The World Cup is the pinnacle for any player to feature in – but only a select few have starred on football’s biggest stage for generations.The 2026 edition is almost here as both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo gear up for their last dance at FIFA‘s showpiece tournament.Messi led Argentina to their third World Cup win four years agoGETTYThe two footballing icons, who shared a combined 13 Ballon d’Ors between them, will become the first players in history to play in six World Cups in the USA, Canada and Mexico.And fittingly, Messi and Ronaldo are the only two active stars in the top 10 list of players with the most World Cup appearances.Before we reveal the full list, a special mention will go to Croatia’s Luka Modric and Germany’s Manuel Neuer will be both enter the top ten should – as expected – they play one game this summer as both are currently on 19 World Cup appearance.20 Games – Six players in joint-tenthFootball will have to wait for the World Cup history books to be rewritten, with six retired stars sharing the number 10 spot.Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm, who were teammates for club and country, called time on their international careers two years apart, with the latter captaining Germany to the 2014 World Cup.Lahm then retired from ‘Die Mannschaft’, leaving his former Bayern Munich pal to take over the armband.However, Schweinsteiger left international football behind before the next World Cup, meaning he never broke the defender’s record.Hugo Lloris took over to lift the trophy in 2018, but it wasn’t until France’s run to the final in Qatar that he reached 20 appearances.Somewhat surprisingly, Cafu is also stuck in tenth, despite being the player ever to feature in three consecutive World Cup finals.The full list of players on 20 games in the World Cup’s charts are…Javier Mascherano (Argentina) -Tournaments: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018Cafu (Brazil) – Tournaments: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006Hugo Lloris (France) – Tournaments: 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany) – Tournaments: 2006, 2010, 2014Philipp Lahm (Germany) – Tournaments: 2006, 2010, 2014Grzegorz Lato (Poland) – Tournaments: 1974, 1978, 1982Lloris is the only the second Frenchman to skipper his country to World Cup successGettyCafu lifted the World Cup on every other entry in his career tournamentsGetty21 games – Wladyslaw Zmuda, Uwe Seeler, and Diego MaradonaWladyslaw Zmuda (Poland) – Tournaments: 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986The 91-cap international was only 20-years-old when he scooped FIFA’s Best Young Player award for his World Cup debut in 1974.The ex-defender’s performance was the start of his involvement in FIFA’s showpiece spectacle, running until 1986.Zmuda was an unused substitute for all of his country’s three group stage matches in Mexico 86′, which included a 3-0 defeat to England.Yet he emerged from the bench in the round of 16 loss to Brazil to take him one past his compatriot Grzegorz Lato’s World Cup record.Zmuda won two World Cup bronze medals as part of Poland’s golden generationGettyUwe Seeler (West Germany) – Tournaments: 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970‘Uns Uwe’ (Our Uwe), who passed away at age 85 four years ago, made his debut for West Germany months after their triumph in 1954.But despite the Hamburg icon going on to bang in nine goals in 21 games across four World Cups, the trophy itself eluded him.For English fans, he was named in the World Cup All-Star Team of 1966 and captained West Germany in their 4-2 loss to the Three Lions.Yet that was as close as Seeler came to lifting Jules Rimet himself, having been part of the squad that finished third in ’58 and 1970.Uwe Seeler with Bobby Moore in 1966GettyDiego Maradona (Argentina) – Tournaments: 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994A man synonymous with the World Cup, responsible for arguably both its greatest and most controversial goal – in the same game.Undisputedly, one of football’s all-time greats, Maradona was left out as a teenager for Argentina’s 1978 win on home soil despite his skill.He debuted at the World Cup four years later, but his maiden tournament ended in horror as he was sent off against Brazil.Maradona more than atoned in Argentina’s 1986 triumph, winning the Golden Ball, while scoring both the Hand of God goal and FIFA’s recognised greatest goal in the history of the World Cup to break England’s hearts en route to glory.The 91-cap icon was a losing finalist in the 1990 defence