Sandor Kocsis

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Kocsis made his debut for the senior Hungary team in 1948. Together with Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti, he formed the offensive nucleus of the Golden Team that went unbeaten for 32 consecutive games. The Hungarian national team suffered no defeats in Class-A international matches between 4 June 1950 and 4 July 1954, in the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final. Kocsis scored his first international hat-trick in a game against Sweden on 20 November 1949. He also scored six goals at the Olympics in Helsinki as Hungary became Olympic Champions in 1952. In 1953, Hungary defeated England 6–3 at Wembley Stadium and then in 1954 by 7–1 in Budapest. During the latter game, Kocsis added a further two goals.

In Their Own Story

He finished the 1954 World Cup as top goalscorer, scoring 11 goals including two hat-tricks, the first of the three players that achieved this. In the opening game he scored his first hat-trick of the tournament against South Korea as Hungary cruised to a 9–0 win. In the next game against Germany, he went one further and scored four of the goals in an 8–3 win. In the quarter-finals Hungary played Brazil in a game referred to as the Battle of Berne: Kocsis scored twice in an encounter which saw Hungary win 4–2. Hungary then reached the final after they defeated reigning World champions Uruguay in the semi-finals. The game was 2–2 in extra time until Kocsis scored twice to seal another 4–2 win. In the final they met Germany once again. However, for the first time in the competition Kocsis failed to score and the Germans won 3–2.

Reader's Guide

Sándor Kocsis was the top goalscorer in the 1954 World Cup with 11 goals, a record at the time for goals in a single World Cup. That year he scored 23 goals with his national team, the most by any player during a calendar year. He was also the first player to score two hat-tricks in a World Cup. His 2.2 goal/game average in the World Cup finals is second only to that of Ernst Wilimowski (Poland) who scored four goals in his only World Cup match, and only Just Fontaine has scored more goals than Kocsis in a single World Cup. Kocsis was particularly known for scoring headers. His 1.103 goals/game average is ranked No.1 for players past 43 caps in FIFA class-A competition, closely followed by Gerd Müller with 1.097 goals/game (68 goals in 62 games). They are the only two players in history above a +1.0 goals/game average encompassing over 43 internationals.

Did You Know?

• Kocsis scored 75 goals in 68 appearances for Hungary, a 1.10 goal/game average.
• He scored 11 goals in the 1954 World Cup, a record at the time for a single tournament.
• Kocsis was the first player to score two hat-tricks in a World Cup.
• In 1954, he scored 23 goals for his national team, the most by any player during a calendar year.
• His 2.2 goal/game average in World Cup finals is second only to Ernst Wilimowski.