Biggest Wins in Football at a Glance
The answer is AS Adema 149-0 SO l’Emyrne from 31 October 2002 in Madagascar. It leads the biggest wins in football history, but all 149 goals were SO l’Emyrne own goals scored in protest. Guinness separately lists Arbroath 36-0 Bon Accord as the first-class team-goals record. The biggest international win is Australia 31-0 American Samoa.
That split matters because a scoreline can mean different records. A 149-0 protest match is not the same as a normal competitive defeat. A 36-0 Scottish Cup result measures goals by one team, while 31-0 is the international benchmark.
Use the records below with their labels: competitive, protest, international, friendly, amateur, Premier League, or World Cup. The labels prevent false comparisons between official records and unusual cases. They also separate margin of victory from the highest-scoring football match.
Sources for this guide include Guinness World Records, BBC Sport, The Guardian, Premier League official records, and World Cup record roundups listed in the article. Football history review by the editorial team; published 2026 and last updated 2026 using verified record categories.
What Counts as the Biggest Football Win?
A record win is usually measured by margin of victory: goals scored by the winner minus goals scored by the loser. By that test, the biggest win in football history is the result with the widest gap, not simply the match with the most goals.
Goal difference means the same calculation inside a table or season: goals for minus goals against. A single match margin uses the same idea. A 9-0 scoreline has a margin of nine, while 7-4 has a margin of three.
That is why 9-0 is a larger win than 7-4, even though 7-4 has more total goals. The second match belongs in the highest-scoring match discussion, but it is not the larger defeat by margin. Both numbers tell useful stories, but they answer different questions.
Labels also matter. Official competitions, international qualifiers, friendlies, protests, amateur games, and match-fixing cases should be labelled separately, not mixed as equal records. A protest full of own goals can set a scoreline record, yet it needs a different label from a normal competitive clean sheet.
How Are Highest Football Scores Verified?
Football record claims start with the match authority. Researchers check competition records, federation reports, official stat pages, referee records where available, and club archives. For modern elite games, an official league or tournament source usually carries the most weight.
A record list should then be tested against independent sources. Guinness World Records separates categories such as scoreline, own goals, and most goals by one team, while reputable sports journalism helps confirm context, dates, and whether a result was normal play or protest.
That is why the highest score in football can mean different things in different databases. A national federation may list only sanctioned competitive matches. A media ranking may include friendlies, youth games, or amateur fixtures if the score is well documented.
Note
Old newspaper archives, amateur records, friendly results, and disputed matches can be valuable evidence, but they are not equal categories. Clear lists label each scoreline as official, friendly, amateur, protest, or disputed, then explain any caveat beside the result.
For nineteenth-century games, historians often compare club histories with surviving competition records and newspaper reports. If sources disagree or the match format is unclear, the safer approach is to include the result with a status note, not as a simple universal record.
Biggest Wins in Football History Ranked
This ranking separates the biggest wins in football history by margin, status, and context. The top line, AS Adema 149-0 SO l’Emyrne, is often called the biggest win in football history, but it was a protest match where every goal was an own goal.
| Rank | Match | Score | Date | Competition | Status | Key Caveat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AS Adema v SO l’Emyrne | 149-0 | 31 Oct 2002 | THB Champions League playoff | Competitive protest | BBC and Guinness note all 149 were SO l’Emyrne own goals. |
| 2 | Plateau United Feeders v Akurba | 79-0 | 7 Jul 2013 | Nigerian football | Match-fixing case | Guardian coverage ties this to match fixing and severe bans. |
| 3 | Police Machine v Babayaro FC | 67-0 | 7 Jul 2013 | Nigerian football | Match-fixing case | Guardian coverage ties this to match fixing and severe bans. |
| 4 | Willenhall Town v Burton Brewers | 57-0 | 2001 | Women’s amateur football | Amateur | Guardian list: women’s amateur result, not senior professional benchmark. |
| 5 | Vanuatu v Micronesia | 46-0 | 2015 | Pacific Games | Pacific Games | Guardian list: huge Pacific Games scoreline with category caveats. |
| 6 | Arbroath v Bon Accord | 36-0 | 12 Sep 1885 | Scottish Cup | First-class competitive | Guinness cites this for most goals by one team. |
| 7 | Australia v American Samoa | 31-0 | 11 Apr 2001 | 2002 World Cup qualifying | International qualifier | Sporting News reports Archie Thompson scored 13 against a depleted young side. |
| 8 | Bayern Munich v Rottach-Egern | 27-0 | 2023 | Friendly | Friendly | Guardian coverage: pre-season friendly, separate from competitive records. |
| 9 | Preston North End v Hyde United | 26-0 | 1887 | FA Cup | Competitive | Historic FA Cup result cited in record roundups. |
| 10 | Hungary v El Salvador | 10-1 | 15 Jun 1982 | FIFA World Cup | World Cup | World Cup records cite largest finals winning margin. |
| 11 | Manchester United v Ipswich Town | 9-0 | 4 Mar 1995 | Premier League | Premier League | Premier League records list one of four shared 9-0 margins. |
The table ranks by margin of victory, so 149-0 sits above 79-0. Still, Guinness separates categories: Arbroath 36-0 Bon Accord remains the first-class benchmark for goals by one team, while 149-0 belongs with protest and own-goal records.
