Best World Cup XI of ALL TIME

The World Cup doesn’t just represent the pinnacle of football – it is the crowning jewel in the sporting world.

But which players represent World Cup greatness more than any other? Today, that’s what we’ll aim to find out.

This XI will be based on World Cup performances alone. To be included, a player must have been part of a World Cup winning squad at least once – players like Johan Cruyff, Cristiano Ronaldo and Roberto Baggio will not be eligible.

Furthermore, we simply couldn’t limit this XI to just 11 players. As such, we added in five substitutes – think of them as honourable mentions.

GK: Gilmar

The most successful goalkeeper in World Cup history and a real pioneer for modern goalkeeping, Gilmar absolutely deserves his spot between the sticks.

No other goalkeeper has won two World Cups before or since – he made 94 appearances for Brazil during his 18-year professional career.

RB: Cafu

The best right-back of all time, Cafu played at four different World Cups for Brazil, winning two of them – he only failed to reach the final once, in 2006.

Cafu was the archetypal modern full-back. Defensively responsible and excellent going forwards, few players have been as effective at World Cup tournaments as Cafu was.

CB: Franz Beckenbauer

Known as ‘Der Kaiser’, Franz Beckenbauer is frequently cited as being one of the best – if not THE best – central defender of all time (despite predominantly playing as a sweeper).

Beckenbauer wasn’t the tallest defender in the world, but he made up for his physical deficiencies with phenomenal timing, tenacity and an undying will to win.

CB: Fabio Cannavaro

Italy’s World Cup performance in 2006 wasn’t pretty, but it was certainly effective. The Italians bullied their way to the trophy, with Fabio Cannvaro at the heart of their efforts.

This was Cannavaro’s coronation in football, but he also played at three other World Cups. His captain’s display in 2006 will never be forgotten – seldom has a defender led such a perfect tournament.

LB: Andreas Brehme

An aggressive, no frills defender with plenty of ability to boot (especially from set-pieces), a player of Andreas Brehme’s disposition was tailor-made for the World Cup. No one could match his ferocity down the left flank.

Brehme was part of the outstanding Germany team that won the World Cup in 1990 – he scored the winning goal in the final, slotting home a late penalty against Argentina.

DM: Lothar Matthaus

Alongside Brehme was Lothar Matthaus – one of the best midfielders and captains of all time, he dominated any midfield battle he was involved in.

Matthaus made 25 appearances across five World Cups for Germany and West Germany – only Lionel Messi has made more appearances at the tournament.

RM: Garrincha

Arguably the greatest individual dribbler of all time, Garrincha changed the game for modern wingers. Despite being born with uneven, stunted legs, Garrincha overcame adversity at a young age to become one of the most graceful footballers of all time.

His dribbling ability was peerless. It wasn’t rare to see him running through entire defences on a whim – few players can boast this across history.

LM: Diego Maradona

Is Diego Maradona the best player of all time? For our money, he certainly is – his performance at the 1986 World Cup will likely never be topped.

Scoring five goals at the tournament, including braces in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, Maradona’s natural ability simply cannot be matched. In particular, his second goal against England in the quarter-finals is frequently cited as the best goal in football history.

AM: Giuseppe Meazza

We’re going way back for this one. Guiseppe Meazza was a two-time World Cup winner with Italy in 1934 and 1938, playing a key role in both tournaments.

While he only scored three goals over the course of two tournaments, he featured prominently in both of them, playing in both finals and was named in the team of the tournament in 1934.

ST: Pele

Does a player like Pele need any introduction? We don’t think so. The only player across history to have won three World Cups, he is a lock for an XI such as this.

Whether you think Pele is the best player of all time or not is irrelevant – his contribution to the World Cup is unparalleled. He scored 12 goals in 14 World Cup appearances, with three of them coming in finals.

ST: Ronaldo

Many believe that Ronaldo – the Brazilian one – is the greatest striker of all time. At World Cups, this is most definitely the case.

With two World Cups and 15 goals at the tournament under his belt, it’s a very difficult point to argue against – only one player has more World Cup goals than he does.

Sub 1: Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon has played at five different World Cups, winning one of them. One of the best goalkeepers of all time, his longevity in the game was near-superhuman.

Italy only conceded two goals during Buffon’s 2006 run, during which they won the tournament – it was perhaps the greatest display from a goalkeeper in any World Cup.

Sub 2: Bobby Moore

Bobby Moore is desperately unfortunate to miss out on a spot in our starting XI. One of the best tacklers and captains of all time, Moore’s talismanic presence elevated England to their first-and-only World Cup win in 1966.

Moore was a strong, capable defender, but he backed up his brawn with legitimate ability on the ball – in this sense, Moore was something of a pioneer.

Sub 3: Djalma Santos

Djalma Santos was the Cafu prototype. They both played in four World Cups, winning two of them – additionally, they’re both amongst the best right-backs of all time.

Making a total of 98 appearances for Brazil over the course of 16 years, he also scored in the final of the 1954 World Cup (though Brazil would ultimately lose that one).

Sub 4: Zinedine Zidane

If there is any player who we were devastated to have left out of our XI, it’s Zinedine Zidane. The Frenchman defined elite football for well over ten years – he played at three World Cups, winning one of them.

Zidane just misses out for two reasons. First of all, he was part of their disastrous 2002 campaign – second of all, we can’t defend his outburst in the 2006 World Cup final where he was sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi. It may seem harsh, but we’re dealing with the very cream of the crop here.

Sub 5: Miroslav Klose

The overall top goalscorer at the World Cup, Miroslav Klose makes it into the team almost by default. A true poacher, Klose proved to be a reliable hand for Germany for over 12 years on the international stage.

Klose’s movement off the ball was fantastic – his ability to read the game and anticipate situations was second to none during his era.