In the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, more people remember the birth of the Brazilian genius Pele, who helped the team win the first World Cup title in the history of Brazil before the age of 18, and was elected the best player in the World Cup, but in terms of personal performance, there is one person who can compare with him in the World Cup, and even more than that, he is the Frenchman Giuste Fontaine. In the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, France won the third place, played a total of 6 games, Fontaine scored a total of 13 goals, the first group stage match against Paraguay, France won 7:3, Fontaine scored a hat-trick; again again against Yugoslavia, although France lost 2:3, but Fontaine performed well, one man won two yuan; the last game of Northern Ireland, Fontaine went down to the next city, helped France win 2:1; entered the rematch, the two-degree Fontaine helped France win 4:0 In the semi-finals, facing Brazil, which has many superstars such as Vawa, Pele, Garrincha, etc., france was unable to return to the sky, missing the final with a score of 2:5, but Fontaine still performed brilliantly, scoring a goal; in the third and fourth place finals with West Germany, Fontaine was very powerful, and played a big four joy, helping the team to win the third place with a score of 6:3 Liasid. With 13 goals scored in a single World Cup, this astonishing record is unprecedented and difficult to come by, with the closest to this record being the 11 goals scored by Hungarian player Kochis in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland and the 10 goals scored by Gad Müller in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Gad Mueller, who was once the top scorer in the history of the World Cup, also modestly said: "I am not the top scorer in the World Cup, Fontaine is". Thanks to his outstanding performances at the 1958 World Cup, Fontaine was arguably the first French star to become world-famous. Interestingly, to encourage younger generations to break their own goal record, Fontaine also set up a record-breaking prize of $1,000.
Born into a French expatriate family in Marrakech, Morocco, Fontaine's father was a French northerner and his mother was Spanish. As a child, Fontaine often played football with his friends on the streets of Morocco or in open spaces. The playing environment of the groove cake allowed Fontaine to develop his superb football skills, and later joined the local Moroccan team of Maracos, and won the national junior football championship in his first year. Fontaine then moved to Casablanca as Morocco's top scorer. After graduating from secondary school, Fontaine developed the idea of becoming a good player, so he gave up his studies and returned to France at the age of 20 to play football wholeheartedly.
Fontaine joined the French club Nice in 1953, where he received systematic professional training, made great progress in both personal skills and physical fitness, and soon became the main force of the team to help the team win the cup, and the following year helped the club win the national league championship. In 1955, he moved to Reims, the richest club in France at the time, where he was able to give full play to his football genius, and played well for the team, winning two National League titles (1958, 1960) and two European Champions League runners-up (1956, 1959), and twice the league's top scorer. The most glorious period of Fontaine's club career was from 1959 to 1962, and the most prosperous was the peak of the five-time champions Real Madrid in 1959, although the defeat was still glorious. The club's brilliant performances quickly made Fontaine popular with the national team, and on 7 December 1953, in France's 8–0 victory over Luxembourg, he made his debut for the national team and scored a hat-trick. In 1954, he participated in the World Cup in Switzerland, broadened his knowledge and was trained, and in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the national team was also the peak of his career, wearing borrowed shoes to play Fontaine scored 13 goals in 6 games to make him famous and ushered in the first heyday of French football. Unfortunately, the 27-year-old Fontaine broke his tibia for the first time in the league against Sochaux, and he was injured for 10 months. After recovering, he injured his tibia again. After a long period of incurability, the gifted Fontaine announced his early retirement at the age of 28. Career statistics also stayed in the national team 21 games 30 goals, club career appearances 213 times, scored 200 goals. In total, he scored more than 400 goals in 450 appearances in his football career.
Although his career spanned only 8 years, he ranked fifth in the list of the best players in French history by French Football magazine in 2003, behind Platini, Zidane, Kopa and Blank, and at the UEFA celebration in February 2005, Fontaine was named the best player in France in 50 years. At the 64th International Football Congress on 10 June 2006, FIFA awarded him a special Golden Boot in honor of his impressive record of 13 goals scored at the 1958 World Cup.
Looking at his horrific goal efficiency, if it weren't for the early retirement due to injury, perhaps he could have created a more brilliant result, after all, the 30-year-old Pele could still lead Brazil to the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Later, when Fontaine recalled his early retirement, he also mentioned: "I was at the peak, ready to transfer to a foreign country, if it were not for injury, no one knows what would happen later, to know that Platini only ushered in the peak of his career after the transfer to Juventus, and he was 27 years old at that time." ”
There are no ifs in life, so there is no need for us to imagine how Fontaine, without injury, would achieve more brilliant achievements. Even now, his career is great enough to be respected by all. Because he is a milestone, a milestone in French football, a milestone in the World Cup, a milestone in football.