The 10 players with the most appearances in World Cup history
Less than 3 months left until the 2022 World Cup will officially kick off in the sunny and windy land called Qatar. Up to now, all the tickets to the biggest football festival on the planet have found their owners. For long-time football fans, it will be impossible to forget the famous players who have participated in many World Cups. Here are the top 10 players with the most World Cup appearances in history to help you better understand this tournament as well as have a lot of information to support the 2022 World Cup betting .
10. Grzegorz Lato (Ba Lan) – 20 years
Grzegorz Lato played for the Polish national team from 1971 to 1984. During this time, he made 100 caps and scored a total of 45 goals. He played as a right winger and was considered the golden generation of Spanish football in the 1970s. Lato represented Poland in many major tournaments.
The team he played for won the gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics. The peak of his career was at the 1974 World Cup, where he received the title of Top Scorer. Up to now, Lato is the only Polish player to achieve this achievement. He was one of the important factors that helped the team to finish third in the 1984 World Cup in Spain.
9. Philipp Lahm (Germany) – 20 times
Lahm is one of the best full-backs of all time. The former German player has created a buzz when competing both domestically and internationally. He is best known for his precise tackles in his small body and in his career, he has never received a red card.
Lahm is one of Germany’s most legendary players and also one of their best captains. He made 20 appearances while playing at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
The Bayern Munich legend led the team to defeat France and then Brazil 7-1 at the 2014 World Cup. Germany then won the match against Argentina. After the championship in Brazil, Lahm officially retired from his professional playing career.
8. Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) – 20 times
Schweinsteiger, like Philipp Lahm, is a Bayern Munich legend. The midfielder ranks fourth in the list of the most capped German players of all time. He has 124 caps for the national team, scoring 24 goals.
Schweinsteiger also made 20 appearances at the 2006, 2010 and 2014 World Cups. Schweinsteiger’s main contribution was at the 2014 World Cup, where he played a very important role in the final against Argentina. He surpassed Argentine superstar Lionel Messi to bring glory to home football.
7. Cafu (Brazil) – 20 times
Cafu is one of the greatest full-backs when he is excellent in attack, strong in defence. Although not as well known as the players today, he is considered a symbol of Brazil and world football once.
He is the most capped Brazilian player of all time. He made 142 appearances for the national team and participated in four World Cups. At the age of 24, Cafu was named in the squad to the US to attend the 1994 World Cup and he was one of the factors that helped Brazil win the 4th world championship. Cafu and his teammates continued to create miracles. in the 2022 World Cup when they have no opponents on this planet.
6. Wladyslaw Zmuda (Poland) – 21 times
Only longtime football fans know what an outstanding player Zmuda was. He is one of the legends who played as a defender for Poland. And he deserves more recognition in the world football map.
Zmuda has 91 caps for the Polish national team, in which he scored two goals and participated in four World Cups. He has a total of 21 appearances, equal to or even more than famous legends. Zmuda tied for third place with Uwe Seeler and Maradona. In addition, the defender was also honored as the Best Young Player at the 1974 World Cup.
5. Diego Maradona (Argentina) – 21 times
Surely everyone is too familiar with the name Diego Maradona. The former Argentina international is considered one of the greatest players in history, along with Pele, Messi and Ronaldo. Making a legendary Maradona is tactical vision, ability to pass the ball, control the ball and dribble. He made 91 appearances for the Argentina team, scoring 34 goals.
In particular, he made history at the 1986 World Cup when helping Argentina beat West Germany in the final. In two meetings with England at the 1984 World Cup, he also created many moments that made the whole world admire. Specifically, Diego turned the hero to score a goal against the Three Lions to determine the victory. The first goal, often remembered as the “Hand of God”, is the most controversial goal in World Cup history. Meanwhile, the second goal is iconic because Maradona unilaterally code but passed the ball through 5 English players to score.
4. Uwe Seeler (Germany) – 21 times
When it comes to domestic and international football, the Germans have unforgettable records. Uwe Seeler is one such player. He is a former famous player known for his leaning phase to hook the ball. At the same time, his ability to play early is not inferior. The striker made 72 appearances for Germany, scoring 43 goals. He also appeared at four World Cups (1958, 1962, 1966 and 1970). However, he could not bring himself any title in all 4 appearances.
Even so, Seeler holds many records to himself. He is the first player to appear 20 times at the most prestigious tournament on the planet and the first player to ever score in four World Cups. The German legend has scored a total of nine goals in four appearances.
3. Paolo Maldini (Italy) – 23 times
Maldini is considered one of the best defenders of all time. His father Cesare Maldini was also a professional football player. In the past, Cesare called Paolo up to the Under-21 team and so the AC Milan legend made his captaincy debut at the age of 19.
He made a total of 126 caps for the national team in the 16 years he played for Italy. In the World Cup alone, he made 23 appearances for his national team. Maldini also holds the record for the most time played at a World Cup (2216 minutes). From his first season in 1990, Maldini was immediately successful when he was called by the coach to play all 7 games. He was at the heart of the defence, having helped Italy keep five clean sheets in a row.
2. Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 24 times
Klose is the famous scorer of the German national team. He was the trump card in the squad and was one of the few players to win gold, silver and bronze medals at the World Cup. Klose made 137 appearances for the German national team and is known as the all-time leading scorer.
At the 2002 World Cup, he scored 5 goals and then repeated the historic feat in 2006 to win the prestigious Golden Boot. By 2010, the striker scored 4 goals and by 2014 he scored 2 goals. Immediately after the resounding victory at WC 2014, he announced his retirement from playing.
1. Lothar Matthaus (Germany) – 25 times
At the top of this list is Matthaus, the best German player of all time. This midfielder can take on many positions at the same time such as attacking or defending. He is appreciated for his physical strength, ability and skillful passing technique. Matthaus has 150 caps for the national team and attended the World Cup 25 times.
He led his team to the championship in 1990 and won the Ballon d’Or that same year. Matthaus and Antonio Carbajal are the only two players to have participated in five World Cups.
Above are the players who have attended the World Cup the most in history. The 2022 World Cup is about to start, regularly visit Worldcupfootball.bet to update the schedule and live broadcast of the World Cup in Vietnam as well as the most interesting information about this tournament.