Last Dance World Cup 2026
The biggest football competition in the world is approaching, and therefore we are warming up to present this World Championship to you through our texts in the best light. The Kings of Quota have prepared four series for you as an announcement of what will happen at this tournament, and in this fourth and last series there will be talk about the legends of this game who are nearing the end of their careers and who will play their last World Championship with the national team. You can follow all the events of the 2026 World Championship on our website and the accounts described below.
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Unfortunately, the day comes, that is, the year, or the competition that will be the last in the careers of many great footballers, who left an indelible mark on the football map, and which the whole world knows about. In the last 20 or so years, every child dreams of having a career like Messi or Ronaldo, and every child wants to play just like these two, maybe I, the best soccer players who played in history. And we seniors are so used to what they brought us, and how they changed football in the last two decades. This is the last major national team tournament where we will see these two masters, but besides them, there are several other world-class players for whom this will be the last World Cup.
The first on this list is certainly Lionel Messi. The man is a football magician, one and only, and unique. He simply has football in his legs, and a brain programmed for football. For many, the Argentinian is the GOAT, or the best soccer player who ever played, and that epithet is well deserved. With his Argentina, he won everything that can be won. But let's go in order. He made his debut for the national team when he was just over 18 years old, and here 21 years later he is still playing for his selection, i.e. he will lead it as a captain at this World Championship. So far he has played 198 games and scored an incredible 116 goals. He won the only trophy he was missing four years ago in Qatar, when he climbed to the top of the world with Argentina, and was the best player. In addition, he has two Copa Americas, he was the world champion with Argentina for the age of 20, and he has gold from the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. We will not list personal and individual trophies, because it would take us a lot of time. In the end, it should only be said that the nation expects the world title to be defended, but even if it fails, Lionel Messi will always be a legend for the Argentines, like Maradona, like God himself.
Another, but no less important, is the one and only, Cristiano Ronaldo. The other half for whom Messi is not the GOAT, for them it is CR7. If Messi is one of the most talented to ever play the game, then Ronaldo is certainly someone who is synonymous with hard work paying off. He doesn't lack talent either, but this is a man who is simply a football machine, and at the age of 41, he still plays at the top level, and as captain, he will lead his Portugal in the hunt for the world title, which he lacks in his rich showcase. He also made his debut for Portugal when he was just over 18 years old, with Scolari, and since then he has played an incredible 227 games and scored 143 goals. A killer and inimitable scorer, dribbler, technician who won everything that can be won with the clubs. And with his national team, he climbed to the top of Europe 10 years ago, and won the League of Nations twice. However, the World Title is what he and millions of Portuguese are dreaming about. And this is the last chance for such a thing. Everyone thinks that Portugal is ripe for the trophy, and that it has a great and very strong team. And we'll agree with that, and let's hope Cristiano gives us a reason to enjoy his last dance.
Next on this list is Luka Modric. One of the legends of Real Madrid, and certainly the best Croatian player ever. This native of Zadar made his debut with Vatrena at the age of 20 and since then played 198 matches and scored 29 goals. He has been the captain of the Croatian national team for many years, with which he had incredible success in the last 10 years or so, which will hardly be repeated by any national team from the Balkans. Namely, in 2018, he led Croatia to the final of the World Championship in Russia. The "Fire" played brilliantly then, luck was on their side in the 1/16 finals and the quarterfinals when they defeated Denmark and Russia, and reached the finals over the English. However, in the final, France was too strong and won 4:2. Four years later in Qatar, they passed the group, and were again better on penalties than Japan and Brazil, but they were stopped in the final by Argentina, who won with 3:0. However, Croatia repeated the success of 1998 and beat Morocco 2:1 in the fight for third place. This magician will play for the last time in such a big competition for Croatia, and everyone hopes that they could reach at least the top eight in the world again.
One of the greatest talents in the world, who seems to have never reached his full potential, due to frequent injuries and long absences from the field, is certainly Neymar. At the age of 34, this Brazilian will definitely play for the last time for "Selesao" at the World Cup, thanks primarily to Carlo Ancelotti, who included him on the list of travelers for the USA, Canada and Mexico. He is injured at the moment but should be ready for the group matches. He made his debut for Brazil at the age of 18 and has so far made 128 appearances and scored 79 goals. He was the world champion with the Brazil under-20 team, and with the senior team he won the Confederations Cup in 2013, as well as a gold medal at the Olympic Games 10 years ago in his homeland. The closest he came to the world title was in 2014, when it was also played in Brazil, and when he reached the semi-finals (even though he was injured), where he was convincingly defeated by Germany and then suffered a defeat by the Netherlands in the match for third place. This will be the last chance for this trophy, and Brazil has both a team and a coach for such a thing.
The best Belgian player of all time, and one of the best midfielders in modern football, Kevin De Bruyne, is certainly at the end of his career, and this will also be his last World Cup. This guy from Drongen made his debut for the national team at the age of 19, making 199 appearances and scoring 37 goals. De Bruyne reached third place with Belgium at the World Cup in Russia in 2018, but the 'Devils' will have a hard time repeating that this year. However, the legend of Manchester City, and the current player of Napoli is certainly one of the best who played this game, and it is certain that many will miss him playing for Belgium.
Among these top footballers was one, if not the best, one of the best goalkeepers who ever stood between the posts. The boy from Gelsenkirchen first made his debut for the Panthers at the age of 23 with Joakim Lev, and since then he has made 124 appearances for the first team, and he is still the first goalkeeper of Bayern Munich, at least until next year. This man has won almost everything a goalkeeper could, and with the national team under the age of 21 he was the champion of Europe, but with the senior team he won the World Championship in 2014. Germany can repeat that success this year as well, and that would be the best farewell to the national jersey for a goalkeeper of such a class as Manuel Neuer.
One of the best African footballers ever, and a legend of Liverpool, Mohamed Salah will play with Egypt at the World Cup, which will also be his last in his career. Salah made his debut for the national team at the age of 19 and since then played a total of 114 games, scoring 65 goals. Considering that he plays for Egypt, he did not have too much success with the national team outside of the African Cup of Nations, and in that competition he was vice champion in 2017 and 2022. As captain, Salah will lead the "Pharaohs" in the group with Belgium, Iran and New Zealand, and he has a real chance to pass the group, and we will see how far the Egyptians can go. Certainly, Salah left an indelible mark in European and world football, and it is only a pity that he may not have played for a European selection.
The last one on our list is another player who does not play for the European selection, and that is Son, the legend of South Korea and their best player in history. He made his debut for the national team at the age of 18 and played 145 matches in which he scored 56 goals. He participated in the World Championship three times, but apart from passing the group, no major success was achieved. At the Asian Cup, way back in 2011, he won third place, and five years later he was defeated in the final by Australia, only to be stopped in the semi-finals two years ago. Son is currently playing in the American MLS League, but he will be remembered as one of the best Tottenham players with whom he played in the Champions League final in 2019, but suffered a defeat against Liverpool.
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