The highest soccer scores in history would have most fans rubbing their eyes and making sure they were watching the right sport – but what are the record scorelines?
In a sport where games finish 0-0 on a regular basis, you can be forgiven for thinking monster scores don’t happen.
But while they aren’t commonplace, there have been plenty of freak scores and eye-watering blowouts over the years.
To help give you an idea of how big soccer scores can get, we’ve picked out some records from major competitions.
Premier League Highest Ever Scores
The highest-scoring Premier League game was contested by Portsmouth and Reading in 2007. Portsmouth won the game 7-4 in an 11-goal thriller at their Fratton Park stadium.
Things haven’t gone so well for either team since then, though. As of 2023/24, both Reading and Portsmouth play in League One, the third tier of soccer in England.
While that’s the most goals in a Premier League game, the biggest winning margin has occurred four separate times. Southampton lost 9-0 in successive seasons in 2019/20 and 2020/21.
They were beaten at home by Leicester City, before suffering a similar fate at Old Trafford against Manchester United, after red cards in both games. United also beat Ipswich Town by the same scoreline in 1995.
Liverpool managed a 9-0 win most recently, defeating Bournemouth by the record margin in August 2022.
UEFA Champions League Highest Score
Next we move from England’s top competition, to Europe’s. The UEFA Champions League is the pinnacle of club soccer, with the best teams in the world going head-to-head.
As a result, massive scores are rare, but not impossible. In November 2016, German Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund hosted Polish team Legia Warsaw.
After just 32 minutes, the score was already 5-2, with three goals in four minutes at one stage. The German side would go on to win 8-4 in what is the highest scoring soccer game in Champions League history.
FIFA World Cup Highest Score
The highest soccer score in a FIFA World Cup game came all the way back in 1954. A group stage match between European neighbours Austria and Switzerland finished 7-5 to the Austrians.
With 12 total goals, it’s the most ever at the World Cup. The biggest winning margin is nine goals, which has happened three different times.
In the same tournament as Austria vs Switzerland, Hungary put nine past South Korea in 1954. In 1974, Yugoslavia did the same to Zair (now the DR Congo), before Hungary did it again in 1982, beating El Salvador 9-0 in Spain.
Highest Soccer Score In International History
International soccer throws up some of the biggest mismatches in the sporting world. With some nations boasting incredible wealth, and others barely scraping 11 players together.
While the Pacific nation of Vanuatu is far from a wealthy or prestigious soccer nation, they are still leagues ahead of Micronesia. The Pacific islands are infamous for having some of the worst-funded national teams in soccer, with amateur players having to face off against full-time pro’s in regional competitions.
In the 2015 Pacific Games tournament, Micronesia conceded 114 goals in just three games, and were dubbed the “worst international team on the planet.”
Their 46-0 loss to Vanuatu is the highest soccer score in international history.
What Was The Highest Soccer Score Ever?
While the scores listed above are the biggest legitimate scores in soccer, they are nothing compared to the overall record.
On October 31st 2002, in the Madagascan top league, AS Adema and Stade Olympique de l’Emyrne faced off with Adema already having won the title.
Opponents SO Emyrne were outraged that they had already lost the title race to what they believed to be some terrible refereeing decisions in previous games.
So how did they respond? By scoring 149 own goals. In one of the craziest protests in sporting history, the visiting players took the ball from kick-off and immediately started smashing it into their own net. Over and over.
With an average of more than a goal per minute, they kept up their protest for the full 90 minute match, with dire consequences. The coach and four players lost their jobs, and were banned for three years for match fixing.
But because the referee did not abandon the game, the result stands. It remains officially the highest score in professional soccer history.
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