8 players who won the most matches in FIFA World Cup history
Germany's Miroslav Klose has the record of winning the most matches in FIFA World Cup history. The list brings you the 8 players who won the most matches in FIFA World Cup history.
Klose has the record of winning the most FIFA World Cup matches. Image | UEFA Euro on X
Last Updated: 01.34 PM, Sep 06, 2025
FIFA World Cup, the grandest stage of the most followed sport in the world, football. Many players just dream of being a part of a FIFA World Cup, but only a few get to play and win in the FIFA World Cup. Here are top 8 players who have won the most matches in FIFA World Cup history.
=4 Matthaus, Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Ronaldo, Overath | 15 wins
Among the 8 players who have won the most matches in FIFA World Cup history, five come at number fourth position with 15 wins.
Lothar Matthaus, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Philipp Lahm, Ronaldo Nazario, and Wolfgang Overath have won 16 games in the FIFA World Cup. You can already guess why teams like Germany and Brazil are among the most successful teams in FIFA World Cup history.
Lothar Matthaus, the West Germany/Germany legend, played in five FIFA World Cups from 1982 to 1998, winning the title once in 1990 and finishing as runners-up twice in 1982 and 1986.
Germany’s legendary pair, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm, played in three FIFA World Cups from 2006 to 2014, winning the title in 2014 and finishing third on the other two occasions. Both of them played 20 FIFA World Cup games and won 15 of them while losing only three times.
Brazilian legend and the youngest winner of the Ballon d’Or award, Ronaldo Nazario, played in three FIFA World Cups from 1998 to 2006. Ronaldo helped Brazil win the 2002 World Cup after they finished runners-up in the previous edition. In 2006, Brazil crashed out in the quarter-finals. Ronaldo played in 19 FIFA World Cup games and won 15 of them, while losing thrice.
Wolfgang Overath, another legendary member of the West Germany team, played the FIFA World Cup finals twice in three editions also won 15 games as a player. In 1966, he finished as a runner-up and won the 1974 FIFA World Cup title, while finishing third in the 1970 edition.
=2 Lionel Messi and Cafu | 16 wins
Two of the greatest footballers and leaders in history come at the number two position on our list with 16 wins in FIFA World Cup history.
Lionel Messi, the greatest playmaker in football history, played in five FIFA World Cups and, except for the 2018 edition, reached the final eight every time with the Argentine team.
Messi won 2 games in the 2006 edition, 4 in 2010, 5 in 2014, 1 in 2018, and 4 in 2022, in which he was finally able to lift the title. Messi has played a record 26 games in FIFA World Cup history and has achieved 0.62 wins per game.
Meantime, Brazilian legend Cafu has the best record of 0.80 wins per game with 16 wins in 20 games. Cafu played in four FIFA World Cup editions from 1994 to 2006 and finished as champion twice in 1994 and 2002, while he lost the final in 1998 against a rampant France of Zinedine Zidane.
#1 Miroslav Klose | 17 wins
Germany’s Miroslav Klose not only has the record of winning the most matches in FIFA World Cup history, but he is also the player with the most goals in FIFA World Cup history as well (16).
Imagine, 24 matches, 17 wins, 16 goals, and one FIFA World Cup title; what an outstanding FIFA World Cup career the former striker had. Kolse played five FIFA World Cup editions from 2002 to 2014, winning the 2014 edition while finishing runner-up in 2002 and third in 2006 and 2010.
Klose won 5 matches in 2002 and 2006, and then won 3 matches in 2010, and 4 in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.