00:00Resplendent Ronaldo!
00:02Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 legendary player performances at the World
00:07Cup that have truly stood the test of time.
00:09And here comes Hurst, he's got some fiddler on the pitch, they think it's all over! It is down!
00:16Number 10. Kylian Mbappe's breakout masterclass vs. Argentina
00:20Watch him go!
00:21Although he would be doomed to lose to Argentina four years later, despite another great display, Kylian Mbappe had his
00:27true breakout performance in 2018.
00:29For such a young player, Mbappe had a presence on the pitch that was far beyond his years.
00:33He's the one, he's the difference, he's the match-winner.
00:36This match-up took place in the last-16 knockout phase, an early collision between two heavyweights.
00:41For as much as most fans would have preferred to see them meet a little later in the campaign, Mbappe
00:45showed up and put on a performance worthy of a World Cup final.
00:48Two goals and some huge solo moments left no doubt over his place as one of the future stars of
00:53football.
00:53Bringing home the overall trophy later in the tournament only sealed the deal.
00:56Giroud gets it through! He's done it again! The boy wonder!
01:03Number 9. Garincha steps up against England
01:05It's Garincha!
01:06In the absence of the mighty Pele, Brazil would have been in all kinds of trouble in 1962 if someone
01:11didn't step up.
01:12Thankfully, Garincha was ready to make his own push for greatness, filling in for the national talisman by leading his
01:17country to a second consecutive World Cup trophy.
01:19His standout performance was a quarter-final showdown with Bobby Charlton and England.
01:24Garincha was truly on fire from the get-go, opening the scoring in the 31st minute before answering the English
01:29equalizer with a second goal.
01:31He shoots! It's there! Spring it is beaten! 3-1!
01:34By the end, Brazil won the game 3-1 and Garincha had turned in a performance that became the stuff
01:38of legend.
01:39And so the Brazilian side go to the semi-finals.
01:42Number 8. Gerd Müller's semi-final double versus Italy
01:45The 1970 semi-final between West Germany and Italy is often called the game of the century, and Gerd Müller
01:50was the man right at the center of the action.
01:52Italy led 1-0 for the majority of the game, but when the floodgates opened, things really opened up.
01:56This is Müller! And he's done it again! Gerd Müller scores his ninth goal of this World Cup!
02:04The German equalizer sent both teams an extra time with the score at 1-1.
02:08This is Müller! 3-3!
02:13This rollercoaster of a semi-final is back on level terms again!
02:17From there, the game truly opened up. First, the Germans went ahead, thanks to Müller.
02:22Then, after Italy pulled one back, they doubled down, going 3-2 up.
02:25Müller, in a show of heroics, once again found the net, although a late Italian goal from Gianni Rivera sealed
02:30the win.
02:30Even though it was a loss, Gerd Müller became a legend with this one.
02:34That's it! It's all over! An epic semi-final!
02:38Number 7. Jeff Hurst's historic hat trick in the World Cup Final versus West Germany.
02:43Considering the consistent strength of English football and its continuing cultural relevance over the years,
02:47it might be surprising to some of you to know they've only ever won a single World Cup.
02:51We knew that we were a very, very difficult team to beat.
02:54We had tremendous character in the team, great manager.
02:57And really, it was one thing, I think many other teams, with a great German team scoring the equalizer,
03:03many teams could probably have crumbled. The momentum was with Germany.
03:06But because of the strength of the team and the strength of the character of the team, very quickly we
03:11brushed it off.
03:11Jeff Hurst produced the first hat trick ever scored in a men's World Cup Final during England's dramatic 4-2
03:16victory over West Germany in 1966.
03:19The game went into extra time after finding itself in a stalemate through the scheduled 90 minutes,
03:23until Hurst showed up in a huge way to turn the tides.
03:26You've beaten the Germans once, go and beat them again.
03:30Sure, there was some real controversy over Hurst's second goal and whether it actually crossed the line,
03:34but he sealed the deal with the third and the final minute to put the game to bed.
03:47Number 6. Zinedine Zidane's World Cup Final Command
03:50Those who did not experience the Zinedine Zidane era of French football first hand will not be fully aware of
03:56just how good he was.
03:57No stat line could do justice to Zizou's influence on the game.
03:59France entered the 1998 World Cup Final carrying enormous national pressure as hosts, facing the defending champions Brazil.
04:09Zidane responded to this pressure with a performance of authority and elegance that transformed him into a French sporting legend.
04:15France won 3-0 and Zidane scored the first two goals, both with his head despite not being known as
04:20an aerial threat.
04:21In a team that was filled with talismans and legends, Zidane always found a way to stand out.
