The legendary eleven:

Gordon Banks - Cafu, Franz Beckenbauer, Fabio Cannavaro, Roberto Carlos - Zinédine Zidane, Andrés Iniesta, Diego Maradona - Pelé, Miroslav Klose, Ronaldo

Gordon Banks (England)

The English world champion in 1966 is especially famous for a miraculous save against Pelé in 1970, engraved in history thanks to the aphorism of the legendary Brazilian striker: "Today I scored a goal, but Banks stopped him".

Cafu and Roberto Carlos (Brazil)

The two Brazilians together revolutionized the full-back position by pushing its attacking aspect very far.

Cafu won the 1994 and 2002 World Cups, while Roberto Carlos won "only" the second, where Cafu was captain.

They lost together the 1998 final against France (3-0).

- Franz Beckenbauer (Germany)

"Inventor" of the libero position, "Kaiser Franz" left one of the immortal images of the World Cup by finishing with his arm in a sling the "match of the century", the 1970 semi-final lost against Italy (4- 3 a.d.).

But he also lifted the trophy four years later, at home, when the realism of the "Mannschaft" broke the romanticism of the Netherlands of Johan Cruyff (2-1), then as coach in 1990.

Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)

Archetype of the Italian defender, perfectly placed, always totally concentrated and a little "nasty" if necessary, Fabio Cannavaro is the captain of Italy, world champion in 2006 (1-1, 5-3 on pens against France ) and its symbol, by its exacerbated sense of competition.

Zinedine Zidane (France)

Made history with a double, released on a red card, "Zizou" alone shares two records.

First there is that of the goals in the final (3), tied with the Englishman Geoff Hurst and the Brazilians Vava and Pelé: a double header against Brazil (3-0) in 1998, to offer the Blues their first World Cup, and a "Panenka" penalty in 2006 against Gianluigi Buffon.

"ZZ" is also the only player, with the Cameroonian Rigobert Song, excluded twice in the World Cup, in 1998 against Saudi Arabia, then during an unforgettable red card in the 2006 final, for his whim to Marco Materazzi in worldview.

Andrés Iniesta (Spain)

This attacking midfielder raised simplicity in football to artistic vertigo with FC Barcelona.

He symbolizes Spain's "tiki taka", this whirlwind of passes, which won everything between 2008 and 2012. Iniesta scored the winning goal in the final against the Netherlands in 2010 (1-0 ap), which it dedicates to his friend Dani Jarque, former captain of Espanyol Barcelona who died suddenly in 2009.

Diego Maradona (Argentina)

Nobody crushed a World Cup with his talent and personality more than "Diego" in 1986.

At the height of his art in Mexico, he guided Argentina to triumph against Germany (3-2) and did it again almost four years later in Italy, but the "Albiceleste" lost in the final against the " Mannschaft" (1-0).

He also goes down in history for having scored, four minutes apart, the most ugly and beautiful goal in the World Cup, that of the "hand of God" then his stunning slalom in the English defense.

Pele (Brazil)

The "King" is the only player to win the World Cup three times, from that of 1958 when he was 17 years old, to the attacking football masterpiece of 1970. He also won that of 1962, even if he was injured too early in this tournament.

Pelé can legitimately pose as the best player of all time.

Miroslav Klose (Germany)

'Miro' may not be the most stunning of strikers, but he is the top scorer in World Cup history (16 goals between 2002 and 2014).

He ended up being crowned in his last participation in 2014, doubling Ronaldo (15 goals).

Ronaldo (Brazil)

"O Fenomeno" has known everything in the World Cup.

Sacred without playing at 17, in 1994, he was the unfortunate hero of the following final, against France, where an illness on the morning of the match left him diminished, then defeated (0-3).

The best striker of his time took his revenge in 2002: he flew over the tournament and finished top scorer, with a double in the final against Germany (2-0).

© 2022 AFP