It may be unlucky for some, but No13s have scored 97 World Cup goals between them. Three men even finished as a tournament’s leading marksman in the jersey: Eusebio thanks to nine goals for Portugal at England 1966, Gerd Muller thanks to 10 for West Germany at Mexico 1970, and Thomas Muller thanks to five for Germany at South Africa 2010.
Other unforgettable efforts netted in the No13 include Nelinho’s sensational swerver for Brazil in 1978, a pair of Josimar screamers for the same side in 1986, Giuseppe Giannini rounding off an engrossing Italy move in 1990, Michael Ballack’s winner for Germany in the 2002 semi-finals, and Jermaine Jones’s golazo for USA in 2014.
Another No13, Ecuador’s Enner Valencia, became the fourth player to score six successive goals for a team in the World Cup at Qatar 2022. ‘El Superman’ emulated Portugal’s Eusebio, Paolo Rossi of Italy and Russia’s Oleg Salenko.
