Making it to the World Cup is one of the finest honours in soccer, however being invited again time and time once more is the mark of a real all-time extremely good.
Just eleven gamers in records have ever controlled to turn out in as a minimum 20 World Cup games. Lionel Messi is the closest lively participant to making this listing, having turned out in 19 matches, but he's just one brief of making the cut.
Here's a rundown of the star-studded forged who have controlled over 20.
Across just three tournaments, Bastian Schweinsteiger managed to rack up an excellent 20 appearances on the World Cup. He started out in 2006, in which Schweinsteiger emerged on the worldwide scene with an absolute thunderbolt in the third-place playoff in opposition to Portugal. Schweinsteiger reached the same stage in 2010, before going one step further and prevailing the whole thing in 2014.
Like Schweinsteiger, Mascherano also made his World Cup debut in 2006. He had runs to the region-final in 2006 and 2010, earlier than gambling each minute en direction to a defeat to Schweinsteiger's Germany in the final in 2014. Mascherano walked far from worldwide responsibility following Argentina's removal from the 2018 World Cup, wherein he claimed the file for maximum caps in his united states of america's records, 147.
Aided by means of the 2 group level layout of preceding World Cups, Polish legend Grzegorz Lato made it to 20 in three tournaments among 1974 and 1982. Lato changed into the pinnacle scorer in 1974, firing home seven desires as Poland finished 0.33, before six extra institution-stage appearances followed in 1978. His very last seven World Cup appearances came in 1982, while Poland had been knocked out at the semi-finals and bested France for 0.33 vicinity.
Right there along Schweinsteiger turned into proper-back Phillip Lahm, who made the Team of the Tournament in 2006, 2010 and 2014. His opener in 2006 - that roller six minutes in in opposition to Costa Rica - continues to be one of the maximum popular moments in recent World Cup records, and it came at the same time as he changed into absolutely playing at left-lower back. Lahm played each minute in 2006, overlooked only the 0.33-place playoff in 2010 after which, as both a right-back and a midfielder, performed the entirety of the a hit 2014 campaign.
The handiest player in records to play in three consecutive World Cup finals, Cafu need to have thought World Cups were quite clean. The mythical right-returned turned into a squad player in 1994 and didn't really begin a single game. He made cameo appearances in the knockout rounds before an damage to Jorginho within the very last saw him brought on after 21 minutes and enjoy the victory over Italy. A permanent starter in 1998, Cafu played every recreation other than the semi-final, for which he became suspended, and then shone in each minute of the 2002 triumph. Cafu turned into 36 by the time 2006 arrived, however he nevertheless performed in four of his facet's five video games as Brazil were dumped out inside the area-very last.
A group-mate of Lato in 1974, 1978 and 1982, Wladyslaw Zmuda went one step further and grew to become out for Poland in 1986 as properly. The winner of the Best Young Player award in 1974, the former centre-again played every minute of his first 3 tournaments. Zmuda made the squad for 1986 however changed into out of the everyday lineup at that factor, together with his simplest look coming within the very last eight minutes of the four-0 defeat to Brazil within the round of sixteen.
Somehow, Uwe Seeler by no means received the World Cup. His global profession began 4 years after West Germany's first triumph and it ended 4 years before their second. In among the ones two victories, Seeler grew to become out at four World Cups and managed an excellent 21 appearances, starting in 1958 and ending in 1970. The closest Seeler got here to triumphing changed into 1966, in which his West Germany side fell to England inside the final.
