# World Team of the 20th Century

The World Team of the 20th Century or MasterCard 20th Century team (as it was sponsored by MasterCard) was chosen in 1998 to honour the best association football players of the 20th century CE. The team was consisted of an eleven-member side, with one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders, and three forwards (4–3–3 formation).

## History

The team was announced on 10 June 1998, in conjunction with the opening ceremonies of the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France. The team was selected in plurality voting undertaken by a panel of 250 international football journalists from amongst the members of eleven-member sides styled as the South American and European Teams of the 20th Century. Those two continental selections were announced a month earlier by the same panel, featuring players who represented natipnal teams of the CONMEBOL and UEFA confederations and would be the pool for the World selection. That meant that no player from outside Europe or South America was eligible for selection for the World Team.
Selection teams for players from the nations of CONCACAF, the Confederation of African Football, and collectively the Asian and Oceania Football Confederations were also chosen by separate, smaller juries of journalists situated respectively in North and Central America, Africa, and Asia and Oceania. They were announced alongside the European and South American teams, but players selected to the former sides were not considered for selection to the world team.
The continental selection All the team selections were sponsored by MasterCard and announced on 15 May 1998.

## Continental selections

FIFA also published the best XIs of the Century for CONCACAF, UEFA, Africa and the Asian and Oceania Football Confederations. MasterCard sponsored the team selections which were announced on 15 May 1998. The first two selections (UEFA, CONMEBOL) worked as the pool for choosing the World's Best Eleven.

### Pool for the World Selection

| Continent | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| Europe | Lev Yashin | Franz Beckenbauer Bobby Moore Paolo Maldini Franco Baresi | Johan Cruyff Michel Platini Bobby Charlton | Eusebio Ferenc Puskas Marco Van Basten |
| South America | Ubaldo Fillol | Daniel Passarella Nilton Santos Elías Figueroa Carlos Alberto Torres | Alfredo Di Stéfano Roberto Rivellino Didi | Pelé Diego Maradona Garrincha |

### Rest of the world

| Continent | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| CONCACAF | Antonio Carbajal | Marcelo Balboa Gilberto Yearwood Bruce Wilson Gustavo Pena | Ramon Ramirez Mágico González Tab Ramos | Julio Dely Valdés Hugo Sánchez Hernan Medford |
| Africa | Thomas N'Kono | Ali Shehata Ibrahim Youssef Emmanuel Kunde Mwepu Ilunga | Segun Odegbami Theophile Abega Abedi Pele | Laurent Pokou Roger Milla Rabah Madjer |
| Asia/Oceania | Chow Chee Keong | Kim Ho-kon Masami Ihara Soh Chin Ann | Cheung Chi Doy Karim Bagheri Kim Joo-sung | Majed Abdullah Kunishige Kamamoto Khodadad Azizi Cha Bum-kun |

