Players with the most International Appearances playing in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 will have some very experienced and veteran players wearing their jerseys for the next few weeks in the mega event. Some, if not all will play in their last FIFA World Cup.

The 2022 World Cup is going to be the 22nd iteration of the competition since its inaugural event spanning all the way back to 1930. But, this edition is iconic, emotional and grandest of them all because a-lot of veterans and legends of the game will be wearing the shit for the last time for their national teams. 2022 is ending but so is an era for many legendary players. Many of the players discussed in the list have garnered plethora of goals and assists for their national teams. Some have even set records which will not be broken for many generations. In this list, we will see the players who have the most international appearances coming into FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Cristiano Ronaldo – 191

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo was quoted in his recent interview with Piers Morgan saying, “I don’t chase records, records chase me.” This has been true in many things Ronaldo has done throughout his footballing career. He is the only athlete to challenge Messi and go on toe to toe with arguably the best football player in history. The achievements Ronaldo has achieved throughout his career, no other player can achieve that apart from Lionel Messi. For both his club and national team, he has been an icon and a legend.

Cristiano Ronaldo has appeared a record number of times for his country, a total number of 191 and counting and scoring 117 goals. He also has the most amount of international goals in history while Lionel Messi is at the third position. Portugal has been weaker in the past but this year they are looking stronger with the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias in the team. They will be expected to make a deep run in the competition as it is Cristiano’s last FIFA World Cup.
Lionel Messi – 164

Lionel Messi

The man from a small city called Rosario, Argentina who has revolutionised the way football is seen and played. He is regarded as the best footballer to tie his boots even ahead of Maradona and Pele. Messi has won every trophy imaginable, including the Ballon D’Or a record number of times: SEVEN. The former Barcelona man and PSG winger took Argentina to the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, but lost to Germany in the final minutes. He will also be participating in his final tournament, but will make an all out effort to win the most prestigious tournament and add it to his collection, the 2022 World Cup trophy. Messi has the second most appearances of any player, coming at 164 appearances and also scoring 90 goals since his debut for the country in 2006. Even though they had a rocky start to the tournament by losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia, Argentina alongside Brazil are still the favourites to win the World Cup this year.
Luka Modric – 154

Luka Modric

In the summer of 2012, Luka Modric joined Real Madrid for a £30 million transfer fee and Spanish outlets deemed it to be the worst transfer in the history of Real Madrid. 10 years later at the age of 37, Luka Modric is still the person that holds the strings of Madrid’s midfield and Croatia’s most creative player who has the ability to unlock defences with sensational passes. To many people’s surprise, Modric has also won the Ballon D’Or award in 2018. Croatia has reached the finals of 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia but France beat them 4-1 to win the trophy. Modric will be playing in his last tournament having scored 23 goals in 154 appearances and counting.
Jan Vertonghen – 141

Jan Vertonghen

Jan Vertonghen is the only Belgian to have his name in the list, even ahead of Eden Hazard, Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne. He is the most capped player in Belgium’s history. He has amassed 141 appearances for his club while having a rollercoaster of a career with his team. The most iconic moment came in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia when Belgium were losing 2-0 to Japan and Jan Vertonghen’s goal in the 69th minute enthralled a comeback. Jan Vertonghen will be looking to his best performance at this year’s FIFA World Cup as well to propel Belgium at the top and reach the finals.
Sergio Busquets -139

Sergio Busquets

Sergio Busquets belong to the golden generation of Spain that won the world cup of 2010 with Spain. He has been the anchor and the link of defence and attack for Spain and Barcelona. He has been hailed as one of the best defensive midfielders of our generation. He doesn’t possess the most speed, but his ability to read the game makes himself be at the right place at the right time. Alongside Xavi and Iniesta, they were the best midfield trio of all time having won everything under Pep Guardiola’s leadership from 2008 till 2012. Busquets comes fifth on our list for having the 139 for Spain. His experience will come in handy as Spain has a mixture of experience and younger generation of players who will look up-to Sergio for guidance and move deeper in the competition.