Four players will continue a remarkable trend in World Cup finals as two heavyweights of club football keep up their representation in football’s biggest match.
Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez is set to feature for Argentina, who are looking to win their first World Cup crown since 1986 after their semi-final victory over Croatia. Standing in their way are formidable France team, which includes Bayern Munich trio Dayot Upamecano, Kingsley Coman and Benjamin Pavard (Lucas Hernandez was in their World Cup squad but had his tournament ended by injury in their opening match).
That means that Inter and Bayern will have been represented in World Cup finals in each showpiece event dating back to 1982. The latest version will continue that eye-catching trend as the run looks set to extend to an 11th consecutive final.
The quirk began in World Cup 1982 in Spain, when Beppe Bergomi, Gabriele Oriali and Alessandro Altobelli lined up for Italy against Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Paul Breitner and Wolfgang Dremmler representing West Germany.
Four years later in Mexico, West Germany were once again involved as Bayern’s Lothar Matthaus, Dieter Hoeness, and Norbert Eder were in action, but by that time Rummenigge had swapped the Bavarian giants for Inter – although those players were on the losing side against Argentina.
By 1990 – staged in Italy – Matthaus had taken Rummenigge’s path of swapping Bayern for Inter and this time he was on the winning side for West Germany alongside his Inter teammate Jurgen Klinsmann and the final’s match-winner Andrea Brehme, while Klaus Augenthaler, Jurgen Kohler and Stefan Reuter of Bayern featured.
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The United States staged the 1994 tournament, with Inter’s sole representation in the final being Italian full-back Nicola Berti, but he was on the losing side after a tense goalless clash and penalty shootout to Brazil and Bayern’s Jorginho.
Inter striker Ronaldo Nazario was all the talk on the day of the 1998 World Cup final as he was on Brazil’s teamsheet before being off it and then on it again, having suffered a health scare earlier that day. His Inter teammate Youri Djorkaeff represented France, who won the game 3-0, alongside his national teammate Bixente Lizarazu of Bayern.
Ronaldo did get his World Cup title four years later as he netted twice in the final to defeat Germany, as Bayern quartet Oliver Kahn, Carsten Jancker, Thomas Linke, and Jens Jeremies were involved for the defeated side.
In 2006, Inter’s sole representative, Marco Materazzi, scored Italy’s goal against France and while Bayern’s Willy Sagnol netted in the penalty shootout for Les Bleus, it was not enough as his side were dramatically edged out.
Four years later in South Africa, Mark Van Bommel and Arjen Robben of Bayern joined Inter’s midfield maestro Wesley Sneijder for Netherlands, but they lost out to Spain in extra time of a tense decider.
Bayern had seven players involved as Germany won the trophy in 2014, including Phillip Lahm, Toni Kroos and Thomas Muller while Inter’s statistical run was only saved late on by the emergence of substitute striker Rodrigo Palacio for Argentina.
Inter’s Croatian duo Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic started the 2018 final against France, with Bayern’s final streak continued thanks to midfielder Corentin Tolisso’s 73rd-minute introduction as his nation ran out 4-2 winners.
