Which players have played the most World Cup games?

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FT Desk

Lionel Messi had already played more World Cup matches than anyone else before the 2026 tournament, and during the competition he extended that record.

Argentina won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar where Messi played a starring role, and although he would defy his age to emerge as one of the best players at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the South American side came up short on that occasion, losing the final 1-0 to Spain.

Before Qatar, he led the way with 26 appearances, but after playing every game in North America, he stands alone as the player with the most World Cup matches ever, with 34.

It was at the 2022 World Cup where Messi overtook Germany legend Lothar Matthaus as the all-time appearance king in the history of FIFA's showpiece event. Matthaus' record of 25 games had stood for 24 years, but Messi has set a new benchmark.

Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Guillermo Ochoa all participated in a record-breaking sixth World Cup in North America this summer.

The Portuguese superstar is second on the all-time appearances list after his games at 2026. He has 27 appearances in total.

The players with the most World Cup appearances

Messi's 34 World Cup appearances place him first on the all-time appearance charts, followed by Ronaldo with 27.

1990 Ballon d'Or winner Mathaus is in third, having played for Germany in five World Cups between 1982 and 1998, winning the tournament in 1990 and reaching the final in 1986.

He is one ahead of Miroslav Klose, who played in four World Cups for Germany between 2002 and 2014, winning in the last one, as well as reaching the final in 2002 and semi-finals in 2006 and 2010.

Klose is one ahead of Italy’s Paolo Maldini, who played 23 matches, reaching the final in 1994, which was his longest run across the four World Cups he played. Manuel Neuer and Luka Modric are now equal to the legendary Italian.

Despite being just 27 years old, Kylian Mbappe has made 22 appearances, including the third-place playoff against England in 2026.

After him, six players have made 21 appearances: Diego Maradona, one of the World Cup’s greatest-ever players, West Germany’s Uwe Seeler, Poland’s Wladyslaw Zmuda, Argentina's Nicolas Otemendi, Croatia's Ivan Perisic and Belgium's Thibaut Courtois.

Following them, six players are tied on 20 appearances each: Hugo Lloris, Cafu, Philipp Lahm, Grzegorz Lato, Javier Mascherano and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Out of them, Lahm, Lato and Schweinsteiger played in three World Cups, with the German duo reaching two semi-finals in 2006 and 2010 before winning in 2014.

Cafu, meanwhile, was a winner in 1994 and 2002, captaining the side in the latter and was the last Brazil captain to lift the famous trophy. Lloris entered this illustrious company by reaching the final again with France in 2022 after winning the World Cup in 2018.