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Every nation has its football legend — but who truly stands above the rest? Join us as we pick the greatest football player of all time from nations across the globe! From Pelé and Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modrić, we're celebrating the icons who defined their countries on the world stage. Which GOAT do YOU think deserves the crown? Let us know in the comments!
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00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're selecting the greatest football player of all time from
00:09each of 50 nations across the globe. This list is not just a ranking of the most talented players,
00:13but also considers their footballing pedigree for their national teams.
00:24Georgia. Kovacija Kováratzkelye. Already Georgia's greatest player, leading the nation
00:29to its first major tournament while becoming one of Europe's elite wingers. Bosnia and
00:33Herzegovina. Aydin Dzeko. The nation's greatest goal scorer and captain whose consistency made
00:38him one of Europe's top strikers. Canada. Alfonso Davies. The player who put Canadian football
00:53firmly on the global map, scoring his country's first ever World Cup goal and captaining his team
00:58to a Copa America semi-final appearance.
01:17Costa Rica. Keylor Navas. The goalkeeper who carried Costa Rica to an unforgettable 2014 World Cup,
01:23where his team topped a group with three traditional powerhouses and ultimately reached the quarterfinals.
01:28The Levante player had a brilliant build-up to the tournament, heralded as one of La Liga's top
01:33keepers. The confident number one carried on that theme by commanding his Costa Rican team
01:40past football giants such as Italy, Greece and England. Australia. Tim Cahill. Australia's greatest
01:47World Cup performer and all-time leading scorer. Iran. Ali Dahi. The first player to score 100
02:05international goals and a true trailblazer for Asian football. Japan. Hidetoshi Nakata. Japan's first true
02:12global football superstar who helped his side reach its first ever World Cup knockout stage
02:16and the first Asian football confederation player to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or.
02:21In Japanese football, one name stands above all others. Hidetoshi Nakata is an icon in both his
02:27homeland and across Asia. South Korea. Cha Boom-kun. South Korea's all-time leading goal scorer and Asian
02:35football legend who became the youngest player to ever appear in 100 international matches.
02:42People call me the best Asian player ever and this is something that I really appreciate to this day.
02:49Since I've retired, I've been doing my best to be an ambassador for Korean football both in Asia and
02:56throughout the world. United States. Landon Donovan. America's leading goal scorer, leading assist provider
03:02and World Cup hero who helped his nation secure its first ever World Cup knockout stage victory.
03:06Donovan closing in, will go for goal himself and gives the U.S. hope. Just what they wanted.
03:15Algeria. Raba Majer. Helped Algeria qualify for its first ever World Cup and was instrumental to his
03:21nation winning the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations where he was named player of the tournament.
03:26After a goalless first half, Algeria surprised everyone by taking the lead in the 54th minute
03:31when Baloumi's shot was carried into the path of Raba Majer.
03:36Morocco. Ashraf Hakimi. Already Morocco's greatest player after helping his team become the first
03:41World Cup semi-finalist from Africa in 2022.
03:56Egypt. Mohamed Salah. The greatest Arab footballer of the modern era,
04:00who led Egypt to its first ever victory in a World Cup match and has been named African
04:04Footballer of the Year twice.
04:06That right wing. Plays the one-two. Gets it back! And Matt Usala scores for Egypt!
04:15Senegal. Sadio Mane. Two-time African Footballer of the Year who led Senegal to its first AFCON title
04:21and his country's all-time leading goal scorer.
04:25The World Cup is a competition that brings a lot of happiness to everyone.
04:30Knowing that, we're going to do everything we can to win.
04:35Ghana. Abey Di Palais. Three-time African Player of the Year and Ghana's greatest ever playmaker.
04:41Nigeria. Noankwa Kanu. Olympic champion whose creativity and longevity define Nigerian football.
04:46Cameroon. Samuel Etou. Four-time African Player of the Year and one of the continent's all-time
04:52greatest strikers, holding the record for most goals all-time at the African Cup of Nations.
04:57Etou! Etou! What a goal! Samuel Etou! Let's hear it for him!
05:05Ivory Coast. Didier Drogba. Legendary striker who transformed Ivory in football,
05:09becoming its all-time leading scorer and being named African Footballer of the Year twice.
