Borrowed shoes, no Golden Boot - the story of the World Cup's greatest scorer

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Sport InsightBorrowed shoes, no Golden Boot - the story of the World Cup's greatest scorerPublished7 hours agoImage source, Getty ImagesByEmma SmithBBC Sport journalistJust Fontaine's record 13 goals at a single World Cup is remarkable in itself. Now consider that he wasn't wearing his own boots, and wasn't supposed to be starting France's games. He didn't even get a Golden Boot trophy for being the 1958 tournament's top scorer - instead he was awarded an air rifle by a Swedish newspaper for being a "sharp shooter".

His name comes up every four years as the benchmark for the latest crop of players - but for the rest of the time he is a great pub quiz answer. At the 2026 World Cup some of the best goalscorers on the planet are getting closer to him than others have managed in many decades since, with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane locked in a fearsome battle for the Golden Boot. Since 1970, only three times has the World Cup top scorer bagged more than six goals at a tournament.

The Details

Mbappe and Messi have eight already, while Erling Haaland has seven with Kane and Jude Bellingham one behind. Of course, an extra round of matches for the 48-team tournament will help these strikers as their teams go deep into the competition, with countries reaching the semi-finals guaranteed to play eight games. But even with that leg up, they are currently still some way behind the man who set the record in just six matches.

In spotlight but shunning limelight - Olise's unique rise to top Published4 JulyProject Mbappe - the road to becoming France's record scorer Published16 JuneHow Cornish miners brought football to Mexico Published2 JuneCompared with those who have vainly chased his tournament record for the past 68 years, Fontaine is a relative unknown to modern audiences. While Pele, Messi et al are rightly regarded as the best male players ever, Fontaine is now a piece of trivia. But that is to play down the remarkable life and career of Fontaine - who, if he were playing in the modern day, would have represented a different country.

The 2026 quarter-final between France and Morocco was the Just Fontaine derby. He was born in Marrakesh in August 1933 - at the time, Morocco was a French protectorate. Morocco gained independence two years before the 1958 World Cup, but by that time Fontaine was an established international footballer playing in the French leagues - so he represented Les Bleus.

What Experts Say

And, as sports journalist and historian Philip Barker explained to Sport, had all gone to plan for France, Fontaine would not have been starting games at the World Cup in Sweden at all. "He was not actually first choice - a team-mate got injured in a warm-up game," explains Barker. "It was such a last-minute change, he had to borrow boots for the opening game as he didn't have any to fit him.

"He had damaged his own pair in a training session and had not brought a spare pair with him.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.