The highest-scoring finals in World Cup history
Some finals were goal festivals and others tense duels settled by the finest margin. The distance between a 5-2 and a 0-0 fits into ninety minutes.
A World Cup final is usually a match gripped by the fear of losing. That is why the ones that turn into a goal festival shine even brighter: they are the exception that breaks the script.
The most prolific of all was in 1958. In Sweden, a dazzling Brazil, with a teenage Pelé, beat the hosts 5-2: seven goals in a final that introduced the world to the man who would be the best player of his era. Twelve years later, in 1970, that same Brazil rounded off another exhibition with a 4-1 win over Italy, capped by Carlos Alberto's famous goal.
Europe has produced its share of end-to-end finals too. The 1966 one, between England and West Germany, ended 4-2 after an electric extra time, and the 2018 one, between France and Croatia, repeated the scoreline with six goals, an own goal and a penalty included, on a crazy afternoon in Moscow. And the very first, in 1930, gave fair warning: Uruguay beat Argentina 4-2.
On the other side are the finals of tension. In 1994, Brazil and Italy played out a 0-0 decided on penalties, with Roberto Baggio's miss as the indelible image. And in 2010, Spain needed extra time to edge the Netherlands 1-0 in a rough match, remembered more for its harshness than its brilliance.
That swing between spectacle and lockdown is part of the tournament's charm. When the referee blows for kick-off in a final, no one knows whether they will see a shootout of marksmen or a nerve-shredding game of chess.
In 2026, the last act will be at MetLife Stadium. We will have to see which way it falls: the goal-fests for the ages or the finals chewed over minute by minute.
Source: Wikipedia (FIFA World Cup Final; 1958, 1970, 2018 FIFA World Cup finals).