Top-15 World’s Most Unbroken Football Records In History

World's Most Unbroken Football Records In History
Photo: Daniel Norin/Unsplash

What are the greatest world records in football history? Read on to find out!

Amazing, incredible things happen in soccer that leaves fans in jaw drooping wonder. Unexpected mystified goals that keep one hooked on social media watching the replays hundreds of times. Hilarious decisional refereeing moments that trigger eyes popping out of its socket. Surprisingly, most of this iconic feat is performed by players’ unknown in the soccer world.

SportyTell takes a look at the top-15 jaw-breaking unforgettable records in soccer history. Interestingly, only a few of these amazing feats are credited to the prominent stars in the sport.

Here are the World’s Most Unbroken Football Records In History

15. Most Goals in a Single World Cup

This football record for the most goals scored in a single world cup belongs to Frenchman, Just Fontaine. He scored a total of 13 goals in the 1958 world cup to lead his team to a third-place spot in the tournament. Fontaine opened the goal wrecking record with a hat trick in the opening game and three more in the group phase to qualify his side to the next round. He kept on with the scoring prowess in the next round and his side’s final game in a third-place match, he netted four times to achieve the feat.

14. Most Goals Scored by a Goalkeeper in a Career

Goalkeepers are meant to save goals not score, but with Brazilian goalkeeper, Rogerio Ceni, he did both. He recorded a total of 128 career goals before hanging the boots. Ceni netted series of penalties and free-kicks into the back of the net. A certain season he became conversant in his scoring prowess that football commentators, analyst and fans alike were anticipating goals from him as though he was a striker.

13. Most International Goals by a Player in Soccer

Ali Daei holds the record for most goals scored internationally with a total of 109 goals for Iran throughout his international career which saw him make 149 appearances between 1993 and 2006.

12. Highest Goals Scored in a Match in Soccer History

Although AS Adema’s 149–0 victory over SO I’Emyrne should have owned the credit to this unbeaten soccer record, it wasn’t a clean victory as SO I’Emyrne intentionally gave a cheap victory to arch-rival AS Adema in a protest over a refereeing decision. So the Scottish cup game in 1885 takes the credit with Arbroath beating Bon Accord in a 36–0 goals whopping victory in a clean and proper game of football.

11.  Fastest-ever Red Card in a World Cup Match

Not something to be emulated, but Jose Bastian of Uruguay got sent off in the 1986 World Cup match against Scotland, in less than a minute for an intense violent foot tackle which left Scotland’s Gordon Strachan mortally wounded. The referee didn’t hesitate to show Bastia the red.

10. Longest Unbeaten Run

With five consecutive unbeaten seasons in the Divizia A, Romanian club, Steaua Bucharest, holds this feat. Five unbeaten seasons in a row accumulated in straight 90 minutes’ of the football game is a total of 104 games. That is an incredible record Steaua Bucharest did set.

9. The Fastest Hat-Trick Ever

Games of football often do not see the scoreline result in three goals or more or hardly a player pulling a hat-trick often. In the case of Alex Torr of Rawson Spring, he netted three goals back to back in just 70 seconds against Gardens. The first goal came in the 11 minutes of the game, the second, 30 seconds later and the third in the twelfth minute. Rawson won that match 7 goals against 1 for Gardens.

8. Most Consecutive Hat-Tricks in Soccer

In 2016, Stjepan Lucijanic scored a total of 20 goals in five consecutive games. All being in the hat-trick format, thus becoming the most consecutive hat-trick scored in the history of football — a record Japan’s Masashija Nakayamu once held after he scored 16 goals, all hat-trick. 

7. Longest Penalty Shootout

The Namibian Cup in 2005 was the stage for this stunning event in soccer history. KK Palace and Civics had drawn 2-2 and proceeded to the penalty shootout. The seeming never-ending penalty shootout ended in favour of Palace who won 17-16 after a total of 48 penalty kicks.

6. Most Individual Goals in a Single Match

The 2002 World Cup qualifying match between Australia vs American Samoa saw Archie Thompson of Australia netting 13 times to set this astonishing record. Australia went on winning the game 31-0.

5. Most Red Cards in a Match

As fictional as this sound, it really did happen. In a match between Claypole vs Victoriano Arenas, referee Damian Rubino handed out thirty-six red cards. A brawl had erupted in the pitch after a fan interrupted gameplay and struck a player. Thus, Rubino sent of all 22 players on the field including all substitute and technical staff.

4. Longest Goal Ever Scored

Call it a wind of fate, you may be right. In a game between Stoke City vs Southampton back in 2013, Stoke’s goalie had smashed a long shot from his 18-yard box as a goal kick. Surprisingly and unexpectedly, that goal kick resulted into a goal flying past Southampton’s goalkeeper Artur Boruc to give Stoke City the lead over Southampton.

