The World Cup is almost in full swing and will not end until December 18th, so get your popcorn ready, friends. With the world’s best soccer players coming from 32 different countries, it’s tough to narrow down who the best players are. We take a look at some players with the most appearances in the tournament below:
Lothar Matthäus, Germany, 25 Apps
Lothar Matthäus is the most capped player in World Cup history, and it’s not even close. The longevity king played in four World Cups for Germany—1982, 1986, 1990, and 1994. He captained his side to victory in 1990, finishing as his nation’s top scorer with four goals.
His career started with two fleeting cameos in 1982 before he made the starting lineup for each game of West Germany’s successful campaign in 1986. He continued to play every minute of every game until 1998 when he was surprisingly called up as a replacement for the injured sweeper Matthias Sammer.
Miroslav Klose, Germany, 25 Apps
No player has as many goals at the World Cup finals as the German striker, who netted 16 times in 24 appearances across four separate tournaments. The only other players to score in as many as four World Cup tournaments are compatriots Uwe Seeler and Cristiano Ronaldo, and Pelé.
Klose made his World Cup debut in the 2002 World cup in Japan and South Korea and got off to the perfect start, scoring a hat-trick in Germany’s emphatic 8-0 win over Saudi Arabia. He’s one of 13 players to score a hat-trick on their World Cup debut. However, no player has managed to do it since Klose on this day in June 2002.
Paolo Maldini, Italy, 23 Apps
Paolo Maldini is the most decorated player in World Cup history, with 23 appearances over four tournaments.
He’s never won a World Cup, but he’s also never been on a team that has. His first appearance was in 1990, and he didn’t get to play in the finals until 2002—when his team lost to Germany.
Maldini’s teams were always competitive, though they didn’t win many games. He played his last game at the 2006 World Cup, where Italy lost to France 4-1 in the quarterfinals.
Diego Maradona, Argentina, 21 Apps
Diego Maradona is the most decorated player in World Cup history, with 21 appearances. Maradona first appeared for Argentina at the 1982 World Cup, where he scored two goals and assisted one other during the knockout stages.
Argentina ultimately lost to Germany in the final. He would return for the 1986 World Cup, where he scored and assisted five times each—including one of the most iconic goals in World Cup history against England.
In 1990 and 1994, Maradona helped lead his country to quarterfinal finishes. He scored 38 goals for Argentina during his 21 appearances and was named FIFA Player of the 20th Century by Pele himself.
