15/06/2026

SPORTS MONDAY | JUNE 15, 2026 26 S TAR PLAYERS the world over can perform for their club – but who are those who have shone brightest for their nation in the history of the men’s World Cup? From Pele and Lionel Messi to Diego Maradona and Franz Beckenbauer, with a sprinkling of Zinedine Zidane, Kylian Mbappe and Ronaldo in the mix, these are the play ers who have lit up the “greatest show on earth” over the past 96 years – from the first tournament in Uruguay in 1930 all the way to the first-ever winter event in Qatar in 2022. This is all about performances in World Cups, not simply the best-ever players who have featured in a World Cup. As such, one player who does not make the top-50 is Cristiano Ronaldo. 20. Carlos Alberto (Brazil) World Cups played: 1970 World Cup record: Winner, 1970 Games: 6 Goals: 1 Best moment: That goal in the 1970 final. A nine-pass move, the ball was laid on a plate by Pele to a marauding Alberto storming down the right and the captain struck a fierce 117kph shot, first-time, into the far corner. It was the icing on the cake, and Brazil were world champions for a third time. In a team with astonishing techni cal ability and talent, Alberto was a dynamic leader who glued the famous Brazil 1970 World Cup squad together. While he missed out on the 1966 squad, which crashed out in the group stages, and a knee injury ruled him out of the 1974 tournament, the tough tackling and loud-mouthed Alberto played every minute of the 1970 run in Mexico. His goal in the final is one of the most iconic moments in World Cup history, sealing a 4-1 triumph. Has a ball ever been struck quite so sweetly? 19. Andres Iniesta (Spain) World Cups played: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 World Cup record: Winner, 2010 Games: 14 Goals: 2 Best moment: There can only be one choice here. Outside

2026 WORLD CUP

Pele, Maradona or Messi at No. 1? The 50 greatest players in World Cup history (Part 4)

some of the titans of the game in one of the all-time great games in which Italy beat Brazil 3-2 in the group stage. 13. Bobby Moore (England) World Cups played: 1962, 1966, 1970 World Cup record: Winner, 1966 Games: 14 Goals: 0 Best moment: Becoming the only Englishman to lift the World Cup – after wiping his hands on his shorts so they were clean for the Queen. The perfectly-timed challenge on Jairzinho in 1970 may be the most famous World Cup tackle, but Moore shared two iconic scenes that day: there was also the England captain swapping shirts with Pele, in a gesture of mutual respect. Four years earlier, there was the moment when some thought it was all over, when many were screaming for Moore to boot the ball out and he strolled forward, looked up, released Geoff Hurst and sent him clear for his hattrick goal in the 1966 World Cup final. That was Moore in microcosm: a defender, but classy and creative, and with the envi able ability to make it all look easy. 12. Lothar Matthaus (West Germany/Germany) World Cups played: 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998 World Cup record: Winner, 1990 Games: 25 Goals: 6 Best moment: Lifting the World Cup in 1990 as West Germany captain fol lowing their penultimate match before German reunification “He is the best rival I’ve ever had. I guess that’s enough to define him.” So said Diego Maradona of Lothar Matthaus. That’s some recommenda tion. But if you still want more, the German powerhouse – who was the dictionary definition of a combative central midfielder – became the first outfield player to appear at five World Cups when he graced France ‘98 as a 37-year-old, held the record for most World Cup games played with 25 until being eclipsed by Lionel Messi and was the talismanic captain who hoisted the last World Cup trophy before West and East Germany reunited once more. 11. Johan Cruyff (Netherlands) World Cups played: 1974 World Cup record: Runner-up, 1974 Games: 7 Goals: 3 Best moment: Though he finished as runner-up in his only World Cup, by far the Dutchman’s best – or at least most iconic – moment

15. Cafu (Brazil) World Cups played: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 World Cup record: Winner 1994, 2002 Games: 19 Goals: 0 Best moment: Lifting the trophy as captain in 2002 . One of just two players to break the Pele-Maradona-Messi top-two domi nance during the construction of this list, Cafu is the only player ever to reach three straight finals, a remark able stat. Yes, he was a bit-part player as a 24-year-old in 1994, but he helped Brazil to survive extra-time in that final versus Italy, before going on to captain his nation to glory in 2002. Ten clean sheets from 19 games is another impressive stat, too. 14. Paolo Rossi (Italy) World Cups played: 1978, 1982, 1986 World Cup record: Winner, 1982 Games: 14 Goals: 9 Best moment: The hattrick against Brazil jumps out, but delivering in a final immortalised Rossi. Setting up the third goal in the 1982 final settled nerves and almost started the Azzurri celebrations, but scoring the opener must rank as his greatest moment. Nobody was stopping him from bun dling the ball home against Germany en route to a 3-1 win and a third star for the Azzurri. If ever a player owned a tourna ment, it was Rossi in 1982, the torero (bullfighter) proved deadly in and around the box and was a genuine force for Italy en route to a third star on that iconic blue shirt.

