Football quiz: can you name these nations’ most-capped male players?

Cristiano Ronaldo is Portugal’s most-capped man – but who is second on their list? Photograph: Eleven-Images/Shutterstock

1. Let's start with the current world champions. Who is Argentina's most-capped male footballer?

   1. Ángel Di María

   2. Diego Maradona

   3. Javier Mascherano

   4. Lionel Messi

2. Next in the world rankings, it's World Cup finalists France. Who is their all-time top appearance maker?

   1. Antoine Griezmann

   2. Didier Deschamps

   3. Hugo Lloris

   4. Olivier Giroud

3. England are No 3 in the world rankings, and goalkeeper Peter Shilton is still their leading appearance-maker. Who is their most-capped outfield player?

   1. Ashley Cole

   2. Bobby Moore

   3. David Beckham

   4. Wayne Rooney

4. Next stop, Belgium. Who tops their all-time appearance list?

   1. Axel Witsel

   2. Jan Vertonghen

   3. Kevin De Bruyne

   4. Thibaut Courtois

5. Rounding out the world's top five is Brazil. Who is their most-capped player?

   1. Cafu

   2. Lúcio

   3. Neymar

   4. Roberto Carlos

6. Over to the Netherlands. Who has worn the orange shirt more often than anyone else?

   1. Edwin van der Sar

   2. Frank de Boer

   3. Johan Cruyff

   4. Wesley Sneijder

7. As we mentioned above, Cristiano Ronaldo – the world's most-capped male player – unsurprisingly tops the Portuguese list. But who is in second place?

   1. João Moutinho

   2. Luis Figo

   3. Pepe

   4. Rui Costa

8. Next on the list are neighbours Spain. Who tops their all-time rankings?

   1. Andoni Zubizarreta

   2. Andrés Iniesta

   3. Sergio Busquets

   4. Sergio Ramos

9. Which of these wily veterans has earned the most caps for Italy?

   1. Fabio Cannavaro

   2. Gianluigi Buffon

   3. Leonardo Bonucci

   4. Paolo Maldini

10. Completing the top 10 are Croatia. Luka Modric is comfortably their most-capped player, but who is second on the list?

    1. Darijo Srna

    2. Ivan Perisic

    3. Ivan Rakitic

    4. Stipe Pletikosa

11. Back to South America now, and Uruguay. Who leads their list?

    1. Diego Godín

    2. Edinson Cavani

    3. Fernando Muslera

    4. Luis Suárez

12. Our first trip to Africa now – who is the most-capped player for the breakout stars of World Cup 2022, Morocco?

    1. Ahmed Faras

    2. Mustapha Hadji

    3. Noureddine Naybet

    4. Romain Saïss

13. Moving west to the United States – which of these Premier League players made the most appearances for the USMNT?

    1. Clint Dempsey

    2. Cobi Jones

    3. Landon Donovan

    4. Tim Howard

14. Our penultimate nation is Colombia. Who tops Los Cafeteros' charts?

    1. Carlos Valderrama

    2. David Ospina

    3. Juan Cuadrado

    4. Radamel Falcao

15. Next, it's World Cup mainstays Mexico. Who is their all-time appearance leader?

    1. Andrés Guardado

    2. Claudio Suárez

    3. Guillermo Ochoa

    4. Rafael Márquez

16. Finally, it's the world's 16th-ranked football team – Euro 2024 hosts Germany. Who is most-capped for Die Mannschaft?

    1. Lothar Matthäus

    2. Manuel Neuer

    3. Miroslav Klose

    4. Thomas Müller

Solutions

1:D - With 180 caps, the current Ballon d'Or holder is joint sixth on the all-time list. Mascherano is second with 147 caps; Di María is fourth (136) behind Javier Zanetti (145). Maradona won 91 caps for his country., 2:C - The keeper and captain has 145 caps, three more than Lilian Thuram. Giroud (129) and Griezmann (127) are third and fourth; Deschamps (103) has fewer caps than fellow centurions Thierry Henry, Marcel Desailly, Zinedine Zidane and Patrick Vieira., 3:D - Rooney won 120 caps, five fewer than Shilton and five more than Beckham. Moore (108) earned one more cap than Cole, but both are behind Steven Gerrard in fourth (114). Harry Kane (89) is England's most-capped active player., 4:B - The former Spurs defender has won 153 caps, 23 more than Witsel. Courtois has 102, De Bruyne 99; all of the top eight have played for Belgium in the last two years, including Toby Alderweireld, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens., 5:A - Neymar (128) has hopes of overtaking full-back and 2002 World Cup winner Cafu (142)., 6:D - It's Sneijder, who won 134 caps between 2003 and 2018. Van der Sar (130) and De Boer (112) complete the top three; Cruyff won just 48 caps, but scored 33 goals., 7:A - The former Wolves midfielder, who is now playing for Braga, has 146 caps – some way off Ronaldo's 205. Pepe has 134, Figo 127 and Rui Costa 94., 8:D - In a neat piece of statistical symmetry, Ramos has the same number of caps as his old rival, Lionel Messi (180). Iker Casillas has 167, Busquets 143, Iniesta 131 (two fewer than Xavi). Goalkeeper Zubizarreta (126 caps) is the only player from outside the World Cup-Euros winning 'golden generation' to make the top 10., 9:B - Gigi Buffon retired from Azzurri duty in 2018 with 176 caps, a world record for a male goalkeeper. Defenders Cannavaro (136), Maldini (126) and Bonucci (121) complete the Italian top four., 10:A - The right-back earned 134 caps, 38 fewer than Modric but more than Perisic (129), Rakitic (106) or Pletikosa (114). Perisic still has time to move above him into second, though., 11:A - The centre-back won 161 caps; Suárez (138), Cavani (136) and Muslera (133) are all still active but may struggle to surpass Godín's total., 12:C - The former Deportivo defender (115 caps) is the only player to pass a century for the Atlas Lions. Faras won 94 caps between 1966 and 1979; Saïss currently has 79 caps, while Hadji earned 63., 13:B - The least successful US import of the four, former Coventry midfielder Jones tops the all-time caps list with 164. Donovan has 157, Dempsey 141 (behind Michael Bradley with 151). Howard has 121, and is in eighth place; none of the top 10 are still playing international football., 14:B - He's not the most colourful player in their history, but the current Al-Nassr goalkeeper has 127 caps and counting, more than Cuadrado (116), Valderrama (111) or Falcao (104)., 15:A - The Betis midfielder is eighth on the all-time global list with 179 caps, two clear of Suárez. Ochoa has 148 caps and counting, while Márquez won 147. Mexico have 17 male footballers on 100 caps or more, a record matched only by the USA and Saudi Arabia., 16:A - The versatile midfielder/sweeper won 150 caps between 1980 and 2000. Klose has 137 caps, with Müller (126) and Neuer (117) the most-capped active players.

Scores

1. 15 and above.

   Unbelievable performance! A statue is in the works ...

2. 10 and above.

   Excellent work – you're heading for a century of caps

3. 5 and above.

   Well played – a World Cup squad place awaits

4. 0 and above.

   Hard luck – you're a one-cap wonder this time