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The FIFA World Cup is the most demanding competition in football, especially for world-class individuals. Not only are they expected to showcase technical brilliance, but they are also expected to be brave, even in front of career-ending challenges. Their innate ability to dribble, create, and score rarely sits well with defenders, who take every measure necessary to stop them in their tracks.
Today, we will take a brief look at five world-class footballers who have frustrated opponents with their technical brilliance, forcing them to commit fouls. Below are the top five players who have drawn the highest number of fouls in the history of the FIFA World Cup:
Stats: OneFootball
#5 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) — 58 fouls
The only European player on this list, Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo has endured 58 fouls in 22 appearances across five World Cup campaigns. The 2016 European Champion, who endured a disappointing quarter-final elimination at the hands of Morocco at the Qatar World Cup, has eight World Cup goals to his name. He is the only player in history to score in five World Cups.
In his first three World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014), Ronaldo primarily played on the left wing. He banked on his speed, dribbling ability, and trickery to get the better of his opponents. Defenders, often frustrated with their inability to stop Ronaldo, resorted to illegally obstructing his runs.
Despite his best efforts, Ronaldo is yet to play a World Cup final in his career. With Ronaldo on the team, Portugal have only played one semi-final, in 2006. They lost 1-0 to France in the semis before losing the third-place match 3-1 to Germany.
#4 Neymar (Brazil) — 60 fouls
Brazil’s undisputed poster boy Neymar has scored eight goals, provided four assists, and drawn 60 fouls in 13 FIFA World Cup matches. Averaging 4.6 fouls endured per match, the Paris Saint-Germain superstar is the tournament’s most frequently-fouled active player.
The country's record goalscorer (77 goals) is yet to represent Brazil in a World Cup semi-final, let alone a final. In the 2014 World Cup, Neymar endured a horrific injury in the quarter-final against Colombia. The forward suffered fractured vertebrae after Juan Zuniga tackled him from behind. He was stretchered off the field and was ruled out of the semi-final against Germany. Without the forward running the show, Brazil fell to an embarrassing 7-1 defeat in the semis.
Neymar nearly took Brazil to a semi-final at the Qatar World Cup, but a gritty Croatia eventually bounced back and sent them crashing out of the quarter-finals (4-2 on penalties; 1-1 after extra time).
#3 Jairzinho (Brazil) — 64 fouls
Blessed with typical Brazilian charm and dancing feet, Jairzinho was rightly dubbed as the “Furacão da Copa” (World Cup Hurricane). A gifted right-winger, Jairzinho featured in 16 World Cup matches, scoring nine times and enduring a staggering 64 fouls.
Jairzinho featured in three editions of the FIFA World Cup, winning it once, in 1970. Jairzinho was a force to be reckoned with at the 1970 World Cup, with him scoring in every single match to help Selecao to glory. He scored seven goals and claimed an assist in six matches, with one goal and his only assist coming in the 4-1 win over Italy in the final.
Courtesy of his 10 goals, German icon Gerd Muller won the Golden Boot. Jairzinho, with his seven strikes, settled for the FIFA Silver Boot.
#2 Lionel Messi (Argentina) — 66 fouls
Legally stopping Lionel Messi is arguably one of the toughest tasks in the world. So, it is hardly a surprise to see the extraordinary Argentinian on this list. Fouled 66 times so far at the FIFA World Cup, Messi is the second-most-fouled player in the tournament’s history and the most-fouled active player.
Messi, who arguably has the most enviable trophy cabinet in football, will look to win his first FIFA World Cup in Qatar on 18 December. He came agonizingly close to clinching it eight years ago but was narrowly beaten by Germany in the final. Messi’s performances (four goals, one assist) were remarkable at the 2014 World Cup and he was rightly awarded the FIFA Golden Ball for it.
He is the hot favorite to clinch the individual accolade this year as well, irrespective of whether or not Argentina win the final. He has scored five goals and claimed three assists in six matches to emerge as the tournament’s leading goal contributor (as of 14 December).
Overall, he has netted 11 goals and provided eight assists in 25 appearances at the FIFA World Cup, emerging as Argentina’s leading goalscorer in the tournament.
#1 Diego Maradona (Argentina) — 152 fouls
Arguably the greatest footballer to ever play the sport, Diego Maradona was fouled a staggering 152 fouls over 21 FIFA World Cup matches in his career. Much to the dismay of his opponents, incessant fouls did not keep him from leading his country to the ultimate prize, with him guiding Argentina to glory in 1986. Over the course of four World Cups, Maradona scored eight times and provided eight assists, forever going down in his country’s folklore.
Maradona scored five goals and provided five assists at the 1986 World Cup, producing notable performances in almost every match. He played his best football against England in the quarter-finals, scoring both goals to propel La Albicelste to a 2-1 victory.
His first was an infamous one, with him cheekily using his hand to take his header past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. The goal became immortalized as the “Hand of God.” Maradona’s second was dubbed the “Goal of the Century” and deservedly so. The Napoli legend left five English players in his wake before beating Shilton with the drop of his shoulder.
Maradona then scored twice against Belgium in the semi-finals to take Argentina to a 2-0 victory. Finally, in the last match of the tournament, he claimed an assist as the South Americans beat West Germany 3-2 to claim their second World Cup.
