Image by Flickr PDM 1.0
The World Cup has always been the pinnacle of international football and the stage where the game’s players have an opportunity to strut their stuff on the way to sporting immortality.
As the countdown to World Cup 2026 continues, we’re continuing our series, which looks back at some of the greatest teams, players and moments that the tournament has ever produced.
In this special feature, we’re focusing on the individual superstars themselves, the legendary players who have become synonymous with World Cup folklore.
Read about the 10 greatest World Cup players of all time below.
10. Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
Perhaps one of the most influential footballing figures of all time. Before Johan Cruyff’s tactical philosophies as a coach inspired a generation, the Dutchman was one of the planet’s finest players.
The attacker was especially bright at the 1974 World Cup, as the star man in a fantastic Netherlands side that were the exponents of “Total Football”, a system that involved positional rotations, fluency and technical brilliance.
The Netherlands ultimately fell short in the final itself that year, though Cruyff was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s outstanding player, dazzling with his vision, close control and intelligence.
Disappointingly, Cruyff chose not to feature at World Cup 1978, where the Dutch were beaten finalists again, though his influence on the tournament remains profound.
9. Eusebio (Portugal)
The Golden Ball, awarded to the World Cup’s best player, wasn’t introduced until 1982, however, had it been around in 1966, Portuguese icon Eusebio would have been handed that individual accolade, despite England’s overall win in the tournament.
The “Black Panther” was an unstoppable force of nature that year, burying nine goals in just six appearances to finish as the competition’s leading marksman while dragging Portugal to a third-place finish.
The striker failed to score in Portugal’s first game against Hungary, but notched at least once in all five of the nation’s matches after that to reach his unbeatable tally.
Eusebio’s four-goal haul against North Korea in the quarter-finals remains one of the World Cup’s most memorable individual displays, and showcased the forward’s explosive skill set.
8. Garrincha (Brazil)
Often passed over when discussing the greatest Brazilian footballers of all time, Garrincha was a phenomenon whose back story is both inspirational and remarkable.
Crippled by childhood polio, Garrincha was left with a spinal deformity that meant that one of his legs was shorter than the other, however, he used his gait to his advantage to become an elite-level dribbler.
At World Cup 1962, Brazil lost Pelé to an early injury in game two that ruled him out for the rest of the tournament, though Garrincha stepped his game up to fill the void, netting four goals and chipping in with a series of key assists to help the South Americans to retain their crown.
The Anjo de Pernas Tortas (Bent-Legged Angel) was joint top scorer that year and his joyful style made him a folk hero in his homeland.
7. Miroslav Klose (Germany)
While Miroslav Klose’s club career was relatively modest, especially when compared to some of the other players on his list, his exploits in the World Cup for Germany have made him a cult hero with Die Mannschaft supporters.
The lethal finisher hung up his international boots as the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 16 goals, splitting those strikes across appearances at four separate iterations of the tournament.
Klose netted five times in 2002, another five in 2006 (winning the Golden Boot in the process), four more in 2010 and two in 2014 as Germany lifted the trophy on home soil.
The Germans had been relative outsiders with top UK bookmakers for World Cup that year, but Klose’s sharp finishing helped them to upset the odds.
Quite and unassuming off the pitch, Klose preferred to let his ruthless work in the final third do the talking and he will always be remembered as the quintessential World Cup goal-scoring specialist.
6. Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany)
Next on the list is another of Germany’s finest, Franz “Der Kaiser” Beckenbauer, a man who didn’t just take part in World Cups, he defined them.
Beckenbauer invented the modern sweeper role, striding out from the back in possession to dictate play with authority and elegance.
In many ways, he was way ahead of his time and has more in common with today’s silky ball-playing centre-halves than he did with his no-nonsense contemporaries.
He captained West Germany to glory on home soil in 1974 and later became the first man to win the tournament as both player and manager in 1990.
Beckenbauer oozed composure in the most stressful situations and few players have combined defensive mastery with attacking vision quite like the (West) German.
