Legends

The only man to win the World Cup three times. Scored on his tournament debut at seventeen, his chip in 1970 became the most replayed missed shot in history, and his pass for Carlos Alberto closed the most beautiful team goal ever scored.

THE MOMENT — The pass to Carlos Alberto. 1970 final. The fourth goal.

The most complete individual World Cup ever assembled. He scored five and assisted five at Mexico '86. The goal against England — 60 yards, eleven touches, six defenders — is the answer to what football is for.

THE MOMENT — Sixty yards through England. The Goal of the Century.

Played only one World Cup. Changed football permanently. The turn that bears his name was performed in front of Sweden in the group stage and has been imitated for fifty years. Lost the final. Lost on purpose, some argued. The brand survives both.

THE MOMENT — The Cruyff Turn vs Sweden. Group stage, 1974.

Invented the modern sweeper role and then won the World Cup playing it. Played the 1970 semi-final extra-time with a dislocated shoulder strapped to his chest. Returned as manager in 1990 and won it again — one of only three men to lift the trophy in both roles.

THE MOMENT — The shoulder. The Game of the Century. 1970.

When Pelé was injured at Chile 1962, Garrincha took the tournament on alone — and won it. Born with twisted legs, called "Little Bird" by his sister, he beat defenders with the most unteachable dribble in football. Brazil never lost a match he and Pelé both started.

THE MOMENT — Two goals vs England. Quarter-final, 1962.

A record set in Sweden and untouched in seventy years. Played one World Cup, scored thirteen — the last four in the third-place playoff against West Germany. A career cut short by injury at twenty-eight. The number stayed.

THE MOMENT — Four against West Germany. Third-place playoff, 1958.

The Black Spider. Played four World Cups in an entirely black kit because, he said, it intimidated forwards. The award for the best goalkeeper at every World Cup carries his name. Saved an estimated 150 penalties across his career.

THE MOMENT — Saving Eusébio. Semi-final, 1966.

They called him Der Bomber. Ten goals in 1970 — still the modern-era benchmark. Scored the winner in the 1974 final on home soil, his last act in a national shirt. The most efficient finisher in World Cup history.

THE MOMENT — The 1974 final winner. Last touch in a Germany shirt.

Returned from a two-year ban for match-fixing three months before Spain '82. Scored once in five games. Then a hat-trick against the greatest Brazil. Then two against Poland. Then the opener in the final. The most cinematic redemption arc in football.

THE MOMENT — The hat-trick vs Brazil. Sarrià, 1982.

A son of Algerian immigrants, scored twice with his head in the 1998 final from corners — a man who almost never scored with his head. Returned to the 2006 final at thirty-four and ended his career with his forehead in Materazzi's chest. The most contradictory great in the modern game.

THE MOMENT — Two headers. 1998 final. France 3 — 0 Brazil.

Won at 17 as a substitute, had a seizure on the morning of the 1998 final, then came back from two years of broken knees to win it all in 2002. The phenomenon. Scored eight goals in Korea-Japan and the only haircut of the millennium people still talk about.

THE MOMENT — Two goals vs Germany. 2002 final. The redemption.

Walked past the trophy in 2014. Came back at 35 in 2022 and scored in every knockout round. Lifted it in Lusail wearing a bisht. The most-watched football match in history finished with him on the shoulders of the people who used to ask if he was Argentine enough.

THE MOMENT — The trophy at Lusail. December 18, 2022.

Scored in the 2018 final at nineteen — the second teenager ever, after Pelé. Came back at twenty-three and scored a hat-trick in the 2022 final and still lost. The first player to hit a treble in the final since 1966. The first one to do it and not win.

THE MOMENT — Three goals in the final. Lusail, 2022.