Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe have won and lost a World Cup final – and both would actually be hard pushed to make this XI of stars who have done the same.
Messi guided Argentina to glory in Qatar and is now part of a small group of players who have won and lost a World Cup final. His defeated PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe joined the elite band as well, having lifted the trophy in 2018.
A few stellar names have come before them; here’s an XI made up from the other stars who were part of winning and losing squads.
Goalkeeper: Dino Zoff
Dino Zoff became the second goalkeeper in history to captain a World Cup-winning team following Italy’s victory over Germany in 1982. Gianpiero Combi was the first back in 1934 and Zoff may have thought his chance at emulating his fellow countryman had passed given he was 40 when he lifted the trophy. The Juventus legend watched from the bench in 1970 as a vintage Brazil side thrashed Gli Azzurri 4-1.
If you fancy a goalkeeper challenge, try naming the German keeper who was part of the squad that finished runners-up to England in ’66 but triumphed on home soil eight years later.
Right-back: Cafu
From the 1982 captain to the 2002 captain, Cafu led Brazil to a fifth World Cup win after overcoming Germany in Yokohama. It was his second success story in the competition, after coming on as a substitute for the injured Jorginho in the 1994 final (more on that shortly). The marauding full-back wasn’t so lucky in 1998, with his side losing out to hosts France, but a redemption story for Ronaldo four years later (more on that shortly too) saw Cafu get his hands on the trophy once more.
Centre-back: Franco Baresi
Franco Baresi was one of Zoff’s team-mates in 1982, still in the early years of his legendary career at the time. Then 22, he was an unused member of the squad, with the more experienced heads of Gaetano Scirea, Fulvio Collovati and the not-so-gentle Claudio Gentile preferred. By 1994, Baresi was one of the veterans and captained the side in the United States as they reached the final. The AC Milan legend ended up blazing his penalty over the bar in the shootout against Brazil, just as the team’s talisman Roberto Baggio did to gift the South Americans the trophy.
Centre-back: Franz Beckenbauer
The new star of German football back in 1966, a young Franz Beckenbauer kept England’s main man Bobby Charlton quiet in the final at Wembley, although the Three Lions did of course triumph in extra-time. Eight…
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