of his crown, but his final outing in ’94 ended in disgrace after a failed drug test.Argentina legend Maradona was the best of his generationGetty22 Games – Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)Tournaments: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022The five-time Ballon d’Or winner has made a career out of breaking records, so he was always bound to show up on this list.In fact, Ronaldo will move even further up the rankings when he leads the line for Portugal at the 2026 World Cup at the age of 41.The Al Nassr superstar is even eligible for Portugal’s first match despite the red card he was shown in qualifying in November.The World Cup remains the only prize missing from Ronaldo’s trophy cabinet, having never got further than the semi-final run he was part of in his first outing at the tournament in 2006.CR7 has endured two rounds of 16 exits, either side of a humbling group-stage exit in 2014, before reaching the last eight in Qatar.His strange relationship with the World Cup can best be summed up as not one of his near-1000 goals have come in a knockout round…Ronaldo was in tears when Portugal were knocked out of the 2022 World CupGetty23 Games – Paolo Maldini (Italy)Tournaments: 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002Il Capitano is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders of all time and boasts an incredible individual record at the World Cup.Maldini’s only defeat while on the pitch across 19 appearances at the tournament from 1990-98 came in a 1-0 defeat to Ireland in 1994.Otherwise, the AC Milan icon was the victim of penalty shootout heartbreak that have gone down as a draw in the FIFA history books.The most agonising of which was the 1994 final defeat to Brazil on spot-kicks after Maldini kept a clean sheet over the 120 minutes.He called time on his international career following a Golden Goal loss to South Korea in the last 16 of the 2002 World Cup – and unfortunately for him, his successor as captain lifted the trophy four years later.Maldini – who had held the record for most minutes played in a World Cup finals until Messi broke it in 2022 – never managed to win itGetty24 Games – Miroslav Klose (Germany)Tournaments: 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014As the undisputed king of scoring goals at the World Cup, it makes sense that the German also made a fair few appearances.The Poland-born 137-cap Germany international burst onto the scene at the 2002 World Cup with five headed goals.He took home the Golden Boot by scoring the same amount on home soil in 2006, with England fans also remembering his strike in the 4-1 mauling in South Africa in 2010.But it wasn’t a runner-up and two bronze medals that Klose finally got over the line to win the trophy in his final World Cup.Ironically, it was the tournament he scored the fewest goals in – but the two he did bag were enough for him to overtake Ronaldo Nazario’s previous record-setting haul.Klose, Lahm and Schweinsteiger all lifted the World Cup in their final match at the finalsGetty24 Games – Lothar Matthaus (Germany)Tournaments: 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998Matthaus was crowned the inaugural FIFA World Player of the Year after captaining West Germany’s 1990 World Cup-winning team.Over three decades later, the Bayern Munich and Inter Milan hero remains the only German to have received the coveted award.‘The Tank’ was the engine at the heart of a Die Nationalelf side who appeared in three consecutive World Cup finals from 1982 to 1990.He became the first outfield player to feature in five FIFA World Cups, and was described by Maradona as ‘the best rival I’ve ever had.’Such was his longevity at an elite level that Matthäus starred at the 1998 World Cup and was then named German Footballer of the Year a year later at age 38.Matthaus won the Ballon d’Or in 1990Getty26 Games – Lionel Messi (Argentina)Tournaments: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022Who else? The Argentine made history in Qatar by becoming the outright World Cup appearance maker.And he capped it off by finally lifting the trophy at his fifth attempt.The Barcelona icon became Argentina’s youngest player to appear and score in a World Cup during his maiden tournament in 2006.Two decades on, and Messi now holds the record for most World Cup appearances (26) and most matches as captain (19).The 38-year-old will even surpass 30 games provided La Albiceleste doesn’t suffer a complete disastrous group-stage exit this summer.Messi finally got his hands on the World Cup at his fifth attempt in 2022Getty