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 years later, Der Kaiser led his country to victory in the familiar surroundings of Munich, besting Johan Cruyff’s Dutch side in the final. Beckenbauer finally got his hands on the trophy after that silver medal in ’66 and a third-placed finish at Mexico ’70.
Left-back: Nilton Santos
A member of the Brazil squad in 1950, Nilton Santos was part of a national disaster following the country’s shock loss to Uruguay in the final match of the tournament at the Maracana. The most successful team in the competition’s history had no World Cups to their name back then, but were hot favourites to pick up the Jules Rimet for the first time on home turf. The unexpected defeat to their South American rivals left many in tears, including a young Pele’s father. The future superstar declared to his old man that he would bring the trophy home and he fulfilled that promise just eight years later, as he lined up alongside Santos to help Brazil demolish Sweden in the ’58 final.
Central midfield: Lothar Matthaus
Beckenbauer is joined in this side by a man he managed in the 1990 World Cup: Lothar Matthaus, the captain of a German side that gained a measure of revenge over Argentina in the final. Left-back Andreas Brehme converted a penalty five minutes from time in a dour match in Rome, as Diego Maradona lost his grip on the trophy he earned four years earlier. The ’86 final in Mexico was a far more exhilarating affair, with a 3-2 win for La Albiceleste against Germany and Matthaus.
1986:
🇩🇪Heinz Rummenigge / Matthaus pic.twitter.com/4Lo98o32Df
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 17, 2022
Central midfield: Luis Monti
Luis Monti was the first player to appear in two World Cup finals, having started in the inaugural showpiece back in 1930 and also the closing match of the 1934 tournament. The most unusual part of his story is that Monti was a member of the Argentina team that lost to Uruguay in ’30 – but Argentina didn’t make the final in ’34; they went out to Sweden in the round of 16. Luckily for Monti, the laws of the game regarding appearing for different national sides were much more lenient back then and as he held Italian citizenship, he began to play for Gli Azzurri in 1932. Raimundo Orsi had made the same switch back in 1929 and the two Argentine-born stars helped their adoptive country to victory over Czechoslovakia, as Italy won the first of their four World Cups.
Central midfield: Zinedine Zidane
The 1998 World Cup final couldn’t have gone much better for Zinedine Zidane, scoring twice and picking up the man-of-the-match award as France thrashed holders Brazil 3-0 on home soil to win the competition for the first time in their history. Conversely, the final of 2006 couldn’t have gone much worse for the Real Madrid icon. Zidane was infamously sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi and had to watch on as his depleted side agonisingly lost to Italy on penalties in Berlin.
Forward: Ronaldo (the iconic one)
While Zidane was on a high following the ’98 final, Brazil’s star man Ronaldo was at an all-time low. The young striker made headlines before the match, having initially been left out of the starting line-up due to a reported convulsive fit. He was reinstated shortly before kick-off but had little impact on the game as his side were outclassed by the French. Four years later in Japan and South Korea, Ronaldo made things right by scoring twice in the final and winning the man-of-the-match award, as well as picking up the Golden Boot.
Forward: Diego Maradona
Debates will rage on ad infinitum about whether Messi has eclipsed his idol Diego Maradona now he’s lifted the World Cup, but it could well be argued that the Argentina side of ’86 was weaker than today’s champions, with Maradona often credited with carrying the team to glory. Captain of the side that bested Germany in the final, Die Mannschaft got their revenge on Diego and chums four years later in the final of 1990.
Forward: Thierry Henry
Like Zidane, Thierry Henry was victorious in 1998 and despondent after defeat in 2006, but the Arsenal hero also had to put up with the ignominy of a group-stage exit in 2010 as the French team imploded in South Africa. Other forwards eligible for this side include the baby-celebrating Bebeto with a win in ’94 and a loss in ’98; and the World Cup’s all-time record goalscorer Miroslav Klose, who finally got his hands on the trophy in 2014 after two third-placed finishes in 2006 and 2010 and a silver medal in 2002.