AS Adema’s score is the highest score ever in football in scoreline terms, according to widely cited record coverage including BBC Sport. The caveat is central: SO l’Emyrne repeatedly put the ball into their own net after protesting earlier refereeing controversy.
For the biggest wins in football history, the fairest reading is a layered list, not a single headline. Australia 31-0 American Samoa is the main senior international qualifier record here, while Bayern 27-0 Rottach-Egern belongs in the friendly category.
Biggest Win in International Football
The biggest win in international football history is Australia 31-0 American Samoa, played on 11 April 2001 in 2002 World Cup qualifying. It was a senior international qualifier, not a friendly, so it sits apart from club, amateur, and protest scorelines.
Australia had already beaten Tonga 22-0 in the same qualifying period, showing the gap in resources and player pools. Against American Samoa, that gap became extreme because American Samoa fielded a depleted young squad, leaving an inexperienced side against a far stronger opponent.
Archie Thompson scored 13 goals, another headline figure from the match. The scoreline produced a 31-goal margin of victory, which means Australia’s goals minus American Samoa’s goals. It was also a clean sheet because American Samoa scored none.
The biggest win in international football history also shaped how Oceania qualifying was viewed. Results like 31-0 and 22-0 helped lead to preliminary rounds, designed to reduce mismatches before teams reached stronger qualifying groups. Sporting News and football record guides commonly cite it as the international benchmark.
For beginners, this record is different from AS Adema’s 149-0 protest match. Australia scored its goals in normal competitive play, while American Samoa’s defeat is treated as the largest international record win, with context about squad strength still essential.
Biggest Win in Premier League History
The Premier League record winning margin is 9-0, shared by four matches rather than held by one club. In simple terms, this is the biggest win in football history premier league fans can compare inside England’s top-flight era, because each result had a nine-goal margin.
| Match | Score | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester United vs Ipswich Town | 9-0 | 4 March 1995 | Premier League record margin |
| Southampton vs Leicester City | 0-9 | 25 October 2019 | Premier League record margin |
| Manchester United vs Southampton | 9-0 | 2 February 2021 | Premier League record margin |
| Liverpool vs Bournemouth | 9-0 | 27 August 2022 | Premier League record margin |
These results are record defeats as well as record wins: Ipswich Town, Southampton, and Bournemouth each ended with a minus-nine goal difference for the match. A clean sheet matters here because the winning side allowed no reply, so the margin stayed at nine.
Do not confuse margin with total goals. Portsmouth 7-4 Reading on 29 September 2007 is the Premier League’s highest-scoring match at 11 total goals, but its three-goal margin is far below the 9-0 record wins.
Biggest Wins in FIFA World Cup History
World Cup record wins are narrower than the biggest wins in football history because they only count finals tournament matches. The benchmark is Hungary’s 10-goal performance in a 10-1 defeat of El Salvador on 15 June 1982, a result among the highest scoring football games at this level.
| Team | Opponent | Scoreline | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hungary | El Salvador | 10-1 | 15 June 1982 | World Cup record win |
| Hungary | South Korea | 9-0 | 17 June 1954 | World Cup record win |
| Yugoslavia | Zaire | 9-0 | 18 June 1974 | World Cup record win |
| Sweden | Cuba | 8-0 | 12 June 1938 | World Cup record win |
| Uruguay | Bolivia | 8-0 | 2 July 1950 | World Cup record win |
| Germany | Saudi Arabia | 8-0 | 1 June 2002 | World Cup record win |
The 1982 Hungary match remains the biggest World Cup margin by score, but it is not a clean sheet. The 9-0 and 8-0 results are larger margins than many famous finals because one side scored heavily while conceding nothing.
Germany’s 8-0 win over Saudi Arabia opened its 2002 campaign and is remembered for Miroslav Klose’s headed goals. These records show why World Cup lists should rank margin, total goals, and context separately rather than mixing every record win together.
Disputed Football Record Scorelines
AS Adema 149-0 SO l’Emyrne is the score most often called the biggest win in football history, but it was not a normal contest. On 31 October 2002, SO l’Emyrne scored all 149 own goals in protest after a disputed refereeing decision, as a BBC Sport report recorded.
That is why record lists label 149-0 as a protest scoreline and an own-goal record. Guinness World Records treats it separately from the first-class team scoring mark, Arbroath 36-0 Bon Accord in the Scottish Cup.
⚠️ Context matters
Do not rank protest, match-fixing, friendly, amateur, and official competitive results as identical records. The score may be real, but the record category changes the meaning.
Nigeria’s Plateau United Feeders 79-0 Akurba and Police Machine 67-0 Babayaro FC, both on 7 July 2013, are even more sensitive. They were tied to match-fixing cases and followed by severe bans, so they belong in a disputed category.
