page_title: Lothar Matthäus
section_title: International career
hierarchical_section_title: Lothar Matthäus / Playing career / International career
caption_attribution_description: Lothar Matthäus, Training der Nationalmannschaft bei Bonn
context_page_description: Lothar Herbert Matthäus is a German football manager and former player. After captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup where he lifted the World Cup trophy, he was named European Footballer of the Year. In 1991, he was named the first ever FIFA World Player of the Year, and remains the only German to have received the award.
  Matthäus held the record of having played in five FIFA World Cups, more than any other outfield player in men's football, until the 2018 World Cup, in which Mexico's Rafael Márquez equalled his record in a 1–0 victory over Germany, and holds the record for the most World Cup matches played by a single player. He was the captain of the West German team that won the 1990 World Cup in Italy and also was captain of the German squad in the 1994 World Cup in the United States. He also won UEFA Euro 1980, and played in the 1984, 1988 and 2000 UEFA European Championships. In 1999, aged 38, he was again voted German Footballer of the Year, having previously won the award in 1990.
  Matthäus is the most capped German player of all time, retiring with a total of 150 appearances in 20 years, and 23 goals.
context_section_description: Matthäus was first called up to the West German national squad in 1980, where he was part of the winning squad in UEFA Euro 1980 in Italy, making his international debut at the tournament in a game against the Netherlands. He also played two games at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain; he was brought on as a substitute in group stage games against Chile and the infamous Disgrace of Gijón game versus Austria. West Germany reached the final, losing to Italy at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid 3–1.
  By now, he also had a regular place in the national team for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, scoring the winner in the round of 16 against Morocco. In the final at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, despite his considerable play-making ability, he was assigned by coach Franz Beckenbauer to mark Argentina's Diego Maradona. Maradona did not score in the final, but his pass to a teammate with six minutes left in regulation time set up the winning goal for Argentina, and West Germany lost their second consecutive World Cup final, this time 3–2.
  At UEFA Euro 1988 in West Germany, Matthäus captained the team and scored a penalty against the Netherlands (the eventual winners) in the semi-final to give his team a 1–0 lead, but Ronald Koeman leveled the score with a penalty, and then Marco van Basten slid in the winning goal in the final minutes.
  His immediate success in Italy's premier football league, the Serie A, was a precursor to the national team which finally managed to triumph at the 1990 FIFA World Cup held in Italy. Six of West Germany's squad played professionally there;  Matthäus and the West German squad played most of the World Cup games at Inter's home stadium the San Siro. West Germany was the best team of the tournament and one of the few to choose an attacking style of play, contrary to previous German teams' more defensive style. Matthäus led his squad from midfield and scored four goals, including two against Yugoslavia. He scored the only goal of the quarter-final against Czechoslovakia from a penalty awarded in the 25th minute of the match. West Germany reached its third consecutive final, a rematch against Maradona-led Argentina, and this time Matthäus and his team emerged victorious 1–0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome thanks to Andreas Brehme converting an 85th minute penalty.  Matthäus later said that playing the World Cup in Italy was "like playing a World Cup at home". As team captain, Matthäus hoisted the last World Cup trophy before German reunification in 1990.
  He was injured and unable to take part in UEFA Euro 1992 in Sweden; though a reunified Germany made the final but lost 2–0 to surprise Denmark. At the 1994 FIFA World Cup hosted by the United States, he captained the team but now operated as sweeper. He scored a penalty in Germany's quarter-final match against Bulgaria at Giants Stadium in New York City, which was also his record-tying 21st World Cup match, but the Bulgarians scored twice in three minutes to upset the defending champions. USA '94 was expected to be his last tournament, though he did not officially retire from international play. Matthäus was afterwards not called up for the national team, due to feuding with succeeding captain Jürgen Klinsmann and coach Berti Vogts. In his absence Germany won UEFA Euro 1996 which was held in England.
  Surprisingly, he was called up for the 1998 World Cup in France as a replacement for the injured sweeper Matthias Sammer. He was on the bench for Germany's victory over the United States, but came in as a substitute against FR Yugoslavia and helped the team to a 2–2 draw. He became the second player to appear in five different World Cup tournaments, tying the record of Mexican goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal. In 2014 the record has also been tied by Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who however has only played in four. In 2015 Homare Sawa and Formiga became the first footballers to appear for a record sixth time at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada. Matthäus played in all the rest of Germany's matches until Croatia knocked them out in Lyon 3–0 in 
caption: Matthäus has won more Germany caps than anyone else, 150, and went to nine major international tournaments, captaining the 1990 World Cup-winning team.
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