Picking a Premier League XI of World Cup Winners
How many players have won the World Cup while playing their club football in the Premier League?
Only they have been counted here. That means no Thierry Henry, Gerard Pique, who won it either before or after playing in England.
Here's select XI of players who have brought a World Cup medal back to the Premier League...
Hugo Lloris (GK)
Premier League Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Hugo Lloris was the France captain who lifted the 2018 World Cup trophy aloft in Moscow, having kept goal as Les Bleus ran riot in a 4-2 victory over Croatia.
The Spurs stopper, who moved to English football from Lyon in 2012, was actually at fault in the final for Croatia’s second goal, getting dispossessed with the ball at his feet.
Frank Leboeuf (DF)
Premier League Club: Chelsea
Frank Leboeuf became an infamous cult star following an appearance on panel show They Think It’s All Over, courtesy of his reminder that he is in fact a World Cup winner.
The Chelsea centre-back was a back-up player in France’s 1998 squad, but was given the nod to start the final against Brazil when Laurent Blanc was suspended after a red card in the last four.
Per Mertesacker (DF)
Premier League Club: Arsenal
Per Mertesacker reached a century of international caps for Germany during the 2014 World Cup, playing every minute of his country’s first four games at the tournament.
But the towering defender lost his place for the quarter-final as a result of a reshuffle and only then appeared as a substitute in the semi-final and final.
Benjamin Mendy (DF)
Premier League Club: Manchester City
Benjamin Mendy was named in France’s 2018 World Cup squad, despite injury ruling him out of most of the preceding campaign with Manchester City.
Mendy’s only appearance came off the bench in the dead rubber against Denmark, yet he is one of only three defenders to have won a World Cup medal while a Premier League player.
Paul Pogba (CM)
Premier League Club: Manchester United
A key part of France’s World Cup triumph in 2018, Paul Pogba became the first Manchester United player to win the tournament while under contract at Old Trafford since 1966.
Pogba scored France’s crucial third goal in the final to really take the game beyond Croatia, firing in with his left foot from the edge of the penalty after an initial effort was blocked.
N’Golo Kante (CM)
Premier League Club: Chelsea
The 2018 World Cup capped off an incredible three years for N’Golo Kante, which had already included back-to-back Premier League titles with Leicester and Chelsea, plus individual awards.
Although an ever-present in France’s first six games, Kante actually only lasted 55 minutes of the final against Croatia because he was suffering with illness.
Emmanuel Petit (CM)
Premier League Club: Arsenal
Despite emerging as a star in the early 1990s with Monaco and making his international breakthrough, Emmanuel Petit had only recently returned to the France setup in 1998.
His performances on home soil followed on from his crucial role in Arsenal’s 1997/98 domestic double and he capped off an incredible personal season by scoring in the World Cup final.
Mesut Ozil (AM)
Premier League Club: Arsenal
Coming at the end of his first Premier League season with Arsenal following a club record move from Real Madrid in 2013, Mesut Ozil started every game for Germany at the 2014 World Cup.
Andre Schurrle (RF)
Premier League Club: Chelsea
Andre Schurrle became Germany’s go-to substitute in the latter stages of the 2014 World Cup, valued for his versatility and emerging from the bench in every knockout game.
That included the final, for which Schurrle was a first half replacement for the concussed Christoph Kramer. He also netted twice in the 7-1 semi-final annihilation of Germany.
Fernando Torres (ST)
Premier League Club: Liverpool
Star of Euro 2008, Fernando Torres was only a substitute when Spain kicked off the 2010 World Cup with a surprise defeat to Switzerland.
The Liverpool number nine came into the side after that alongside David Villa, although he was once more relegated to the bench for the semi-final against Germany and final against Netherlands.
Lukas Podolski (LF)
Premier League Club: Arsenal
Lukas Podolski enjoyed more prominent roles for Germany at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, but it was in 2014 that the Polish-born forward secured a winner’s medal.
Podolski was playing his club football for Arsenal at the time following a 2012 move from boyhood club Köln, staying until 2015 when he moved on to Galatasaray.
Cesc Fabregas, Patrick Vieira (both Arsenal) and Pepe Reina (Liverpool) are the only other players to have won a World Cup medal while at a Premier League club.
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