6 BOBBY MOORE
Bobby Charlton, Geoff Hurst and Gary Lineker could all perhaps claim to be England World Cup greats, but Moore looked more at home than any of them on football's greatest stage. Captained England to their one and only World Cup success in 1966 but if anything looked even better in the 1970 finals, putting in one of the greatest displays of defending ever seen in the 1-0 defeat to Brazil. He famously swapped shirts with Pele at the end of that game, a sign of the mutual respect which existed between two of the all-time greats.
7 LOTHAR MATTHAUS
Tremendous all-round midfielder who appeared in five finals for West Germany and the unified Germany between 1982 and 1998. Shone in the 1986 side before being given man-marking duties on Diego Maradona in the final, keeping his opponent relatively quiet until he played a killer through-ball late on to set up Jorge Burruchaga's winner. Matthaus, who enjoyed great club success with Bayern Munich and Inter Milan, was at his dominant best in the 1990 finals, where he was one of few stand-out players in a disappointing tournament overall and captained West Germany to a revenge victory over Argentina in the final. As his pace dwindled, Matthaus dropped back into a sweeper role for the 1994 and 1998 finals. Now coach of Hungary's national team.
8 ZINEDINE ZIDANE
His star arguably shines brighter than any of Real Madrid's other 'galacticos' and inspired France to their first-ever World Cup triumph on home soil in 1998. Still the world's most expensive player after his move from Juventus to Madrid, he is also the world's best in the eyes of many. Blessed with fabulous technique, an almost limitless passing vision and an eye for goal, especially from set-pieces. Born in Marseille of Algerian descent, the 1998 victory was a triumph for the new, multi-racial France and his decision to come out of international retirement late in the qualifying campaign for 2006 was greeted with unprecedented joy and no little relief.
9 RONALDO
Denied the chance to match Pele's feats when he was confined to the bench in the 1994 finals in the USA as a 17-year-old, he also missed his chance to scale the World Cup summit when convulsions suffered on the day of the 1998 final meant he appeared a shadow of his former self, and should not really have even played. World Cup success finally came his way in 2002 as his seven goals - including both goals in the final against Germany - took the buck-toothed striker to the very top.
10 FERENC PUSKAS
Nicknamed 'The Galloping Major', the portly Hungarian hardly looked star material at first glance but until the emergence of Pele, he and Real Madrid team-mate Alfredo di Stefano were possibly the finest players the game had ever witnessed. The creative pulse of the great 'Magic Magyars' side of the 1950s, his team seemed set fair to win the World Cup in 1954 having humbled England at Wembley the previous year. They thrashed West Germany 8-3 early on in the competition but when the sides met again in the final, a half-fit Puskas was unable to exert his usual influence and the eastern Europeans let a 2-0 lead slip to lose 3-2. | 