3. Most World Cup Matches by an Individual Player

This is one rare football record that might remain unbroken in years to come. With the four years’ interval between one of the most prestigious tournaments in football, the World Cup, a player like Lothar Matthaus featuring in 25 World Cup games is phenomenal. A World Cup tournament holds a total of 64 games. Matthaus had to play consecutively in five World Cups with Germany to achieve the record for the most world cup matches by a footballer.

2. Most Expensive Player Transfer in Soccer History

Brazilian attacker Neymar Jr. in 2017 made a transfer move to French giant PSG for a whopping €222 million to top the list of the most expensive transfer in soccer history. Football largely is growing more and more profitable and in years to come a more expensive fee would likely be ditched out to secure the playing services of star players such as Neymar or Kylian Mbappe

1. Most Goals Scored in a Calendar Year

One of the most admired and famous footballer in the modern era of the game, Lionel Messi, holds this impeccable feat. The six-time FIFA Ballon d’Or award winner in the 2011-2012 football season scored a total of 91 goals for both club, Barcelona and National team, Argentina. Merciless Messi scored 79 goals for club side and 12 goals for his countryside to mount up this magic which has remained unbroken till date.


Soccer’s Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some of the FAQs in world football.

Who won the very first Premier League?

Manchester United won the maiden season or the Premier League. That was the 1992–93 season. They achieved victory over Aston Villa who was 10 points shy. Manchester also retained the league title in the 1993-94 season after they defeated Aston Villa to a 2–1 victory, thus, leading the table in the third game week.

Who has most Ballon d’Or?

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has won a record 6 Ballon d’Or awards (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019). That record is followed by Cristiano Ronaldo who has won the 5 Ballon d’Or awards (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017).

Who is the player with most assists in football?

Below are the list of players with most assists as par competition.

LeaguePlayerTeam/sAssistsAppearances
La LigaLionel MessiBarcelona176475
Premier LeagueRyan GiggsManchester United162632
MLSLandon DonovanSan Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy136340
UEFA Champions LeagueCristiano RonaldoManchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus40169

Who is Arsenal’s top scorer of all time?

Thierry Henry is Arsenal’s top goalscorer of all time, scoring a total of 228 goals in 377 appearances. Henry achieved this feat when he broke Ian Wright’s eight-year record in a match against Sparta Prague in October 2005.

Which footballer has the most fans?

As of June 2020, Cristiano Ronaldo is the soccer player with most fans on social media, with a combined 432 million fans — Facebook (122m), Instagram (225m) and Twitter (85m). Behind CR7 is Lionel Messi with a combined 246 million social media fans — Facebook (90m) and Instagram (156m).

Who is the king of free kick?

While Cristiano Ronaldo, David Beckham and Lionel Messi are amazing free-kick takers in their own rights, one player stands out — Juninho Pernambucano. The former Olympique Lyonnais midfielder scored a whopping 76 free-kick goals throughout his 20 years career. To top it up, Juninho scored his free-kick goals in a ridiculous fashion, thus, making a name for himself as the king of free-kick.

What does Messi say about Cristiano Ronaldo?

Messi once praised Cristiano Ronaldo crediting his performance at Juventus and called the Juventus forward a “predatory striker.” Messi mentioned that it is normal for CR7 to score and that anytime he plays, he would score. Despite the heated rivalry he has had with the Juventus star, Messi told a Spanish newspaper in an interview that he would pass to Ronaldo if they played on the same team.

How many hat-tricks have Cristiano Ronaldo scored?

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a total of 56 hat-tricks in his career so far. He recorded 8 in the UEFA Champions League (7 for Real Madrid and 1 for Juventus), 36 in the domestic league, 2 in the domestic cup, 1 in FIFA Club World Cup and 9 in International.

How many hat-tricks have Lionel Messi scored?

Lionel Messi has scored a total of 54 hat-tricks in his career and we’re certain that more will come. In the history of La Liga, Lionel Messi is the player with the most hat-trick with a total of 36 La Liga hat-tricks, with the most recent being 22 February 2020 v Eibar. Messi also recorded 8 in the UEFA Champions League, Copa del Rey 3, Spanish Super Cup 1 and International 6.

Which club has the highest unbeaten record?

Arsenal, under the leadership of Arsene Wenger, currently holds the Premier League’s longest unbeaten run with a total of 49 games in the 2003–04 season. Arsenal’s unbeaten run record is followed by Liverpool with 44 games in the 2019–20 and Chelsea with 40 games in the 2004–05 season.

Which team broke Arsenal’s unbeaten record?

The Arsenal’s record-breaking 49-match unbeaten run was finally broken by Manchester United in a game dubbed the “Battle of the Buffet” by the media. The match which was played at Old Trafford on October 24, 2004, saw Van Nistelrooy and Wayne Rooney score to lead Manchester United to a 2–0 victory. Nistelroy’s goal was a penalty which he converted while Rooney’s goal came much later in the match. Arsene Wenger managed Arsenal at the time.

Final Words

What are your thoughts on these world’s most unbroken football records in history? Feel free to share in the comments section below.

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