Just Fontaine, who holds the record for the most goals scored at a single World Cup, has died at the age of 89.
Fontaine scored 13 goals in just six matches for France at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden as they finished third.
He is joint-fourth on the all-time World Cup goalscorers list alongside Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
“A star of French football, an outstanding striker, a legendary Reims player,” said his former club Stade de Reims.
Only three players have scored more goals at World Cups than Fontaine, a statistic made more remarkable by the fact he only played in the 1958 tournament.
He would not have even played there had it not been for injuries to fellow forwards Thadee Cisowski and Reims team-mate Rene Bliard.
The striker went on to score in every game in Sweden, including four goals in a 6-3 win over West Germany in the third-place play-off.
In total, Fontaine scored 30 goals in just 31 appearances for France between 1953 and 1960.
He spent much of his club career at Stade de Reims, where he scored 145 goals in 152 appearances, winning three Ligue 1 titles and reaching the 1959 European Cup final, where they lost to a Real Madrid side containing Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas.
He also played for Nice and Moroccan side USM Casablanca but was forced to retire in 1962 at the age of just 28 after suffering a double leg fracture.
Fontaine then enjoyed stints as a coach at Paris St-Germain, Toulouse and Morocco, where the forward was born before switching allegiance to France.
In 2004 he was named on Brazil legend Pele’s list of the125 greatest living footballers.
More to follow.