04:28Number 5. Eusebio's 4-goal comeback vs. North Korea
04:32Before the days of Cristiano Ronaldo, one man led the pack as Portugal's greatest ever player.
04:40You give these forwards the ball in space, let them run for it, they certainly move.
04:45Eusebio had several huge moments that are worthy of mention, however, for our money, his heroics against North Korea in
04:511966 were on a different level.
04:53With a spot in the semi-finals up for grabs, the North Koreans stormed to a shocking 3-0 lead,
04:58putting the possibility of a huge upset well within reach.
05:01Eusebio refused to let his team crash out like that though, scoring four goals to help his side eventually win
05:065-3.
05:16Not only was this one of the greatest individual performances in World Cup history, it was also arguably one of
05:21the most dramatic comebacks ever seen on a football pitch.
05:27Number 4. Ronaldo Nazario's redemption double vs. Germany
05:30An opportunity for Ronaldo to get on the ball on the halfway line for Brazil.
05:34Medical woes left the great Ronaldo facing some real problems by the time the 1998 World Cup final day came.
05:39In fact, there were doubts over whether he could even start in that showdown with France.
05:43He did, but couldn't stop Zinedine Zidane from leading his side to a 3-0 win.
05:46Jump forward to 2002 and Ronaldo has redemption on his mind.
05:51Rivaldo! Oh, it's come off guard! Ronaldo! Personal in front! It's Ronaldo!
05:56After leading his team to a final matchup with Germany, he took personal responsibility for their success or failure, scoring
06:02twice to seal the win.
06:03This also led to him taking home the Golden Boot as the tournament's top scorer, and eventually, the Ballon d
06:08'Or for 2002.
06:10Ronaldo's dummy! Ronaldo! It's 2-0!
06:14Number 3. Just Fontaine's four-goal finale vs. West Germany
06:18Under the bright lights of the sport of football's most important tournament, it cannot be overstated how difficult it is
06:23to produce the goods consistently game after game.
06:32Just Fontaine's four-goal explosion against West Germany in the 1958 third-place match wasn't just about that single game,
06:39but more so about the campaign it capped off.
06:40France won 6-3 and Fontaine finished the tournament with 13 goals, a record that stands to this day.
06:50Number 2. Diego Maradona's masterpiece vs. England
06:53Not only did Diego Maradona score arguably the two most famous goals in World Cup history, but he did so
06:58within four minutes of each other in the same match.
07:00He began with a goal and four assists as Argentina advanced to the quarterfinals.
07:05This quarterfinal match with England in 1986 was well and truly the Maradona show, for better and for worse. To
07:11say he was on fire would be an understatement. The first goal was the infamous hand of God moment where
07:15Diego, by his own admission, used his hand to knock the ball past the great Peter Shilton.
07:19Diego Maradona picked the ball up in midfield and, with 11 touches in 11 seconds, cemented his status as one
07:26of the game's all-time greats.
07:28The second known as the goal of the century came just four minutes later and is probably the most famous
07:32solo goal of all time. Maradona dominated this tournament and this was arguably his absolute peak.
07:37Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
07:40Paolo Rossi's Revival Masterclass, the performance that made Paolo Rossi a hero.
07:50Andres Iniesta's Extra Time winner in the final, the ultimate clutch performance from the Spanish legend.
07:59James Rodriguez's breakout brilliance vs. Uruguay, one of the finest World Cup goals of all time.
08:11Kylian Mbappe's final hat-trick explosion vs. Argentina, one of the greatest World Cup performances from a losing player.
08:21Shandor Cochise's Battle of the Burned Double, the highlight from a hugely prolific campaign for Cochise.
08:27But in this mood, they're not to be f- stopped.
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08:43Number 1. Pele's breakout 1958 final brace.
08:51Teenagers should not be able to perform at the level that Pele did in 1958.
08:55Yet when push came to shove, it was a boy who led Brazil to victory over Sweden in the World
08:59Cup final.
08:59Then, in the 55th minute, it was Pele's turn to take center stage.
09:03Brazil won 5-2, and Pele scored twice with a mix of imagination, athleticism, and composure that stunned the world.
09:10It was almost like getting a glimpse of where the future of football was headed.
09:12Pele played with the composure and technical ability of a veteran, despite being a child legally.
09:17Brazil would go on to win 5-2, with Pele rounding off the scoring with another goal in the final
09:21minute.
09:22It would not be his last World Cup triumph by any means, but it was one of the all-time
09:25great breakout performances.
09:27But what do you consider to be the single greatest World Cup performance of them all?
09:30Let us know in the comments below.
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