Most FIFA World Cup appearances: Players who have played in most matches - full list
By playing his 26th World Cup match in the final in Qatar, Lionel Messi takes the record for appearances in men's football's showpiece from Lothar Matthaus.
Football
Who is the greatest male football player of all time? The chances are, they'll be on this list.
The FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of the sport, and many of the most talented footballers on the planet have graced the event.
Greatness is often measured in consistently high results over a long period of time, and the appearance records for major tournaments are usually aligned with the players and nations who have won the most.
West Germany's 1990 World Cup-winning captain Lothar Matthaus led the all-time list for most football World Cup appearances by a player at the start of the tournament with 25, but he's been overtaken by Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi.
Playing in his fifth World Cup, Messi overtook him when he led out Argentina against France in the final on Sunday (18 December) for his 26th World Cup appearance.
Miroslav Klose is next on 24 World Cup appearances with the German striker also topping the all-time scorers list across the 21 editions of the men's FIFA World Cup held so far (16 goals).
Diego Maradona is another trophy-lifter to have made it to 21 match appearances, but both countryman Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo passed him at the Qatar 2022 event.
Read on for the full appearance list, plus the breakdown on some of the key names.
Lothar Matthaus (West Germany): 25 matches in five World Cups
Matthaus captained West Germany to the 1990 World Cup title in Italy, following final losses in 1982 and 1986. He also took part in the 1994 and 1998 editions for Germany, becoming the second player to play in five different FIFA World Cup tournaments, after Mexico's Antonio Carbajal.
The midfielder is also the most-capped German player of all time with 150 appearances, 83 of them for West Germany before the country's reunification.
Miroslav Klose (Germany): 24 matches, 16 goals
German striker Miroslav Klose holds the record for most FIFA World Cup goals in history, having scored 16 times in 24 appearances across four editions (2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014). He was 36 years old during his last World Cup in Brazil in 2014, scoring twice in that tournament to help his nation win the trophy.
Paolo Maldini is the most World Cup-capped player to have never lifted the trophy, appearing in four tournaments for Italy and playing 23 games. 'The Captain' was a losing finallist at the 1994 event in the USA, and finished third in his home nation at Italia '90.
Maradona scored eight goals in 21 FIFA World Cup matches, played across three editions (1982, 1986 and 1994). Five of these came at Mexico 1986, where Maradona famously helped his nation win the World Cup for a second time.
Javier Mascherano is another from the South American powerhouses to make the list, with 20 appearances.
There are two Poland players in top 12: Władysław Żmuda, who played in four world cups as a defender between 1974 and 1986, and Grzegorz Lato who also played in the 1974, 1978, and 1982 teams known as the country's golden generation.
Half of the 18 players to have made 19 or more appearances in men's football World Cup tournaments are German, with Uwe Seeler, Philipp Lahm, and Bastian Schweinsteiger all in the 20-plus club.
Most appearances for Brazil, Portugal, France, England, Croatia, and more
Brazil's most capped male international player Cafu had 20 of his 142 national appearances in World Cup Finals.
The two-time winner played one more finals game than their famed striker Ronaldo who is another of the 20 men to have won the trophy twice. Ronaldo is also second in the all-time goalscorer list prior to Qatar 2022 with 15 from his 19 matches.
By contrast, the only player in men's football history to win three World Cup trophies - Pele - only appeared in 14 tournament matches for Brazil, in an era where there was no round of 16, meaning players only had three knockout matches after their three group stage games, and substitutions were far less frequent.
Olympic gold medallist Neymar has 13 appearances. Five-time winners Brazil are the only nation to have competed in every World Cup.
The top Portugal player on the list is Cristiano Ronaldo who lies on 22 World Cup appearances after his nation's quarter-final exit to Morocco.
Hugo Lloris went top of the France list with his appearance in the quarter-final win over England taking him to 18, one clear of Thierry Henry and Fabien Barthez.
The captain and goalkeeper moved to 20 in the final with Antoine Griezmann - another member of the 2018 World Cup winning side - reaching 19. Olivier Giroud and Raphael Varane are up to 18.
Former England goalkeeper Peter Shilton is his country's leading World Cup appearance-maker with 17.
Croatia's Luka Modric moved to 19 appearances after playing in his side's third-place match victory over Morocco.
Most FIFA World Cup appearances by players
List does not include appearances in World Cup qualifier events or pre-tournament qualifying playoffs. Active players marked with an asterisk. Games played as a starter or substitute in men's tournaments.