ANKARA
The thrills of the FIFA World Cup thrill, set to begin on Nov. 20 in Qatar, will feature what are likely the final appearances of some big-name players in this latest edition of the greatest international football event.
The announced final bows of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be particularly emotional for many football fans, as their rivalry was a highlight of European football for several years.
Neymar, Luka Modric, Robert Lewandowski, Luis Suarez and Manuel Neuer are among the veteran stars who are also expected to take the World Cup stage for the last time in their careers.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 22nd edition of the top-tier international tournament, will be held in Qatar between Nov. 20 and Dec. 18.
Lionel Messi
Called by many the best player in the history of football, Lionel Andres Messi is already a legend with a host of unrivaled achievements.
The 35-year-old is the player with the most Ballon D’or (Golden Ball) wins with seven (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021), and with Barcelona bagged the biggest club-based trophy, the UEFA Champions League, four times (2006, 2009, 2011, 2015).
Messi boasts the most caps for the Argentina National Football Team in history with 164, and is also the top scorer in the nation’s history with 94 goals.
The Argentine, whose team lost the 2018 World Cup final to Germany 0-1, confirmed in an interview that Qatar 2022 will be his last appearance and international soccer’s premier competition.
He and his teammates last year bagged the Copa America.
Argentina clinched the biggest international title, the FIFA World Cup, twice, in 1978 and 1986.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo boasts more than 30 trophies under his belt.
The 37-year-old has five Ballon D’ors (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) and five UEFA Champions League titles – in 2008 with Manchester United and in 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 with Real Madrid.
Ronaldo has the third-highest number of caps in history with 191 and the player with most international goals with 117.
He led his team to the EURO 2016 title but Portugal has yet to reach FIFA World Cup finals.
Luka Modric
Veteran midfielder Luka Modric, who is 37 and the eldest player in the current Croatia squad, is also the team captain.
The five-time-Champions-League-winner (2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022) is regarded by some as one of the best midfielders in football history.
The Real Madrid player, who bagged the Ballon D’or award in 2018, is Croatia’s most-capped player. with 154 appearances.
Croatia was the runner-up in the 2018 World Cup, losing 2-4 to France in the final, their best showing to date.
Robert Lewandowski
Robert Lewandowski is the most successful Polish player in the nation’s history.
The Barcelona striker has one UEFA Champions League trophy in 2020 – with Bayern Munich –under his belt, other than his 10 Bundesliga titles, which he won twice in 2011 and 2012 with Borussia Dortmund, and eight times between 2015 and 2022 with Bayern.
The 34-year-old is Poland’s most-capped player with 134 appearances and the top goal scorer with 76.
The Poland national football team won two bronze medals in the 1974 and 1982 World Cups.
Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez is one of the biggest names in Uruguay national football history.
The 35-year-old forward is the second-most-capped Uruguayan player with 134 appearances and all-time top scorer for the nation with 68 goals.
He won the 2015 UEFA Champions League with Barcelona and the 2011 Copa America with Uruguay.
Suarez will compete in his fourth World Cup while Uruguay, the winner of the first-ever World Cup in the 1930 and 1950 tournament, will be looking to clinch their third title.
Manuel Neuer
Regarded as one of the most successful goalkeepers in history, Manuel Neuer is an iconic goalie with his confidence and “sweeper-keeper” playstyle, which can be described as rushing off the goal line to anticipate opponents and occasionally going out of the goalkeeper box.
The 36-year-old has two UEFA Champions League titles in 2013 and 2020 and 10 consecutive Bundesliga championships with Bayern Munich from 2013 to 2022.
Neuer is among the top 10 most capped German footballers, playing in 113 matches.
He is among the few lucky players to raise a World Cup as he won the tournament in 2014 by defeating Messi’s Argentina 1-0 in the final.
Germany will be looking to equalize Brazil’s five-title-record as they clinched four World Cups in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014.
