Lionel Messi, Pele and the top 10 World Cup players - ranked

The World Cup is football's highest stage, where careers are defined by a single moment and legends are made. Attempting to rank the tournament's greatest performers is a near-impossible task, and the list reluctantly omits a string of icons, from Garrincha and Vava to Johan Cruyff and Mario Kempes.

Miroslav Klose stands out for consistency: 71 goals in 137 internationals and 16 at World Cup finals, a tally that took him past Ronaldo and was later equalled by Lionel Messi. Klose’s aerial skill and poacher’s instinct produced landmark moments — he set the scoring mark during Germany’s 7-1 win over Brazil and finished his international career by helping his country lift the 2014 trophy.

Zinedine Zidane combined sublime vision with volatility, scoring twice to secure France's 1998 triumph but later ending his 2006 final with a famous headbutt on Marco Materazzi; his Berlin performances still earned him the tournament’s Golden Ball.

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