WThere are only a few days left until the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off, and there are several records that could be broken during the tournament.
However, some records are unlikely to change, not because the elite level has changed, but because some rules and measures do not allow for it. For example, Diego Maradona is the player with the most fouls in World Cup history. There are other players who are close.
Maradona tops the rankings: who will follow him?
The Argentine star played in four World Cups (1982, 1986, 1990 and 1994), with his standout performance as captain and world champion at the 1986 Mexico tournament. But he was also the target of fouls when he gave Argentina their second cup after their first victory in 1978.
According to Orr, Diego has received a total of 152 fouls since this type of data began being recorded in 1970, making him the leading player in this category. In fact, over 100 of those points came in Mexico ’86 and Italy ’90 alone, and in the 21 games he played in four World Cups, he averaged 7.23 points per game.
Following him in the rankings is another Argentine, Lionel Messi. Albiceleste’s current captain has picked up 75 fouls in this tournament, averaging 2.88 fouls per game in 26 games across five World Cups.
The list is followed by two Brazilians, Jairzinho and Neymar, with 64 and 60 fouls respectively. Cristiano Ronaldo is in fifth place with 58 hits.
Unlike Leo, Neymar has averaged 4 points per game in three World Cups, while Cristiano has played in the same number of World Cups as Messi, averaging 22 and averaging 2.63 points per game.
That statistic may change if Messi, Ney and CR7 take part in the 2026 edition, but it is unlikely that they will catch up with Maradona, especially considering that progress has been made strictly to avoid this type of situation as much as possible.
In Diego’s era, soccer was a more physical, contact-heavy sport. But now, with changes in rules and regulations to protect players, such as harsher penalties, and above all with the help of technology, with the advent of VAR, incidents like the one with Diego Maradona are decreasing.
Neymar, Messi and Cristiano’s World Cup
Lionel’s Argentina team will be placed in Group J along with Austria, Algeria and Jordan. They will make their debut against Algeria on Tuesday 16 June, before facing Austria on Monday 22 June and Jordan on Friday 26 June.
Meanwhile, in Group K, Portugal will face Colombia, Uzbekistan and the winner of the intercontinental play-off between Jamaica, Congo and New Caledonia. On Wednesday 17 June, Portugal will play their opening game against the winners of the intercontinental play-off. They will play against Uzbekistan on June 23rd (Tuesday) and Colombia on June 27th (Saturday).
Brazil will be in Group C along with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland. He will make his debut against Morocco on Saturday, June 13th at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
However, Lionel is yet to confirm his participation in the competition and Neymar will need to recover “100%” from his injury to be included in Ancelotti’s squad. Only Cristiano has confirmed he will take part, but he has stated that this will be his last World Cup. Without a doubt, this will be a very special tournament.
