Cup 2026, the 23rd edition, is set to begin with the three major hosts, Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Across 16 cities and 48 teams, many young talents will be seen in the tournament, and many old records will be broken, while many new records will be made. But there are some records that hold a possibility that they can never be broken or have a very low chance of being broken. Let’s find out those top four records.
1. Just Fontaine’s Record of 13 Goals
The legendary Just Fontaine’s record of 13 goals in a single season of the FIFA World Cup was made in 1958, and it is considered one of the most unbreakable records, which has only a minor possibility of being surpassed. In only 6 matches, he made this record and got the prestigious Golden Boot award.
Nowadays, players who score 5-8 goals are considered winners of the Golden Boot award. Players like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo never came close to 13 goals in a single season, and this record is on the safer side of never being broken.
2. Oleg Salenko’s 5 Goals in a Single Match
One of the legendary records is held by Oleg Salenko for scoring 5 goals in a single match. On 28 June 1994, at Stanford, California, Russia won the match by a margin of 6-1. The 26-year-old Russian forward player, Salenko, scored 5 out of the 6 total goals in that match.
All 5 goals came in the 15th minute, 41st minute, 44th minute, 72nd minute, and 75th minute of the match by Oleg. With 6 goals each, Oleg Salenko and Bulgaria’s Hristo Stoichkov were the winners of the Golden Boot award in the FIFA World Cup 1994.
Read More
3. Carlos Alberto Parreira as a Coach in 6 FIFA World Cups
Carlos Alberto Parreira holds a significant amount of respect as a coach in the FIFA World Cup. He has been a coach for several teams across FIFA World Cups and has won one title. In the FIFA World Cup 1994, he was the head coach of the Brazil team, which was the winner of that season. He also won many titles other than the World Cup, which shows his coaching ability.
Major career titles include the FIFA World Cup title in 1994 with Brazil, the AFC Asian Cup title in 1980 with Kuwait, the FIFA Confederations Cup title in 2005 with Brazil, and the Copa América title in 2004 with Brazil. At the club level, he won the Turkish League Championship with Fenerbahçe, the Copa do Brasil in 2002 with Corinthians, and the Torneio Rio-São Paulo title in 2002 with Corinthians. These are some titles he holds as a coach.
4. Rafael Márquez Captaincy Across 5 FIFA World Cups
Rafael Márquez holds a respectable and significant position in the FIFA World Cup, as he is the only player who holds the record of captaining his team in 5 different FIFA World Cups from 2002 to 2018. Starting from the 2002 World Cup held in Korea and Japan, the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
The 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the 2014 World Cup held in Brazil, and the 2018 World Cup, which took place in Russia, in all these FIFA World Cups, Rafael was the captain of the Mexico national football team. A 20-year-long international career and consistent selection made him a leading figure for the Mexico national football team.
ALSO READ: Meet Nikhil Chaudhary, Delhi-Born Cricketer Set to Make His Australia Debut
