FIFA World Cup 2022: footballers playing last ever World Cup – Qatar 2022 is fast approaching and for many young players, it will be their first taste of World Cup magnificence. But with the tournament only taking place every four years, it could also be the last World Cup for many of the game’s brightest stars. Following are the top 10 in the last chance saloon. Follow 2022 Qatar World Cup LIVE updates with InsideSport.IN
FIFA World Cup 2022: Top 10 footballers who will be playing their last ever World Cup in 2022 at Qatar, Check out
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10. Pepe – Portugal
One of the most hated players by his opponents, it can’t be denied that Pepe is a legend of the game and a master of the dark arts.
At 39 years old, this could surely be his final World Cup for the Portugal national team as he turn 43 in 2026 for the next World Cup.
9. Thiago Silva – Brazil
Another veteran defender, Thiago Silva is still in peak physical condition and performing at a very high level for Chelsea every week in the Premier League.
The Brazilian has won pretty much everything there is to win at the club level and the Copa América with Brazil, but if he wants to lift the World Cup, this will surely be his last chance and could definitely round up his football career.
8. Angel Di Maria – Argentina
Benfica, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus is some European career path, and Di María showed on his Serie A debut recently that he’s still a class act.
The Argentine wing wizard is 34 now and after being on the losing side in the 2014 World Cup final, he’ll be hoping to go one better in Qatar.
7. Sergio Busquets – Spain
For many years the reference when we talked about defensive midfielders and one of the first names on the team-sheet for Barcelona and Spain, Busquets is now 34 and already being slowly phased out for club and country.
He already has one World Cup winners’ medal to his name but can he join the elite group of players who have lifted the trophy twice?
6. Luis Suarez – Uruguay
Suárez’s recent homecoming return to Nacional was a great story but also a reminder that his career is starting to wind down.
The 35-year-old has been at the centre of hugely controversial moments at past World Cups, such as his handball against Ghana in 2010 and his infamous bite of Giorgio Chellini four years later. Can he finally leave a positive imprint on the competition in 2022?
5. Manuel Neuer – Germany
He’s been around forever yet Neuer still feels like a relatively young player if it hasn’t escaped your attention that he is now 36.
The German is regarded as one of the best goalkeepers of all-time but unless he’s still playing when he’s 40, Die Mannschaft will surely have a new man between the sticks when the next World Cup rolls around. Only two goalkeepers have previously won the World Cup more than once, can Neuer become the third?
4. Luka Modric – Croatia
If there’s one player on the list who really could still be going strong in 2026, it’s Modrić. After all, the Croatian midfield maestro is still as good as ever at 36, after many thought he’d peaked when he was the best player at the 2018 World Cup. He ages like a fine wine and will still be one to watch in Qatar.
3. Robert Lewandowski – Poland
His freakish scoring rate for Bayern Munich and his summer move to Barcelona suggests Lewandowski is nowhere near done yet, but he is 34 and he can’t go on forever.
If he were to lead Poland to glory in Qatar it would be one of the all-time great stories, but the striker has so far never even played in a World Cup knockout match and he’ll be hoping to at least correct that before hanging up his boots.
2. Lionel Messi – Argentina
We will probably never settle the great Messi vs Ronaldo debate, but the first one to win a World Cup would surely strengthen their claim to being the GOAT footballer.
Messi finally got the international trophy monkey off his back when he helped Argentina win the Copa América in 2021, and now the 35-year-old just needs to win the World Cup in Qatar to complete his collection.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal
He may not be having the best time of it at club level at the moment, but Ronaldo is still in better physical shape than the vast majority of men his age, and many younger men than him too.
The 37-year-old will still be the main man for Portugal in Qatar and if he can add a World Cup to a trophy cabinet already bursting at the seams, it would be the perfect culmination of a legendary career.
FIFA World Cup 2022: Top 10 footballers who will be playing their last ever World Cup in 2022 at Qatar, Check out
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