Five legendary players who broke out at the World Cup

James Shearman

• Updated: 23 May 2023 08:55 CDT
• 4 min read

The World Cup is the pinnacle of football. There's no place better for a young player to showcase their talent.

In every tournament, there is at least one unlikely player that catches the attention of the millions watching worldwide.

And some of them have gone on to become greats of the game.

MORE: The 10 highest valued Under-21 players at the World Cup

Here are 5 legendary players to have emerged as stars at the World Cup.

Just Fontaine (France) – 1958

Just Fontaine was not meant to start for France at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, but he went on to set a record that still stands today.

Fontaine scored six goals in the group stage, two against Paraguay in the quarter-final, one against Brazil in the semi-final and four against West Germany in the third-place play-off.

And the 89-year-old is confident that the current crop of players will fail to match his record of 13 goals at the World Cup.

''13 goals is an enormous total. Beating my record? I don’t think it can ever be done.''

Thomas Muller (Germany) – 2010

Thomas Muller made his Bayern Munich debut in 2008, as an 18-year-old, but announced himself on the world stage in 2010.

He was an important part of Joachim Low's talented Germany squad for the World Cup in South Africa.

Muller scored twice and assisted once against rivals England in a Round of 16 epic, famous for Frank Lampard's disallowed goal.

In all, he scored five times at the tournament, sealing the Golden Boot.

Geoff Hurst (England) – 1966

Geoff Hurst only made it into the England side because of a leg injury to Chelsea and Tottenham great Jimmy Greaves.

Hurst then played well in the quarter and semi-finals, setting up a mouth-watering final match-up against West Germany.

He famously scored a hat-trick for the Three Lions against their bitter rivals, writing his name into the history books.

Michael Owen (England) – 1998

Michael Owen became the youngest English player to feature at a World Cup in 1998, where he was given the chance to shine by manager Glenn Hoddle.

Having burst onto the scene for Liverpool, Owen broke up the trusted partnership of Alan Shearer and Teddy Sheringham - and for good reason.

MORE: The 20 highest valued players at World Cup 2022

England fans will always remember the then-18-year-old's game-winning quarter-final performance against Argentina, in which he won a penalty and scored an amazing solo goal.

Pele (Brazil) – 1958

The greatest performer in World Cup history, Pele lifted the Jules Rimet Trophy for the first of three times in 1958.

The 17-year-old almost missed out on the tournament with a knee injury, but made sure his inclusion was worth the risk.

Pele scored the winning goal against Wales in the quarter-final and a hat-trick in the semi-final victory over France.

A double in the final against host nation Sweden cemented his place in World Cup history, but as we know, he wasn't finished there.