Players with the most World Cup appearances 1930-2022

Published by Statista Research Department, Aug 21, 2024
As of 2022, Lionel Messi held the record for the most FIFA World Cup appearances, with a total of 26. His 26th appearance came in the 2022 final, where Argentina defeated France on penalties to win their third World Cup.

Players with the most appearances in the FIFA World Cup as of 2022

CharacteristicNumber of appearances
Lionel Messi
(Argentina)		 26
Lothar Matthäus
(Germany)		 25
Miroslav Klose
(Germany)		 24
Paolo Maldini
(Italy)		 23
Cristiano Ronaldo
(Portugal)		 22
Diego Maradona
(Argentina)		 21
Uwe Seeler
(Germany)		 21
Władysław Żmuda
(Poland)		 21
Showing entries 1 to 8 (8 entries in total)
Created with Highcharts 7.2.2Number of appearances26262525242423232222212121212121Lionel Messi(Argentina)Lothar Matthäus(Germany)Miroslav Klose(Germany)Paolo Maldini(Italy)Cristiano Ronaldo(Portugal)Diego Maradona(Argentina)Uwe Seeler(Germany)Władysław Żmuda(Poland)

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Release date

January 2023

Region

Worldwide

Survey time period

1930 to 2022

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