Hungary v El Salvador (1982 FIFA World Cup)


Hungary v El Salvador was the second game to be played in Group 3 of the first group stage at the 1982 FIFA World Cup. The game was played at Nuevo Estadio in Elche, Spain on 15 June between the men's national football teams of Hungary and El Salvador. Hungary won the match 10–1, recording the biggest scoreline in men's FIFA World Cup finals history.
Hungarian substitute László Kiss scored a hat-trick, the only World Cup hat-trick by a substitute, and the fastest ever in a World Cup, in the space of seven minutes.

Background

had experience of playing in the final of both the 1938 and 1954 World Cups.
Prior to the World Cup, El Salvador, due to economic reasons sent a 20-men squad. Hungary sent their full team. According to the World Cup's technical report:
El Salvador had a very good preparatory programme, mainly with emphasis on endurance, speed and strength. The program was very interesting, but as it happened, the special political circumstances in the country prevented the final stage from being carried out in as concentrated a way as one would have actually wished.

The draw for the group stage of the 1982 World Cup paired Hungary and El Salvador with Argentina and Belgium in Group 3. Before the game, holders Argentina had lost 1–0 to Belgium in the opening game of the tournament. Despite this win, Hungary collected only one more point in the group stage and failed to qualify for the second round.

Match

Details