05:20Paraguay. José Luis Chilevert. The greatest goal-scoring goalkeeper in international football history.
05:25Scoring eight times in 74 appearances, including four during Paraguay's qualification for the 2002 FIFA
05:31World Cup.
05:49Chile. Elias Figueroa. One of the greatest defenders South America has ever produced, appearing for Chile in three World Cups.
05:56One of the greatest defenders of all time is a Chilean legend. Elias Figueroa. At a time when Pele was
06:03king,
06:03Figueroa won the South American Footballer of the Year award three times in a row. From humble beginnings,
06:09he became an international star.
06:11Colombia. Carlos Valderrama. The iconic playmaker who revolutionized Colombian football,
06:16captaining his team in three consecutive World Cups and being named best player at the 1987 Copa America.
06:21Lovely ball. Valderrama's free here. He can wrap it all up. Two against three. Valderrama going for goal!
06:29And that is why he is one of the classiest players in Latin American football.
06:35Peru. Teofilo Cubillas. One of the greatest attacking midfielders in World Cup history,
06:39being just one of a handful of players to ever score at least five goals in two World Cups,
06:43while helping Peru to its only two quarter-final appearances ever.
06:55Wales. Gareth Bale. Wales' greatest modern football icon, leading the country in caps and goals.
07:01He scored some very important goals in his time.
07:06And he scored another!
07:08Northern Ireland. George Best. One of football's greatest natural talents who won the ultimate
07:13individual award, the Ballon d'Or, but never appeared at a World Cup.
07:17Republic of Ireland. Roy Keane. One of football's fiercest competitors and greatest midfield leaders,
07:22helping Ireland reach the knockout stage of the 1994 World Cup.
07:26Norway. Erling Haaland. Already Norway's greatest goal scorer and on pace to become one of football's
07:31greatest strikers ever. Well, have you ever seen a striker quite like this before? I can't think of
07:39anybody that can go through large parts of a game, hardly having to kick, being a bystander,
07:46and then he steps forward to win the match. Bulgaria. Risto Stoichkov. Ballon d'Or winner who led Bulgaria on
07:55an unforgettable 1994 World Cup semi-final run, ending the tournament as joint top scorer.
08:00Lovely ball forward. Bulgaria have a chance of taking the lead. It's a goal!
08:06Bulgaria. Stoichkov scores. And that might be the goal that clinches Bulgaria's place in the next round.
08:13Romania. Gheorghe Hagi. The Maradona of the Carpathians, whose creativity carried
08:18Romania to its greatest football achievements, including a 1994 World Cup quarter-final run.
08:23And it's down the left that they concentrate this attack. Oh! What a stunning blow that one is!
08:30And Gheorghe Hagi proves his worth yet again.
08:34Serbia. Dragan Djaic. The greatest player produced by the former Yugoslav football tradition,
08:40named as the golden player by the Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro.
08:44Turkey A. Hakan Şukur. Turkey's all-time leading scorer and the face of its golden generation,
08:49captaining his side to the semis of the 2002 World Cup.
09:00Czech Republic. Pavel Nedvedi. Ballon d'Or winner whose relentless energy and leadership
09:05defined Czech football. Denmark. Mikhail Laudrup. Widely regarded as one of football's
09:11most gifted passers and technicians, captaining his side to its best-ever finish at a World Cup.
09:15Now Barthes has to face a penalty from Michael Laudrup. And Denmark are level!
09:23Sweden. Zlatan Ibrahimovic. An unforgettable striker whose goals,
09:26charisma and longevity made him Sweden's greatest football ambassador.
09:30Hardly can quite get that right. Oh, look at that! That is absolutely astonishing!
09:37You won't see a better goal than that this season.
09:40Belgium. Kevin De Bruyne. One of the finest playmakers ever, combining elite passing,
09:44vision and consistency for a Belgium side that reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018.
09:49When we started playing for Belgium, they weren't qualifying for European Championships
09:54or World Cups. Now we can say with pride that we have qualified and played in seven tournaments
10:00back-to-back. Naturally, we're very happy about that.
10:04Croatia. Luka Modric. One of the greatest midfielders of his generation,
10:08leading Croatia to a World Cup final and winning the Ballon d'Or.
