Compared to those who have spent the last 68 years chasing his tournament record in vain, Fontaine is a relative unknown to the modern public. While Pele, Messi and others are rightfully considered the best male players in history, Fontaine has now become a pushover.
But this is to downplay the remarkable life and career of Fontaine, who, if he were playing today, would represent a different country.
The 2026 quarter-final between France and Morocco was the Juste-Fontaine derby. He was born in Marrakech in August 1933 – at that time Morocco was under a French protectorate.
Morocco gained independence two years before the 1958 World Cup, but by then Fontaine was already an established international footballer in the French leagues, so he represented Les Bleus.
And, as sports journalist and historian Philip Barker explained to BBC Sport, everything went according to plan for France; Fontaine would not have started the games at the World Cup in Sweden at all.
“He wasn’t actually the first choice – his teammate (Rene Bliard) got injured during the warm-up,” explains Barker. “It was such a last-minute change that he had to borrow boots (from teammate Stephane Bruy) for the first game as he didn’t have the right boots.”
He damaged his pair during training and did not bring a spare pair with him.
“Imagine something like this now, so different from what we have today,” Barker adds.
“Fontaine had surgery on his meniscus (cartilage in the knee) during the season, so he had doubts about participating in the tournament. But it meant that he came into the tournament fresh – many other players had a long and difficult season.”