Australian striker Archie Thompson holds the record for the most goals in a single official international match when he put 13 past American Samoa on April 11, 2001. It was a brutal game for American Samoa as the game finished 31-0. That score line is a blowout even in American football.
This blowout was a prime example of why Australia changed federations in 2006 from the Oceania Football Confederation to the Asian Football Confederation.
The demolition of American Samoa is what Thompson is most well-known for. It’s not every day a player scores 13 goals in one match. There was another time that Thompson completely obliterated someone. This time it was a 10-year-old boy that the Aussie striker demolished while he was doing sideline work in the A-League.
Archie 0 Kid 1
— Fox Football (@FOXFOOTBALL) October 27, 2019
Obviously, it was old habits kicking in for the now 41-year-old. He must have imagined the poor kid was American Samoa and felt that he needed to finish what he started.
Thompson never was able to recreate a performance quite like the one he had in 2001. The closest he came was when he scored five goals in the 2006-07 A League grand final to help Melbourne Victory lift its first title.
Thompson now serves as a club ambassador for Melbourne Victory and probably still likes to reminisce on the day he scored 13 goals in one game.
