Just Louis Fontaine (French pronunciation: [ʒyst fɔ̃.tɛn]; 18 August 1933 – 28 February 2023) was a French professional footballer who played as a striker. He holds the record for the most goals scored in a single FIFA World Cup, with thirteen in six matches at the 1958 tournament.
In March 2004, Pelé named him one of his 125 Greatest Living Footballers at a FIFA Awards Ceremony.
Early life and football career
Born in Marrakesh, French Morocco, to a French father and a Spanish mother, Fontaine moved to Casablanca, where he attended the Lycée Lyautey.
Fontaine began his amateur career at US Marocaine, where he played from 1950 to 1953. Nice recruited him in 1953 and he went on to score 44 goals in three seasons for the club. In 1956, he moved to Stade de Reims, where he teamed up with Raymond Kopa from the 1959–60 season. Fontaine scored 121 goals in six seasons at Stade de Reims. In total, Fontaine scored 165 goals in 200 matches in the Division 1 and won the championship twice (1958 and 1960). He also took part in the team that got to the 1958–59 European Cup final against Real Madrid, being that season's top scorer with ten goals.Wearing the blue shirt of France, Fontaine has an even more impressive record. On his debut on 17 December 1953, Fontaine scored a hat trick as France defeated Luxembourg 8–0. In seven years, he scored 30 goals in 21 matches. In the 1958 FIFA World Cup, he scored 13 goals in just six matches – a feat that included putting four past defending champions West Germany in the third place playoff. It is also the highest number of goals scored by a player at a single World Cup tournament. As of 2026, he is the seventh-top scorer in FIFA World Cup history, with each of the six ahead of him—Gerd Müller (14 goals), Harry Kane (14 goals), Ronaldo (15 goals), Miroslav Klose (16 goals), Lionel Messi (21 goals), and Kylian Mbappé (22 goals)— having played in at least two tournaments.
Fontaine played his last match in July 1962, being forced to retire early (28 years and 11 months old) because of a recurring leg injury. He briefly managed the France national team in 1967, but was replaced after only two friendly games, which ended in defeats. As coach of Morocco, he led the Atlas Lions to a third place finish in the 1980 African Cup of Nations, overseeing the emergence of such players as Badou Zaki, Mohammed Timoumi and Aziz Bouderbala. Morocco reached the final stage of 1982 World Cup qualification but were beaten by Cameroon. As sporting director of Paris Saint-Germain, he managed to help promote the club to the first division.
Fontaine was named by Pelé as one of the 125 greatest living footballers in March 2004. He was chosen as the best French player of the last 60 years by the French Football Federation in the UEFA Jubilee Awards in November 2003. With Eugène N'Jo Léa he founded the National Union of Professional Football Players in 1961. He criticised the performance of the French team in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, particularly on the lackluster play of the forwards.
For over 60 years, Fontaine lived in Toulouse, where he owned two Lacoste shops and, in his own words, spent his days playing belote and watching football on television. He died in Toulouse on 28 February 2023 at the age of 89.
Scores and results list France's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Fontaine goal
Division 1: 1957–58, 1959–60, 1961–62
Trophée des Champions: 1958, 1960
European Cup: runner-up 1958–59
FIFA World Cup third place: 1958
FIFA World Cup Golden Boot: 1958
Division 1 top scorer: 1957–58, 1959–60
European Cup top scorer: 1958–59
Golden Foot: 2003, as a football legend
African Cup of Nations third place: 1980