Twenty players have won the World Cup while playing for a Premier League club. Ranking them in terms of importance in victory places a Man Utd outcast high.
20) Pepe Reina, Liverpool (Spain 2010)
Didn’t play a single minute in South Africa but excelled in his usual role as master of ceremonies during the celebrations.
19) Benjamin Mendy, Manchester City (France 2018)
Only managed a 40-minute substitute cameo for France at the 2018 World Cup – and that was in a group-stage dead rubber.
18) Lukas Podolski, Arsenal (Germany 2014)
Five outfielders had less game time than Lukas Podolski for the victorious Germans in 2014. The forward played his part in ensuring a glittering international career had its tangible reward, featuring as a substitute in the opening win over Portugal and being handed a start in the final group game against the United States – when he was taken off at half-time and not seen again for the remainder of the tournament.
17) Patrick Vieira, Arsenal (France 1998)
When the Didier Deschamps and Emmanuel Petit midfield partnership was broken up at France ’98, it was Alain Boghossian who was called upon. Christian Karembeu then came into the side mid-tournament to complement a diamond which had Zinedine Zidane at its tip. A 22-year-old Patrick Vieira started against Denmark in the last group game, before assisting Petit’s clinching goal in the final.
16) Lisandro Martinez, Man Utd (Argentina 2022)
Too small for Man Utd in the Premier League, but a world champion in his own right. Lisandro Martinez did not feature in that phenomenal final, nor the decisive group match against Poland, but he was otherwise called upon fairly regularly in Qatar.
15) Per Mertesacker, Arsenal (Germany 2014)
Fresh from chasing Matty Fryatt around in the 2014 FA Cup final, Per Mertesacker travelled to Brazil as an unexpected half of Germany’s starting centre-half pairing. He and Mats Hummels navigated the group, before Jerome Boateng replaced the ill latter against Algeria. Mertesacker’s interview after that extra-time last-16 win, when it was put to him that Germany were “cumbersome and vulnerable” at the back, was regarded as a psychological turning point for the squad. A knackered Mertesacker presumably watched the quarter-final from his ice bath, before being given a 45-minute stroll against a shellshocked Brazil and a stoppage-time cameo in the final – his last cap before international retirement.
14) Fernando Torres,…
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