Friendly and amateur scorelines need labels too. Bayern Munich 27-0 Rottach-Egern in 2023 was a friendly, useful as a curiosity but not equal to league or cup records. Willenhall Town 57-0 Burton Brewers in 2001 belongs under women’s amateur football, a distinction noted in Guardian coverage.
The safest method is to state the score, date, setting, and status together. That keeps sensational scorelines visible without confusing them with standard competitive record wins, defeats, clean sheets, or ordinary goal difference tables.
Common Biggest Win Misconceptions
Record lists can be confusing because football uses several categories. A scoreline, a margin of victory, and an official record can describe different things, so each famous result needs its context before comparison.
- Myth: AS Adema 149-0 SO l’Emyrne was a normal match. Fact: It was a protest in Madagascar, with all 149 goals recorded as own goals by SO l’Emyrne.
- Myth: The highest score always means the biggest win. Fact: Biggest win usually means margin of victory, while highest scoring football games count total goals by both teams.
- Myth: Friendlies always count as official records. Fact: A friendly can show a lopsided scoreline, but record lists often separate it from competitive cups, leagues, and qualifiers.
- Myth: Match-fixing scorelines deserve the same ranking as sporting wins. Fact: Nigerian 79-0 and 67-0 cases were tied to match fixing and severe bans, so they need a warning label.
- Myth: Premier League records are world records. Fact: The league’s 9-0 record margin is huge, yet it belongs to one competition and should not be compared directly with World Cup, international, amateur, or protest records.
Interesting Facts About Record Football Scores
Record scorelines become clearer when you notice the side stories around them. These details help separate the highest score in football from cleaner records, unusual qualifiers, World Cup blowouts, and Premier League margin records.
- Arbroath’s 36-0 Scottish Cup win could have been even larger, because seven goals were reportedly disallowed for offside, making it vital for goal records.
- Dundee Harp beat Aberdeen Rovers 35-0 on the same day nearby, which shows how wild early Scottish Cup scoring could be.
- Australia’s 31-0 win over American Samoa featured 13 goals by Archie Thompson, a landmark individual return in one senior international.
- American Samoa’s squad was unusually young and depleted, so the result also explains later changes to Oceania World Cup qualifying.
- Micronesia conceded 114 goals across three 2015 Pacific Games matches, a reminder that tournament context matters when judging extreme scorelines.
- Sweden’s 8-0 World Cup win over Cuba included two hat tricks by teammates, a neat route into hat tricks and World Cup records.
- Premier League 9-0 wins share the margin record, while Portsmouth 7-4 Reading remains the top total-goals match, useful for Premier League records.
Related Football Scoreline Terms
- Scoreline means the final goals total for each side, written as home team first or winner first.
- Margin of victory is the gap between the teams, so 9-0 has a nine-goal margin.
- Goal difference is goals scored minus goals conceded, often used to rank teams in leagues.
- Own goal means a player puts the ball into their team’s net, with that goal awarded to the opponent.
- Clean sheet means a team concedes no goals during a match.
- Thrashing is an informal term for a heavy defeat, but it does not define an official record.
- Friendly describes a non-competitive match, so results like Bayern Munich 27-0 Rottach-Egern sit in a separate context.
- Qualifier means a competitive match used to decide tournament entry, such as World Cup qualifying.
- Aggregate score combines goals from two legs, which is different from one single-match scoreline.
Biggest Wins in Football FAQ
What is the biggest win in football history?
AS Adema 149-0 SO l’Emyrne is the headline answer for biggest wins in football history. The 31 October 2002 Madagascar playoff was a protest, with all 149 goals scored as own goals.
What is the highest score in football?
The highest score ever in football, by recorded final scoreline, is AS Adema 149-0 SO l’Emyrne. If measuring goals by one first-class team, Guinness lists Arbroath 36-0 Bon Accord instead.
Does AS Adema 149-0 count?
Yes, but only with context. BBC Sport, The Guardian, and Guinness record it, but the goals were deliberate own goals after anger over a previous refereeing decision.
What is the biggest international win?
Australia 31-0 American Samoa is the largest international win listed here. It came on 11 April 2001 in 2002 World Cup qualifying, and Archie Thompson scored 13.
What is the biggest Premier League win?
The Premier League record winning margin is 9-0, shared by four matches. Portsmouth 7-4 Reading is different: it is the highest-scoring Premier League match, with 11 total goals.
What is the biggest World Cup win?
Hungary 10-1 El Salvador is the biggest FIFA World Cup win by margin. Other listed World Cup routs include two 9-0 results and three 8-0 results.
Biggest Wins in Football Conclusion
Record scorelines need context before ranking. The biggest wins in football history start with AS Adema 149-0 SO l’Emyrne, the highest recorded scoreline, but that match was a protest made entirely of own goals.
Different records answer different questions. Arbroath 36-0 Bon Accord is the first-class team-goals record, because one side scored the goals in a competitive match. Australia 31-0 American Samoa is the international record.
The best takeaway is simple. Separate highest scoreline, margin of victory, competition level, and match status. Next, explore our related guides on football goals, hat tricks, and record transfers.