Compared with those who have vainly chased his tournament record for the past 68 years, Fontaine is a relative unknown to modern audiences. While Pele, Messi et al are rightly regarded as the best male players ever, Fontaine is now a piece of trivia.
But that is to play down the remarkable life and career of Fontaine – who, if he were playing in the modern day, would have represented a different country.
The 2026 quarter-final between France and Morocco was the Just Fontaine derby. He was born in Marrakesh in August 1933 – at the time, Morocco was a French protectorate.
Morocco gained independence two years before the 1958 World Cup, but by that time Fontaine was an established international footballer playing in the French leagues – so he represented Les Bleus.
And, as sports journalist and historian Philip Barker explained to BBC Sport, had all gone to plan for France, Fontaine would not have been starting games at the World Cup in Sweden at all.
“He was not actually first choice – a team-mate [Rene Bliard] got injured in a warm-up game,” explains Barker. “It was such a last-minute change, he had to borrow boots [from team-mate Stephane Bruey] for the opening game as he didn’t have any to fit him.
“Imagine something like that now, so very different to what we have today.
“Fontaine had an operation on his meniscus [cartilage in his knee] during the season, so he had been a doubt for the tournament. But it meant he came to the tournament fresh – a lot of the other players had had a long, hard season.”
