Ranking 10 Stars Who Might Play in Their Last World Cup

With the knockout stages underway, here are 10 players who could be making their final World Cup appearance. Let me know if you agree with their ranking at the bottom of the list.

1. Lionel Messi, Argentina - Best Achievement: Champion (2022)
   Messi did not withdraw from international football after winning the world title at the age of 35. Now at the age of 39, Messi continues to set record after record in this tournament. No player has scored more goals in World Cup history than his 19, plus eight assists. He has scored goals in seven consecutive World Cup matches. In 2014, he won the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament when Argentina lost the final against Germany. He achieved it again in 2022, leading his country to its first World Cup title since 1986. This was his sixth World Cup participation, with his greatest rival Cristiano Ronaldo the only other player to do so. The next match will be Messi's 30th at the World Cup, in a career that has included more than 200 international caps. It will feel strange at the 2030 World Cup when, most likely, he will not play.

2. Luka Modric, Croatia - Best Achievement: Runner-up (2018)
   On Saturday, Modric, aged 40 years and 291 days, became the oldest player to record an assist at a World Cup. "He plays as if he is 20 years old. He is extraordinary. He is our leader and our best player," said teammate Petar Sucic. You only need to look at how Croatia performed in the last two World Cups to understand his legacy. In 2018, Croatia surprised everyone by reaching the final, where they lost to France, and last year, they took third place - with Modric's standout performance as a 37-year-old against Brazil in the quarter-finals. For a country with a population of less than four million, Croatia's run at the recent World Cup has been nothing short of extraordinary.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal - Best Achievement: Semi-final (2006)
   The World Cup remains the only major trophy Ronaldo has yet to win. No player has more international caps (231) or goals (145) than the 41-year-old, who made his debut for Portugal in 2003. In 2016, he led his country to success at the European Championship, but this was his sixth World Cup appearance and he had never gone beyond the semi-finals in his first appearance in 2006. However, his record of 10 goals in 25 World Cup appearances is impressive and so is being the only player to score. goals in six World Cups - although Portugal's emphasis on playing around him is often the subject of much discussion. Ronaldo knows this may be his last chance to win the World Cup. "I'm back," he said, after scoring twice against Uzbekistan last week. Back, but for how long?

4. Manuel Neuer, Germany - Best Achievement: Champion (2014)
   It is easy to judge Neuer based on his performances in recent weeks, which have been far from convincing, but there is a reason why Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has asked him to come out of international retirement. The Bayern Munich goalkeeper is one of the greatest of all time. Neuer, 40, won the World Cup with Germany in 2014 and picked up the Golden Glove that summer. This is his fifth World Cup and during that time, he has played for his country 23 times in the final, since his debut in 2010. This unforgettable tournament with Germany crashing out in the last 32 may tarnish his World Cup legacy, but he will forever be remembered as the World Cup winner in 2014.

1. Neymar, Brazil - Best Achievement: Semi-final (2014)
   The first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Neymar at the World Cup is Brazil's campaign in his homeland in 2014. At that time, the 22-year-old Neymar carried the burden for the country by scoring four goals in five games, before his tournament came to a painful end when he suffered a spinal fracture in the quarter-finals. Brazil were then betrayed with a 7-1 defeat by Germany in the semi-finals. In 2018 and 2022, he scored twice in each tournament, with Brazil exiting at the quarter-final stage. At 34, and against all odds given his injury problems since 2022, the chance to win the World Cup for his country is still there and the tears that flowed from Neymar after returning for Brazil against Scotland spoke volumes. He may no longer be a major player, but his childhood dream is still possible for a player who has eight goals and four assists in 14 World Cup games.

2. Kevin de Bruyne, Belgium - Best Achievement: Semi-final (2018)
   De Bruyne was part of the Belgian Golden Generation that never really made it. A quarter-final exit in 2014 was followed by a semi-final defeat in 2018 before Belgium were knocked out in the group stages in 2022. Rudi Garcia's team faced Egypt in the last 32, knowing that a possible meeting with the United States awaited. Now 35, De Bruyne is playing in his fourth World Cup and has scored in three of those four, with four assists, in 16 appearances.

3. Virgil van Dijk, Netherlands - Best Achievement: Quarter-finals (2022)
   It may be surprising that Van Dijk has only made eight appearances for his country at the World Cup, but the Netherlands did not qualify for the 2018 tournament - the year he moved to Liverpool. The Netherlands impressed in 2022, where they were knocked out on penalties by eventual winners Argentina in the quarter-finals. And in three games this year, they have scored as many goals as they did in the five games in Qatar - although they have also conceded the same number as in 2022. Van Dijk, the Netherlands captain, opened his tournament with a goal but ended with a penalty shootout defeat against Morocco in the last 32. At 34, will this be Van Dijk's last World Cup appearance?

4. Mohamed Salah, Egypt - Best Achievement: Round of 32 (2026)*
   When Egypt beat New Zealand to almost guarantee their place in the last 32, it was their first World Cup win since 1934 and Salah was instrumental with a goal and assist in the second half. It was the 34-year-old's second time in the final, after Egypt previously qualified in 2018, ending a 38-year drought, before missing out in 2022. In Russia, an unfit Salah scored twice, but his country lost all three group games. His overall World Cup totals are three goals and two assists in five games. Salah's Egypt will face Australia on Friday for a place in the last 16 which could see him face off against Messi.

5. Son Heung-min, South Korea - Best Achievement: Round of 16 (2022)
   No South Korean player has scored more goals than Son (three) at the World Cup or played more World Cup matches (13) than the 33-year-old. However, this World Cup is over for his country. The former Spurs man may get another chance in four years, but he is no longer the force he once was, as shown by his performance in the group stage, where he failed to score or provide an assist. Son was left out of the starting XI for the final group game.

6. Sadio Mane, Senegal - Best Achievement: Round of 16 (2022)
   Prior to 2018, Senegal's only World Cup appearance was in 2002. With Mane, they have qualified for the last three World Cups. The 34-year-old scored his only goal at the World Cup in 2018, but a knee injury prevented him from the 2022 tournament, when Senegal was knocked out in the last 16. It came after he scored the winning penalty against Egypt in a playoff that helped his country qualify for the tournament in Qatar. Like Salah, it would be hard to imagine the former Liverpool man in the 2030 tournament. Senegal will face Belgium on Wednesday for a place in the last 16.

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