Football is a game of margins. Usually. We’re used to the tense 1-0 grinds or the occasional 4-2 thriller that leaves everyone breathless. But sometimes, the wheels just come off. Whether it’s a massive talent gap, a pre-planned protest, or just a day where every single shot finds the back of the net, some matches defy logic. Honestly, looking back at the record books for top 10 scores football, you realize that the beautiful game can get really, really weird.
I'm not talking about your local Sunday league where the keeper didn't show up because he had a hangover. These are documented, official, and sometimes scandalous results that have etched themselves into history. From the snowy pitches of 19th-century Scotland to a sunny afternoon in Australia that changed how World Cup qualifiers work, these scores are basically the stuff of nightmares for defenders.
1. AS Adema 149–0 SO l'Emyrne (2002)
This is the one everyone brings up, but it comes with a massive asterisk. It’s the world record, certified by Guinness, yet not a single goal was scored by the winning team.
Wait, what?
Basically, SO l'Emyrne (SOE) were the reigning champions in Madagascar, but they felt cheated by a refereeing decision in a previous playoff game. In the final match against their rivals AS Adema, they decided to protest. As soon as the whistle blew, they just started kicking the ball into their own net. Over and over. 149 times.
That’s a goal roughly every 36 seconds. The AS Adema players just stood there, probably bored out of their minds, watching the carnage. The fallout was huge—the SOE coach was banned for three years and several players were suspended. It’s a bizarre chapter that’s technically at the top of the top 10 scores football list, even if it feels more like a tantrum than a match.
2. Arbroath 36–0 Bon Accord (1885)
For over a century, this was the undisputed "clean" record. No protests, just a complete and utter mismatch in the Scottish Cup. Bon Accord weren't even a real football team back then; legend has it they were actually a cricket club called Orion who received the invitation by mistake and decided to give it a go.
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It did not go well.
Arbroath was 15-0 up by halftime. The referee, Dave Stormont, later claimed he actually disallowed seven more goals, so it could have been 43-0. Jocky Petrie, who was only 18 at the time, scored 13 goals himself. To make things even more embarrassing, Arbroath’s goalkeeper, Jim Milne Sr., reportedly didn’t touch the ball once and spent the game huddled under a spectator’s umbrella to stay dry.
3. Dundee Harp 35–0 Aberdeen Rovers (1885)
The craziest part about the 36-0 game? It happened on the exact same day as this one. 12th September 1885 was a bad day to be a team from Aberdeen.
Dundee Harp was beating Aberdeen Rovers so badly that the referee allegedly lost count. He originally thought it was 37-0, but after some debate with the players, they "settled" on 35. If they’d stuck with the higher number, Dundee Harp would be the name in the record books today instead of Arbroath. Imagine losing a world record because you were too modest to claim two extra goals.
4. Australia 31–0 American Samoa (2001)
If you grew up watching football in the early 2000s, you remember this. It’s the highest score in a senior international match. American Samoa had some serious issues before the game—19 of their 20 senior players couldn’t play due to passport problems, and their U-20s couldn't fill in because of high school exams.
They ended up fielding a team of youngsters, some of whom had never played a full 90-minute game. Archie Thompson scored 13 goals, which is still the individual record for an international. This match was so lopsided it actually forced FIFA to change the rules and introduce preliminary rounds for smaller nations in Oceania.
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The Professional Era: When the Big Leagues Explode
It's one thing to see a 30-goal margin in the 1800s, but what about modern professional leagues? These games are closer, sure, but they’re almost more shocking because of the level of play.
5. Villarreal 27–0 Navata (2009)
This was a pre-season friendly, but it’s still wild. Villarreal didn't take their foot off the gas for a second. Most teams stop at 10 or 12 in friendlies to be polite, but the Yellow Submarine just kept going. It’s a reminder of the massive chasm between the elite and the local amateur level.
6. Austria 7–5 Switzerland (1954)
This is the highest-scoring game in FIFA World Cup history. It happened during a heatwave in Lausanne where the temperature hit 40°C. Switzerland actually led 3-0 after 19 minutes. Then, the world went crazy. Austria scored five goals in nine minutes.
The Austrian keeper, Kurt Schmied, actually suffered sunstroke during the game and was stumbling around like he was drunk. Since substitutions weren't allowed back then, the team’s masseur had to stand behind the goal and tell him where the ball was.
7. Portsmouth 7–4 Reading (2007)
The Premier League's contribution to the top 10 scores football hall of fame. This 11-goal thriller at Fratton Park is still the record for the most goals in a single PL match. Benjani Mwaruwari bagged a hat-trick, and there were nine different goalscorers in total. It was 2-1 at halftime, which makes the nine-goal second-half explosion even more ridiculous.
8. Hungary 10–1 El Salvador (1982)
The 1982 World Cup saw Hungary set the record for the most goals by one team in a single tournament game. László Kiss came off the bench and scored a hat-trick in seven minutes—the fastest in World Cup history. Interestingly, despite this massive win, Hungary didn't even make it out of the group stage.
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9. Borussia Dortmund 8–4 Legia Warsaw (2016)
This is the Champions League record-holder. It was a group stage game that felt like a basketball match. Legia actually took the lead, but Dortmund responded with three goals in three minutes. At one point, there were five goals in 15 minutes. It was pure, unadulterated chaos that proved defending is sometimes optional, even at the highest level of European football.
10. Borussia Mönchengladbach 12–0 Borussia Dortmund (1978)
Dortmund found themselves on the wrong end of history in the Bundesliga back in '78. It was the final day of the season. Mönchengladbach needed to win by a massive margin to overtake Köln on goal difference for the title. They did their part, winning 12-0 (still a Bundesliga record), but Köln won their game 5-0 anyway and took the trophy. Dortmund’s manager, Otto Rehhagel, was fired the very next day.
Why These Scores Still Matter
You might think these are just trivia bits for pub quizzes, but they actually shape the game. The Australia 31-0 result fundamentally changed international qualification structures to protect smaller nations from humiliation. The 149-0 protest led to a massive overhaul in Malagasy football governance.
When you look at the top 10 scores football, you're looking at the extremes of human performance—and sometimes, human frustration.
Next Steps for Football Fans:
- Watch the highlights: Many of the modern games (Dortmund 8-4 or Portsmouth 7-4) are available on YouTube. It’s worth seeing how a defense completely collapses.
- Check out "Next Goal Wins": This is a great documentary (and later a Taika Waititi movie) about the American Samoa team’s journey after that 31-0 loss. It’s a fantastic look at the human side of being on the wrong end of a record.
- Monitor live scores: With the expanded formats of the Champions League and the 2026 World Cup, the chances for high-scoring outliers are actually increasing as more teams from different tiers face off. Keep an eye on the group stages for the next potential record-breaker.