10:12Now he'll unleash one! Sensational goal from Luka Modric!
10:19Mexico. Hugo Sanchez. Iconic striker who helped Mexico win a CONCACAF championship and was part of
10:25the squad that reached the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup on home soil.
10:28Robert Lewandowski. One of history's greatest finishers and Poland's all-time leading scorer.
10:34Well, there's an opportunity here for number two! And it's been taken! And Robert Lewandowski scores at the World Cup!
10:44Ukraine. Andriy Shevchenko. Ballon d'Or winner and one of Europe's deadliest strikers ever,
10:49helping Ukraine to its best-ever finish at a World Cup.
11:00Russia. Lev Yashin. The only goalkeeper ever to win the Ballon d'Or and a key figure in helping
11:05the Soviet Union reach the semi-finals of the 1966 World Cup.
11:09During the first half, they had several really good chances to score, but Lev stopped them every single
11:14time. The confidence he had in his own abilities rubbed off on the rest of the team. I believe it's
11:21what helped us win that match. He helped us win with dignity.
11:25Scotland. Kenny Dalglish. Scotland's joint all-time leading goal scorer and one of the greatest strikers
11:30of all time.
11:31He's pulling the way off. There's Kenny Dalglish making the angle for the shot.
11:39Dalglish breaks it 3-1 and he pulls a Scottish scoring record.
11:44Hungary. Ferenc Puskas. Captain of the mighty Magyars. Hungary's all-time leading goal scorer,
11:50the all-time top assist provider amongst Europeans in international football, and one of the sport's
11:54earliest global superstars. A prolific goal scorer with a fierce left foot shot, Ferenc Puskas scored
12:01an incredible 84 goals in 85 international matches. A FIFA World Cup finalist in 1954, he will always be
12:10remembered for his contribution to the beautiful game.
12:13Uruguay. Jose Nassasi. Captain of the first World Cup champions and leader of Uruguay's legendary
12:19football tradition. England. Bobby Charlton. England's greatest World Cup hero, helping the three Lions
12:25win the 1966 trophy. His efforts have earned him recognition around the globe. He remains an
12:31ambassador for the game and a true footballing great.
12:34Portugal. Cristiano Ronaldo. Holds the record for most international goals,
12:38led Portugal to its first major tournament win at the 2016 Euros, and has a trophy haul and
12:43longevity that define one of football's greatest careers. Netherlands. Johan Cruyff. Helped the
12:56Netherlands reach its first ever World Cup final and became the face of total football, changing the
13:00game forever as both a player and thinker. He was an artist who treated the pitch as his canvas
13:06and the football as his paintbrush, gliding strokes in every area of the field. Spain. Andres Iniesta.
13:13Scorer of Spain's 2010 World Cup winning goal in the heartbeat of one of history's greatest national
13:17teams. If Fernando Torres can find him, it's stabbed away uncomfortably to Fabregas. Surely now,
13:24surely now, Spain have won the World Cup for the first time in history. France. Zinedine Zidane. World Cup winner,
13:33Euro champion and one of football's most elegant big game players. Italy. Paolo Maldini. Defensive
13:52perfection, leadership and unmatched longevity made Maldini Italy's gold standard. Germany. Franz
13:57Beckenbauer. The Kaiser reinvented the sweeper role and won the World Cup as both captain and manager.
14:02A superstar in every sense of the word, Franz Beckenbauer's successes off the pitch are as
14:07memorable as those on it. Elegant, tactically superb and a great leader, the legacy of Beckenbauer's
14:14golden career will last for a very long time. Argentina. Lionel Messi. Widely considered the
14:20greatest player of all time, consistently displaying unmatched creativity and skill,
14:24collecting eight Ballon d'Ors and leading Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title.
14:38Brazil. Pele. Three World Cups, football's first global superstar and for many, still the benchmark
14:43against which every other player is measured. He holds the prestigious record of being a FIFA
14:48World Cup winner on no less than three occasions, scoring 12 goals in 14 games at the finals. What
14:59will be the greatest player of all time?
15:01Brazil.
15:02Brazil.
15:03Brazil.
15:04Brazil.
15:04Brazil.
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