The 2026 FIFA World Cup is now in the history books, and it was an excellent tournament for many reasons. But just as we saw a new generation of elite young players make big strides in the tournament’s immense global spotlight, we also saw what is likely the curtain call for some of the greatest and most beloved players of all time.
Nothing is ever known until a player formally retires, and even then we have seen some players come out of international retirement when asked. But with a very high degree of likelihood, this tournament will be the World Cup goodbye for four of the greatest players of all time and several others who were among the best of their generation.
There were many “passing of the torch” moments.
The final left us with Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal embracing after Spain’s win, leaving many fans hopeful that Yamal and teenage teammate (for both club and country) Pau Cubarsí can help fill the void of greatness left by the near-retirement of Messi and his generation.
(Photo by Hector Vivas – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
There was also Gilberto Mora and Guillermo Ochoa both playing for Mexico against Czechia at Mexico City Stadium.
Both Messi and Yamal were pictured in a now-famous photo together when Yamal was a baby. Similarly, Mora was the youngest player at the 2026 World Cup, and during the tournament he shared a childhood picture of him with Ochoa, his idol growing up.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s team was led by its legendary 40-year-old captain Edin Dzeko, who was born in Yugoslavia, grew up through the war, and survived the 1992-1995 Siege of Sarajevo. Many of the young Bosnian players on the team, including teenage star Karim Alajbegović, were born abroad after being displaced by the war. Now they are returning to play for the national team. For them, Dzeko is an important figure and playing with him at this tournament was heavily symbolic of the country’s brutal past and hopeful future.
“I am happy because I am the captain of this great generation,” Dzeko said in the lead-up to the tournament.
(Photo by Alex Livesey – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
This tournament was a poignant transition between generations. Of course, all World Cups see many great players leave the international side of the game following the tournament, but never has a tournament marked the exit for such a class of legendary players.
Goodbye To The GOATs
Lionel Messi
Forward
Argentina
There isn’t anything more that can be said about Messi’s greatness. Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, a World Cup champion, two-time runner-up, two-time Copa América champion, a four-time Champions League winner, 10-time LaLiga champion, two-time Ligue 1 champion, six Copa del Reys, and recently an MLS Cup. He wasn’t just great; he was also popular and likable. He was a wonderful torchbearer for this sport. We won’t likely see him again at such a stage as he was in Sunday’s World Cup final.
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Ronaldo never won the World Cup, but he has achieved so many historical accomplishments that make him easily among the greatest players of all time. He has a record 146 international goals for Portugal, where he has won a European Championship and two Nations Leagues. He has won the Ballon d’Or five times and the Champions League five times, the Premier League three times, La Liga twice, Serie A twice, and the Saudi Pro League once.
The 2026 World Cup was not a great tournament for Ronaldo, now age 41, but his two goals in a 5-0 win over Uzbekistan made him the first player to ever score in six World Cups. He finishes his World Cup career with 11 goals and two assists over 27 games, but his penalty conversion against Croatia in the round of 32 was his only knockout goal at the tournament.
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As one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Modric, 40, earned his 200th cap for Croatia during the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. During his decorated career, he helped Croatia’s national team become one of the best in the world with a second-place finish in 2018 and a third-place finish in 2022. In 2018, he was awarded the World Cup Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.
In 2022, he won the Bronze Ball as the tournament’s third-best player. His club career is remarkably decorated. In 2010, he helped Tottenham return to the Champions League for the first time in nearly 50 years. With Real Madrid, he won the tournament six times, a record he shares with four other players.
Regarded by many as the greatest goalkeeper of all-time, Neuer came out of international retirement to play for Germany at the 2026 World Cup. Ultimately, it did not go well as Germany was eliminated by Paraguay in the round of 32. Neuer gave his team a chance to win it with a save in the fifth round of a shootout, but Germany would eventually fall.
Neuer is a World Cup winner with Germany and a 13-time Bundesliga champion with Bayern Munich, including the recent 2025/26 season. He also won the Champions League twice.
National Team Legends
If reports are correct, the 35-year-old captain of Liverpool and the Netherlands appears set to retire from the international game following the Netherlands’ round of 32 loss to Morocco at the World Cup.
As one of the greatest central defenders of his generation, he won the Premier League twice and the Champions League once with Liverpool. In 2018/19, he was named the Premier League Player of the Season and the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year.
The greatest Mexican goalkeeper in history hung up his gloves following the 2026 World Cup when he made just one appearance at the 2026 World Cup when he came on as a late substitute in a 3-0 win over Czechia at Mexico City Stadium to participate in his sixth World Cup, a record he shares with Ronaldo and Messi. It was an emotional moment for Ochoa, who was cheered and tossed into the air by his teammates for his legendary career to the team that ended with 153 caps.
As one of the top center forwards of his generation, Džeko is sure to bow out of the international team following the World Cup, where he made three starts and was held scoreless. But Džeko was critically important over the past 18 months in ensuring Bosnia and Herzegovina qualified for the World Cup. He memorably scored a late equalizer against Wales in the playoff semi-final which Bosnia and Herzegovina would eventually win in a shootout.
For Bosnia and Herzegovina, Džeko has 73 goals in 151 caps. He has also won the Bundesliga once and the Premier League twice. He has also won the single-season scoring titles in both the Bundesliga and Serie A.
The highly accomplished Croatian national team winger was still playing at a high level at this World Cup, and his goal against Portugal in the round of 32 seemed like it might have been enough to propel his team to victory. Unfortunately for Perišić, Portugal found a late winner in one of the tournament’s most debated moments.
In Croatia’s opening game, Perišić assisted in a loss to England but picked up an assist to become the second player (along with only Lionel Messi) to have an assist in four different World Cups. At 37, Perišić might have some more left to give and has not announced his retirement from Croatia, but this is likely his last World Cup.
It’s been a great international career for Perišić, who has 39 goals in 158 caps. He is still going strong at the club level, having won two straight Eredivisie titles with PSV Eindhoven. Prior to that, he won two Bundesliga titles, a Serie A title, and a Champions League trophy with Bayern Munich in 2019/20.
