Three players, 15 World Cup appearances: No other player has played in a World Cup more often than Antonio Carbajal (from left), Lothar Matthäus or Lionel Messi. © Agencia-MexSport / Werek / Sebastian Frej / Imago
He was the first player to participate in five World Cups. Now the Mexican Antonio Carbajal has passed away.
Mexico City – Mexico's football is mourning the loss of a legend: former goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal has died at the age of 93, the Mexican Football Federation announced on Tuesday, May 9 (local time). The long-time international, nicknamed "Tota", was the first player to take part in five World Cups.
Antonio Carbajal is dead: "Icon of Mexican and world football"
"He got sick last week, he was in hospital and spent the weekend at home," Antonio Moreno, the director of the international football hall of fame in Mexico, told AFP.
Moreno described Carbajal as an "icon of Mexican and world football". In his home country, the goalkeeper won two championships with his long-time club León. Later he also became coach of the club.
Carbajal with five World Cup appearances: from 1950 in Brazil to 1966 in England
Until his death, Carbajal was the last living participant in the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. He also represented his home country in Switzerland in 1954, Sweden in 1958, Chile in 1962 and England in 1966. In total, Carbajal played 48 international matches for "El Tri".
His World Cup record for five appearances stood for 32 years – until Germany's record-breaking international Lothar Matthäus equalled him. The 1998 World Cup in France was also the fifth participation for the world-class midfielder after the tournaments in Spain (1982), Mexico (1986), Italy (1990) and the United States (1994).
World Cup hero Carbajal is dead: his record stood for 32 years – on a par with Matthäus, Messi and Ronaldo
The feat of yesteryear was to be repeated in 2018 and 2022. Carbajal's compatriot Rafael Márquez finally celebrated his fifth World Cup appearance in Russia after the finals in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. Curiously, four years later, Andrés Guardado, another Mexican, moved into this elite circle.
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And, of course, the two greatest footballers since the turn of the millennium should not be missing from this list. Like Guardado, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi played their fifth World Cup last winter in Qatar after the 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 tournaments. Messi even crowned his exceptional career with the World Cup trophy.
In the video: French World Cup record scorer Fontaine died
Carbajal's World Cup record and his heirs
What Carbajal had once started, five other players have now achieved. Italy's goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon also took part in five World Cups, but did not play in his debut in 1998.
Most recently, the football family mourned the loss of another World Cup hero from the past: record scorer Just Fontaine has passed away. (AKL/DPA/SID)
