Germany's 7-1 win over Curaçao on Sunday was emphatic, but it wasn't enough to rewrite history. Forty-four years after Hungary's record 10-1 demolition of El Salvador, no team has managed to surpass the biggest win in men's World Cup history.

That record was set on June 15, 1982, exactly 44 years ago today. In their opening game of the tournament in Spain, Hungary became the only side to score 10 goals in a single World Cup match. The 9-goal winning margin still stands as a joint record.

The hero of that game was substitute László Kiss. He came off the bench in the second half and scored a hat-trick — the only World Cup hat-trick ever scored by a substitute. Even more remarkable, his three goals came in just seven minutes, making it the fastest hat-trick in tournament history.

But that wasn't Hungary's first massive win. Twenty-eight years earlier, in 1954, Hungary's legendary Golden Team — featuring Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis, and Nándor Hidegkuti — thrashed South Korea 9-0. That Hungarian side went on to set records that still stand: most goals in a single tournament (27), highest goal difference (+17), and highest goals-per-game average (5.4).

Other teams have come close to the record. Yugoslavia beat Zaire 9-0 in 1974, racing to a 6-0 lead by half-time — the most goals scored by one team in a first half. Dušan Bajević scored a hat-trick in that game.

Sweden's 8-0 win over Cuba in 1938 is unique: it's the only World Cup match where two players from the same team — Gustav Wetterström and Harry Andersson — each scored a hat-trick.

Uruguay needed just one group-stage match at the 1950 World Cup after France withdrew. They made it count, beating Bolivia 8-0 with Óscar Míguez scoring a hat-trick.

Germany's 8-0 win over Saudi Arabia in 2002 is the biggest winning margin of the 21st century. Miroslav Klose scored a hat-trick of headers — only the second player to do so after Tomas Skuhravy in 1990. Klose also became one of 13 players to score a hat-trick on their World Cup debut, a feat no one has matched since.

Five other teams have won by seven goals: Uruguay 7-0 Scotland (1954), Turkey 7-0 South Korea (1954), Poland 7-0 Haiti (1974), Portugal 7-0 North Korea (2010), and Spain 7-0 Costa Rica (2022).

As for Hungary's 10-1 record, it's been 44 years and counting. Germany's 7-1 win over Curaçao was a reminder that the record is within reach, but for now, the 1982 demolition remains the gold standard.