Which player has played in the most FIFA World Cup matches?

Lothar Matthäus is the player with the most games played (25) at the FIFA World Cup, and one of only three along with the Mexicans Antonio Carbajal and Rafael Márquez to have entered the field in five different tournaments. Additionally, Matthäus, Carbajal, Márquez and Gianluigi Buffon are the only players to have made the final squad for five different tournaments.

After captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Lothar Matthäus lifted the World Cup trophy and named European Footballer of the Year. In 1991, he was named the first ever FIFA World Player of the Year, and remains the only German to have received the award.