5. Zinedine Zidane (France)
When Zizou was purring, he captured imaginations like no other. Zinedine Zidane is responsible for two of the most iconic and dramatic World Cup finals moments in the tournament’s history.
In 1998, Zidane scored two majestic headers as France beat Brazil to end their long wait for a first World Cup title.
This was the midfielder at his mercurial best, a marauding presence who played with an almost ethereal grace.
Eight years later, in 2006, Zidane captained Les Blues to another final, where his headbutt to the chest of Marco Materazzi, thrown in response to an insult from the Italian defender, earned him a red card in extra time.
Remarkably, Zidane was still given the Golden Ball that year for his performances preceding his madness in the final.
In total, Zizou made 12 World Cup appearances, scoring five times and winning the competition outright once.
4. Ronaldo (Brazil)
The original “Ronaldo”, who earned the nickname “O Fenômeno” (The Phenomenon), had to be seen to be believed. The Brazilian was perhaps the most complete forward football has ever produced.
At his physical peak, Ronaldo was blessed with blistering pace and power, though there was subtlety to his game too and his array of tricks, feints, flicks and turns left defenders flabbergasted and supporters aghast.
R9 was part of the Brazilian squad that won at USA 94, though his 1998 World Cup was marred by illness.
He returned in 2002 like a man possessed, however, firing in eight goals, including a brace in the final against Germany to secure the Golden Boot and Brazil’s fifth title.
Ronaldo scored an impressive 62 times in 98 appearances for Brazil, with 15 of those registered in 19 games at World Cups.
3. Diego Maradona (Argentina)
1986 will always be Maradona’s World Cup. That year in Mexico, the diminutive schemer was the main man in an Argentina squad that was otherwise low on stardust.
The South Americans weren’t many observers’ pick for glory, however, through sheer force of will (and no shortage of skill), Maradona dragged his teammates through the rounds and eventually on to glory.
His “Hand of God” and the subsequent “Goal of the Century” against England in the quarter-finals arguably remain the most famous five minutes in tournament history, but he did much more besides.
In total, Maradona scored five goals and provided five assists for his compatriots, earning the Golden Ball for his efforts.
Carrying the captain’s armband, Maradona played every minute of four World Cups, again reaching the final in 1990, despite nursing an injury.
Undoubtedly controversial and haunted by his own demons, Maradona was a mesmerising footballer and a one-man World Cup match-winning machine.
2. Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Lionel Messi had carried the weight of Argentina’s World Cup-winning hopes on his shoulders for a decade before he finally delivered international football’s ultimate prize at Qatar 2022.
For years, the only question was whether the little magician could translate his club dominance onto the World Cup stage, though Messi finally answered four years ago.
Scoring in every knockout round, Messi produced a masterclass in the final against France, scoring twice in the initial 3-3 draw between the sides, before netting his effort in the penalty shootout and lifting the trophy as captain.
Messi claimed the Golden Ball for the second time in his career and became the first player to score in the group stage, round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final of a single World Cup tournament.
With 26 World Cup appearances overall and 14 goals across five editions, Messi ensured his place among football’s immortals.
He is likely to feature readily in the betting on the 2026 World Cup again when he embarks on one last hurrah with Argentina.
1. Pelé (Brazil)
Sitting on his throne in top spot on our list of the 10 greatest World Cup players of all time, there can only be one man. The World Cup king himself, Pelé.
The Brazilian remains the only player to have won three World Cups (1958, 1962 and 1970) and his record of 12 goals in 14 matches still stands as a monument to consistency at international football’s highest level.
However, it wasn’t just his numbers, it was the way Pelé played. At just 17, while getting kicked from pillar to post in an era when the best players were offered little protection, he announced himself with a semi-final hat-trick and two goals in the 1958 final.
An injury curtailed his involvement in 1962, though he excelled again in 1970, providing four goals and six assists as Brazil produced perhaps the greatest team performance in World Cup history.
Pelé had it all, vision, pace, strength, aerial power and laser-accurate finishing, while his on-pitch demeanour and sportsmanship allowed him to transcend the game. For millions around the globe, Pelé is, and always will be, the greatest.