17. Fabio Cannavaro (Italy) World Cups played: 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 World Cup record: Winners, 2006 Games: 18 Goals: 0 Best moment: That night in the Westfalenstadion, charging out of defence deep in extra-time, Cannavaro sparked Italy’s late counter-attack and Alessandro Del Piero’s goal that sealed their famous semifinal win over hosts Germany. At 5ft 9in, Fabio Cannavaro was short for a centreback. But in 2006, the Italy captain’s peerless reading of the game and defensive instincts saw him stand out like a giant. Italy only con ceded twice that summer, despite fielding three different centreback combinations. Cannavaro was the constant, a leader in every sense who saw the danger before it had even hap pened. There is a reason he remains the last defender to have won the Ballon d’Or , an honour he received shortly after lifting the World Cup. He put his success down to three things: “Eating well, getting plenty of sleep and having sex.” 16. Jairzinho (Brazil) World Cups played: 1966, 1970, 1974 World Cup record: Winner, 1970 Games: 16 Goals: 9 Best moment: Scoring in the final of the 1970 World Cup to complete his famous feat of netting in every game. One of the greatest wingers of all time, Jairzinho made history by

Spain were truly woeful but in the fourth they were exceptional. From 2008-2012, Spain were by far the best team in the world, and they earned that epitaph by winning the 2010 World Cup thanks to Iniesta’s extra time goal against the Netherlands. That was the peak for Barcelona’s influential midfielder but, alongside Xavi, he orchestrated Spain’s tiki-taka route through the tournament with control, vision, pinpoint passing, and fluid movement all building to a cres cendo in Johannesburg and a historic World Cup title. 18. Eusebio (Portugal) World Cups played: 1966 World Cup record: Semifinals, 1966 Games: 6 Goals: 9 Best moment: Four goals against North Korea in the quarterfinals, Eusebio carried the weight of a nation on his shoulders at the 1966 World Cup, producing one of the finest individual campaigns at his only appearance in the tournament. Now regulars, Portugal qualified for the World Cup only twice in the 20th century, which shows what an outlier he was. A double, including a lashed volley from an acute angle, against a Brazil side carrying an injured Pele dumped the defending champions out of the tournament, but it was the quarterfinal against North Korea in which he pro duced his real star-turn. Having fallen 3-0 behind, Eusebio struck four times in succession to turn the match and reach the semi

finals, where his tears after defeat to England became a defining image.

scoring in every match of Brazil’s famous 1970 glory, a feat overshadowed by Pele. Speed, strength, flair and balance all blended to make him a deadly dribbler who could also run behind defences and

The World Player of the Year in the same year, Rossi capitalised on mis takes with clinical finish ing, the perfect combi nation with the majestic Italian defending that year through Claudio Gentile, Gaetano Scirea and more. He also stood above

Shakira’s Waka Waka anthem, the enduring snapshot of the 2010 World Cup is the winning goal. Cesc Fabregas collected a loose ball on the edge of the box and slipped Iniesta in on the right. He took a touch, let the ball bounce, then smoked it past Maarten

finish with power. Post Pele, Jairzinho was Brazil’s best player in 1974 when

they finished fourth in West Germany.

Stekelenburg in Spain’s moment of glory. Iconic. World Cups can be brutal. In

came in the group stages against Sweden, when he

produced the first ever ‘Cruyff turn’ on bewil dered defender Jan Olsson . Cruyff is one of the few players on this list never to win the game’s biggest

three of Andres Iniesta’s tourna ments,

Cafu

prize, but his performance at the 1974 World Cup has since gone down in history. He was the Dutch side’s leader as they brought “Total Football” to the world stage, and while they fell at the last hurdle in losing the final 2-1 to West Germany, Cruyff and co. had done enough in their seven games to influence the sport for decades to come.

Fabio Cannavaro

Paolo Rossi

Andres

Iniesta