Most World Cup Appearances by a Player

Lionel Messi holds the record for the most World Cup match appearances by a player, with 26. He passed Germany’s Lothar Matthaus, who had held the mark at 25 since 1998, during Argentina’s title-winning run at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

The World Cup is football’s rarest stage, held only once every four years, so building a large appearance total means both playing at a high level for many years and reaching the tournament again and again with your country. Here is the full leaderboard of the players with the most World Cup appearances, plus the related record for most tournaments played. All figures are as of the 2022 World Cup, with active players noted.

The record holder: Lionel Messi and 26 appearances

Messi’s 26 came across five World Cups, from a substitute debut in 2006 to lifting the trophy as captain in 2022. His deep runs mattered as much as his longevity: reaching the final in 2014 and winning the whole thing in 2022 added the extra knockout matches that pushed him past Matthaus. Because Messi remains active, the record could grow further if he features again.

The mark rewards a career of consistency at the very top. Only a handful of players have appeared in five World Cups at all, and fewer still have played nearly every match their nation contested across those tournaments.

The full leaderboard of World Cup appearances

The table below ranks players by total World Cup match appearances. Active players are noted.

Rank	Appearances	Player	Country	Tournaments
1	26	Lionel Messi*	Argentina	2006-2022
2	25	Lothar Matthaus	Germany	1982-1998
3	24	Miroslav Klose	Germany	2002-2014
4	23	Paolo Maldini	Italy	1990-2002
5	22	Cristiano Ronaldo*	Portugal	2006-2022
6	21	Diego Maradona	Argentina	1982-1994
6	21	Uwe Seeler	Germany	1958-1970
6	21	Wladyslaw Zmuda	Poland	1974-1986
9	20	Bastian Schweinsteiger	Germany	2006-2014
9	20	Philipp Lahm	Germany	2006-2014

Germany’s long record of deep tournament runs is obvious here, placing several names near the top. Argentina’s Messi and Maradona bookend the list as the two players most identified with the World Cup itself.

Matthaus, Klose and the chasing pack

Lothar Matthaus set the standard, playing in five tournaments and starring in West Germany’s 1990 triumph. Miroslav Klose sits third with 24 appearances and separately holds the record for the most World Cup goals with 16, a reminder that longevity and scoring can go hand in hand. Paolo Maldini, one of the finest defenders ever, reached 23 without ever winning the trophy, one of the tournament’s enduring near-misses.

The other record: most tournaments played

Appearances count individual matches, but a related honor tracks how many World Cups a player featured in at all. That record is 5, shared by a select group that includes Antonio Carbajal, Rafael Marquez, Lothar Matthaus, Andres Guardado, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Carbajal, a Mexican goalkeeper, was the first to reach five, spanning 1950 to 1966, and Marquez later matched him as an outfield player. For the scoring side of tournament history, see our leaderboard on the most World Cup goals and the record for the most goals in a World Cup match.

Why the record matters

Because the World Cup comes only every four years, appearance totals compress an entire international career into a small number of tournaments. Reaching 26, as Messi did, means playing at an elite level across two decades and going deep in the knockout rounds more than once. For more on football’s biggest moments, our list of the fastest goal in World Cup history captures the tournament’s sharpest edges, and the most Champions League goals leaderboard tracks the club-level scoring greats.

The short version: Lionel Messi holds the record for the most World Cup appearances with 26, passing Lothar Matthaus (25) at the 2022 tournament, with Miroslav Klose (24) third. A separate mark, most tournaments played, stands at 5 and is shared by several legends. As of the 2022 World Cup, Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the active players still on the list.