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The 30 best players in World Cup history

By James Dudko

Argentina's Diego Maradona in action during the 1986 World Cup semi-final match against Belgium. Argentina defeated Belgium 2-0. (Photo by Jean-Yves Ruszniewski/TempSport/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
Argentina's Diego Maradona in action during the 1986 World Cup semi-final match against Belgium. Argentina defeated Belgium 2-0. (Photo by Jean-Yves Ruszniewski/TempSport/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images) /
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Ahead of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, we take a look back at the best players in the tournament’s history.

Deciding who makes the cut for any list of great players in World Cup history demands setting strict rules. It can’t just be a question of reeling off the names of great players who have appeared in FIFA’s ultimate international tournament.

After all, many of the greats have graced World Cups. Yet how many of them have made a tournament their own? How many of those stars have thrived in more than one World Cup?

The answers to those questions determined who appears on this list.

So, if you’re looking for Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, you’ll be disappointed. Messi is the best player of this generation, but he has just five goals across three tournaments, without ever lifting the trophy.

Ronaldo is a free-scoring colossus, but he has found the net only three times in three World Cups.

Then there are the one-tournament wonders. Just Fontaine scored an incredible 13 goals in 1958 before injury cruelly brought his career to a premature close.

Sadly, flourishing in a single World Cup generally doesn’t qualify a player for this list, barring one worthy exception.  It’s why Ferenc Puskas and Sandor Kocsis, members of Hungary’s exceptional 1954 vintage, didn’t make the cut.

Right, that takes care of who is not involved. Read on to find out who joins Diego Maradona, Pele and Bobby Charlton on the list.

Italy’s national soccer team poses with the World Cup trophy after beating Hungary 4-2 in the World Cup final, 19 June 1938 in Colombes, in the suburbs of Paris.(Standing from L : Amadeo Biavati (4th L), coach Vittorio Pozzo holding the trophy, Silvio Piola, Giovanni Ferrari, Gino Colaussi; first row, from L : Ugo Locatelli, Giuseppe Meazza, Alfredo Foni, Pietro Serantoni, Aldo Olivieri, Pietro Rava and Michele Andreolo) / AFP PHOTO / STAFF (Photo credit should read STAFF/AFP/Getty Images)
Italy’s national soccer team poses with the World Cup trophy after beating Hungary 4-2 in the World Cup final, 19 June 1938 in Colombes, in the suburbs of Paris.(Standing from L : Amadeo Biavati (4th L), coach Vittorio Pozzo holding the trophy, Silvio Piola, Giovanni Ferrari, Gino Colaussi; first row, from L : Ugo Locatelli, Giuseppe Meazza, Alfredo Foni, Pietro Serantoni, Aldo Olivieri, Pietro Rava and Michele Andreolo) / AFP PHOTO / STAFF (Photo credit should read STAFF/AFP/Getty Images) /

30. Giuseppe Meazza, Italy

Giuseppe Meazza was the brain of the team as Italy won World Cups in 1934 and ’38. A cerebral schemer at his pomp, Meazza transferred his star turns at club level with Inter Milan seamlessly to the international stage.

He was the playmaker general of the Azzurri‘s original golden age. Meazza’s quality and influence also defined the formative years of the global tournament set to change the game.

He scored twice on home soil in 1934, including the winner against Spain in the quarterfinal. Four years later, Meazza found the net to help beat Brazil 2-1 in the semifinal in Marseille.

For a nation often defined by its defensive pragmatism, Italy have a proud tradition of creative midfield talent. The likes of Gigi Riva, Sandro Mazzola, Pierino Prati and Andrea Pirlo all fitted this description perfectly.

Yet every member of this quartet owes a debt of gratitude to Meazza. He was the first of Italy’s great pass-masters, a classy force who prompted his nation to become the first dominant power of the World Cup era.

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