One last shot at glory
For Messi, Ronaldo and so many other modern greats, the 2022 World Cup will be their final act on the biggest stage...
THIS will surely be the last World Cup for some of the biggest names in football. Here, Chris Sutton runs the rule over 10 players who will be having one last crack at winning football’s biggest prize.
LIONEL MESSI AGE 35 ARGENTINA
THE comparisons to Diego Maradona have been natural: for their magic, for their low centre of gravity, for their match-winning impact. But Maradona’s last World Cup in 1994 ended in disgrace after a failed drug test. It would be more befitting a classy career like Messi’s if his last dance could result in him winning the 2022 World Cup for Argentina. The solid-gold trophy has been the one missing from Messi’s mantelpiece. He finished as a runner-up in 2014, but that’s not enough for a winner like Messi.
CRISTIANO RONALDO AGE 37 PORTUGAL
HAVE we forgiven Ronaldo for what happened at his first World Cup in 2006? The wink after Wayne Rooney’s red card? With time comes water under the bridge. He was 21 then, a kid on the verge of super-stardom. Now 37, this is bound to be Ronaldo’s last crack at winning the World Cup. for so long in football, you’ve either been Team Messi or Team Ronaldo. Whichever side you have fallen on, we have been blessed to watch these giants of the game do what they do. Ronaldo has scored in every World Cup he’s played in — 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018. I’d be stupefied if he doesn’t add to his tally of seven at this edition in Qatar.
LUIS SUAREZ AGE 35 URUGUAY
FUN fact about uruguay — they won the inaugural World Cup in 1930, with a one-armed man securing them a 4-2 win against Argentina in the final. Hector Castro — aka ‘El Divino Manco’ (The one-Armed God) — scored twice at that tournament. If Suarez can do the same in Qatar, he will become uruguay’s all-time leading World Cup scorer, overtaking oscar Miguez. from the handball against Ghana in 2010, to biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini in 2014, to marking his 100th cap with a winner against Saudi Arabia to send uruguay into the 2018 World Cup’s knockout stages, it’s been quite the trip. Now for one last ride.
ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI AGE 34 POLAND
LEWANDOWSKI’S childhood idol was Roberto Baggio. As a six-year-old, this kid from Warsaw watched as the Italy striker tore up the 1994 World Cup, hoping to do that himself someday. unfortunately, Poland haven’t always made it to this tournament. They made it the 2018 edition thanks to lewandowski’s 16 goals in qualifying. Now they’ve made it again thanks to his nine goals in qualifying. This is lewandowski’s last chance at mimicking Baggio. Poland will need him to do so if they are to reach the knockouts for the first time since 1986.
LUKA MODRIC AGE 37 CROATIA
HERE we have the winner of the 2018 World Cup’s Golden Ball. It is usually an out-andout attacker who is named the tournament’s top performer but Modric deserved that recognition, even if Croatia could not quite win the trophy in Russia. It was not only his performances in midfield which made him a worthy winner of that individual accolade, it was his leadership as Croatia’s captain. We’ve seen some timeless midfielders grace the game. Modric is right up there, belonging to the same exclusive club as Xavi and Andrea Pirlo.
This is set to be his last hurrah.
GARETH BALE AGE 33 WALES
WALES, golf, Madrid, in that order. Bale (below) loves representing his country more than anything. The 33-yearold is set for his first and last World Cup in a Wales shirt, barring some remarkable push to play in 2026. It’s been a pleasure to watch him play for his country. Some of his greatest moments have come for Wales — marking his 50th cap with a winning goal against Belgium, the run to the Euro 2016 semifinals, breaking Ian Rush’s record to become their alltime top scorer and qualifying for 2022 to end 64 years of hurt. Bale is Wales’ highest ever achiever.
KARIM BENZEMA AGE 34 FRANCE
VIDEO montages of Benzema’s best World Cup moments are short because he wasn’t with the france squad in 2018 when they became world champions, owing to an off-the-field scandal. But he’s no longer an outcast. He is back and is set to surpass 100 caps for his country at this World Cup. Benzema
can be an X-factor for any team and he is looking to make m up for lost time. At 34 and close to retirement, how he would love to lift the famous golden trophy.
THOMAS MULLER AGE 33 GERMANY
Look at the list of all-time World Cup goalscorers and you’ll see Germany’s Miroslav klose at the top on 16. once you’ve scrolled past Brazil’s Ronaldo and England’s Gary Lineker and all the other retirees, you will find Muller on 10. He’s the leader of all the active players, one of the few of Germany’s golden generation still going. Bastian
Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm and all the other outfield players who beat England 4-1 at the 2010 World Cup have retired from international football but not Muller. He’s given so much to Germany. Now for one last go.
SERGIO BUSQUETS AGE 34 SPAIN
DEFENSIVE players don’t get the greatest recognition. in a game that values goals, those who try to stop them can be overlooked. But Busquets will go down as one of the greatest ever defensive midfielders. He won his first World Cup in 2010, starting every game for Spain. if Luis Enrique opts for a midfield three at the 2022 edition, Busquets may be flanked by 18-year-old Gavi on his right and 19-year-old Pedri on his left. That will probably make him feel like a golden oldie, but Busquets has been there, done it, won the World Cup and deserves his due.
ANGEL DI MARIA AGE 34 ARGENTINA
ON october 11, Di Maria was in tears when an injured hamstring meant he had to be substituted in Juventus’s Champions League defeat at Maccabi Haifa. He clearly feared his World Cup was over. it may have brought back memories of missing the 2014 final against Germany due to a thigh tear. But thankfully, the 34-year-old Argentine has overcome his latest injury to make it to Qatar. it’s set to be his fourth and final World Cup and, like his compatriot Messi, he will surely want to make it one to remember.