The World Cup is held every four years, which means most top players only attend two or three World Cups at most.
Bailey competed in four events and won three times, a record that may never be broken – especially if the current four-year gap between events remains the same.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi won his fifth World Cup, with Mexico’s Rafa Márquez the only man to captain five World Cups.
A select group of footballers have also scored goals in multiple tournaments over the years. Let’s take a look at the players who have scored at three other Men’s World Cups…
16. Michel Platini
One of the greatest legends of French football, Michel Platini led France to victory at home at Euro 84, scoring nine goals on the way to the title.
Platini represented France in three World Cups and helped France reach the semi-finals in 1986. He scored 5 goals in the World Cup: 1 in 1978; Twice in 1982; twice more in 1986.
15. Raul
Although Raul Gonzalez did not win anything for Spain, he was one of the greatest players in Spanish history and was the country’s top scorer until he was overtaken by David Villa.
The former Real Madrid captain scored five goals for Spain in three World Cups: one in 1998 and one in 1998. 3 times in 2002; another time in 2006. The goal against Tunisia was his last international goal.
14. Lothar Matthäus
Lothar Matthäus is one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, playing in five World Cups and captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup.
Matthäus was also part of the West Germany teams that reached the final in 1982 and 1986, scoring in three different editions of the tournament: once in 1986; Four times in 1990; another time in 1994.
13. Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez represented Uruguay at four World Cups, with the former Barcelona and Liverpool striker scoring in three of them.
Suarez scored 3 goals in 2010, 2 goals in 2014, and 2 more goals in 2018. Suarez is also remembered for a handball against Ghana in 2010 and biting Italian player Giorgio Chiellini in 2014, but Suarez failed to score at the 2022 World Cup.
12. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first men’s footballer to score in five different tournaments when he scored against Ghana at the 2022 World Cup.
After scoring once each in 2006, 2010 and 2014, the Portuguese scored four goals in 2018, including a hat-trick against Spain, and added another in 2022.
11. Neymar
Although Neymar performed well for Santos as a youngster, he was not called up by Brazil for the 2010 World Cup.
Neymar was the biggest star of the Brazilian team in 2014. He scored 4 goals to help the host country enter the semi-finals, but he missed the 7-1 defeat to Germany due to injury. The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward scored two more goals in 2018 and two more in 2022.
10. Diego Maradona
In 1978, Diego Maradona was already one of the most exciting players in the world, but the legendary number 10 was left out of that year’s World Cup squad as Argentina Home wins the trophy.
Maradona went on to play in four World Cups, captaining Argentina to the trophy in 1986 and reaching the final again in 1990. He scored a total of eight goals at this World Cup: two goals in the 1982 World Cup; Five in 1986; and one before the 1994 drug ban.
9. Roberto Baggio
Roberto Baggio’s defining moment at the World Cup was missing a penalty in the shootout against Brazil in the 1994 final.
But Baggio played an important role in helping Italy reach the World Cup, scoring five goals in the final. He also scored twice in 1990, including a brilliant individual goal against Czechoslovakia, and returned in 1998 to score two more goals.
8. David Vera
David Villa played a huge role in Spain’s success at the 2010 World Cup, scoring five times to help Spain win the trophy for the first time in their history.
Villa also had three shots on target at the 2006 World Cup, and Spain’s all-time top scorer scored the final goal for Spain in the 2014 World Cup, helping the team beat Australia.
7. Grzegorz Lato
Grzegorz Lato was a winger during Poland’s golden generation in the 1970s and early 1980s, and is considered one of the best players the country has ever produced.
In 1974, Lato became the top scorer in the World Cup with 7 goals as Poland finished third. He scored two more goals in 1978 and 1982.
6. Gabriel Batistuta
Gabriel Batistuta was Argentina’s all-time top scorer until he was overtaken by Lionel Messi, the former Fiorentina favorite who scored two hat-tricks at the World Cup.
Batistuta scored a total of 10 goals in the World Cup: 4 in 1994; Five times in 1998; another time in 2002.
5. Jurgen Klinsmann
Jürgen Klinsmann helped West Germany win the 1990 World Cup and went on to play two more World Cups for Germany.
Klinsmann scored a total of 11 goals in his three World Cup appearances: three for West Germany in 1990; There were three incidents.
4. Bailey
Pele is the only player in football history to win three World Cups, with the Brazilian legend scoring in all four editions of the tournament.
The former Santos great scored six goals as a 17-year-old on the way to the 1958 title, adding another in 1962 before injury and another in 1966 as Brazil crashed out of the group stages. goals, and 4 goals in another successful match in 1970.
3. Lionel Messi
After a series of disappointing World Cup campaigns and Argentina’s narrow defeat to Germany in the 2014 final, Lionel Messi has led the Albiceleste in the 2022 claimed glory.
Messi didn’t score in 2010 but scored once in 2006, four times in 2014, again in 2018 and seven times in 2022 when Argentina won the title.
2. Ronaldo
Ronaldo played in four World Cups with Brazil, winning them twice, although he was an uncapped player in 1994 as a 17-year-old.
The former Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona striker scored a total of 15 goals at the World Cup: four in 1998 when Brazil reached the final; Scored when reaching the final. In 2002, the eighth was in contention for the title and Golden Boot; in 2006 it happened three more times.
1. Miroslav Klose
Miroslav excelled even more internationally than in his club career, retiring from Germany as his country’s all-time top scorer and 2014 World Cup winner.
Klose scored 16 goals at the World Cup, more than any other player, scoring five in 2002, five again in 2006, four in 2010 and two in 2014. He won the Silver Shoe in 2002 and the Golden Boot four years later.