## World selection

The formation chosen was 4-3-3.
| Position | Player | National side(s) represented by year | Professional club(s) represented by year | Rank on the FIFA Magazine and Grand Jury enumeration of the top FIFA players of the 20th century | Continental, FIFA World Cup, IFFHS, and FIFA awards |
| Goalkeeper | Lev Yashin | Soviet Union (1954–1970) | FC Dynamo Moscow (1949–1971) | Unranked | European Footballer of the Year (1963), UEFA Jubilee Award (Russia) World Cup All-Star Team (1958) FIFA World Cup All-Time Team , FIFA Order of Merit (1988) |
| Defender (fullback) | Carlos Alberto Torres | Brazil (1964–1977) | Fluminense (1963–1966, 1974–1977) Santos FC (1966–1974) Flamengo (1977) Botafogo (1971) New York Cosmos (1977–1980, 1982) California Surf (1981) | Unranked | FIFA 100 World Cup All-Star Team (1970) |
| Defender (centre-back) | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany (1965–1977) | Bayern Munich (1965–1977) New York Cosmos (1977–1980, 1983) Hamburger SV (1980–1982) | 4 | European Footballer of the Year (1972, 1976) FIFA World Cup Best Young Player Award (1966), FIFA World Cup Bronze Boot (1966), FIFA World Cup Silver Ball (1974) FIFA World Cup All-Star Team (1966, 1970, 1974) FIFA World Cup All-Time Team, FIFA World Cup Dream Team IFFHS Best European Player 1956–1990 FIFA 100, FIFA Order of Merit (1984, 2004) |
| Defender (centre-back) | Bobby Moore | England (1962–1973) | West Ham United (1958–1974) Fulham (1974–1977) San Antonio Thunder (1977) Seattle Sounders (1978) | 14 | UEFA Jubilee Award (England) World Cup All-Star Team (1966), FIFA World Cup All-Time Team , FIFA Order of Merit (1996) |
| Defender (fullback) | Nílton Santos | Brazil (1949–1963) | Botafogo (1949–1965) | Unranked | World Cup All-Star Team (1958) FIFA 100 |
| Midfielder | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands (1966–1978) | Ajax Amsterdam (1964–1973, 1981–1983) FC Barcelona (1973–1978) Los Angeles Aztecs (1979) Washington Diplomats (1980–1981) Levante UD (1981) Feyenoord (1983–1984) | 5 | European Footballer of the Year (1971, 1973, 1974), UEFA Jubilee Award (Netherlands) World Cup All-Star Team (1974) FIFA 100, FIFA Order of Merit (2010) |
| Midfielder | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Argentina (1947) Colombia (1949) Spain (1957–1962) | River Plate (1943–1945, 1947–1949) Huracán (1946–1947) Millonarios (1949–1953) Real Madrid (1953–1964) RCD Espanyol (1964–1966) | 2 | European Footballer of the Year (1957, 1959), UEFA Jubilee Award (Spain) FIFA 100, FIFA Order of Merit (1994) |
| Midfielder | Michel Platini | France (1976–1987) | AS Nancy (1972–1979) AS Saint-Étienne (1979–1982) Juventus (1982–1987) | 7 | European Footballer of the Year (1983, 1984, 1985), Onze d'Or (1983, 1984, 1985) World Cup All-Star Team (1982, 1986) World Soccer Player of the Year (1984, 1985) FIFA 100 |
| Forward | Garrincha | Brazil (1955–1966) | Botafogo (1953–1965) Corinthians (1966) Atlético Junior (1968) Flamengo (1968–1969) Olaria (1972) | 7 | World Cup Golden Shoe Award (1962), World Cup All-Star Team (1958, 1962) |
| Forward | Diego Maradona | Argentina (1977–1994) | Argentinos Juniors (1976–1981) Boca Juniors (1981–1982, 1995–1997) FC Barcelona (1982–1984) SSC Napoli (1984–1991) Sevilla FC (1992–1993) Newell's Old Boys (1993) | 3 | Onze d'Or (1986, 1987), FIFA Player of the Century, South American Footballer of the Year (1979, 1980) World Cup Golden Ball Award (1986), World Cup Bronze Ball Award (1990), FIFA World Cup Silver Shoe (1986), World Cup All-Star Team (1986, 1990) FIFA World Cup Dream Team World Soccer Player of the Year (1986) Honorary Ballon d'Or (1995) FIFA 100 |
| Forward | Pelé | Brazil (1956–1971) | Santos FC (1956–1974) New York Cosmos (1975–1977) | 1 | South American Footballer of the Year (1973), World Cup Golden Ball Award (Best Player) (1970), World Cup Silver Ball (1958), World Cup Best Young Player (1958), World Cup All-Star Team (1958, 1970), FIFA World Cup All-Time Team, FIFA Player of the Century, IFFHS Player of the Century, Player of the Century by France Football's Ballon d'Or Winners, FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur (2013), FIFA 100, FIFA Order of Merit (1984, 2004) Athlete of the Century by International Olympic Committee |