Maradona shone in the 1986 World Cup after playing 31 matches in the European season for Napoli.
Zidane made his debut at the 2002 World Cup on May 31, 16 days after scoring the most beautiful goal of his career, in the Champions League final. A left-foot volley, into the corner of Bayer Leverkusen goalkeeper Butt.
The Frenchman played 51 games that year at Real Madrid. In the World Cup, he was unable to play more than 90 minutes and France was eliminated in the group stage.
Maradona in the 20th century x Zidane in the 21st century indicate how the number of games has increased. Consequently, the wear and tear on those who play at a high level and arrive at the World Cup without the same ability to shine has increased. This explains, in part, the failure of great stars in World Cups from the year 2000 onwards.
Figo was voted the best in the world in 2001. Portugal fell in the group stage in 2002.
Ronaldinho Gaúcho was bad in 2006.
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo did not perform in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 World Cups at the same level as their performances in the Champions League.
The exception was Qatar, because the World Cup started in November, in the middle of the season, before the biggest players were worn out excessively. That was the ideal stage for Messi and Mbappé to become protagonists of the greatest final of all time: Argentina 3 x 3 France, two goals from Lionel, three from Kylian.
Messi and Mbappé’s performances against Algeria and Senegal raise hopes that 2026 will be similar to Qatar. If it happens, it will be the first World Cup in the summer of the Northern Hemisphere, in the 21st century, in which geniuses can emerge from the magic lamp.
Messi only has 16 matches in 2026. Mbappé played 44 in the Real Madrid season. It’s a lot, but injuries meant he played nine fewer times than Vinicius Junior, seven fewer than Zidane in the year he was injured in Asia.
The wear and tear taking away from the greatest stars of the 21st century their best performance in World Cups is a thesis, not an absolute certainty. Zidane played 49 times for Juventus in 1997/98 and was the protagonist of France’s first world title.
But his most spectacular World Cup was in 2006, after 38 games for Real Madrid.
Extraordinary in Penta’s campaign, Ronaldo and Rivaldo spent the previous year dealing with injuries. Rivaldo scored five goals in the seven games won by Felipão’s team. He played 33 times for Barcelona. Ronaldo was top scorer, with eight goals. He had only played 16 games for Internazionale, third in the Italian Championship.
Dembélé, currently elected by FIFA, took to the field 40 times for PSG before traveling to the United States with his national team.
If the wear theory is true, Vinicius Junior could have problems. Of all the stars, the Brazilian, voted The Best by FIFA in 2024, was the one who played the most in 2025/26. There were 53 games, nine more than Mbappé, 13 compared to Dembélé.
It’s as if your year is two months longer than the French’s. But Vini feels at his best: “I’m at my technical and physical peak.” The statement came on the eve of the debut against Morocco and his saving performance partly confirms what he said.
It was the best performance by Ancelotti’s team.
Vinicius can perfectly deny the rest theory. Endrick can confirm it. He arrives at the World Cup with 21 matches between Real Madrid and Lyon in European competitions.
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