The best players never to win the World Cup

The World Cup is the one prize that eluded some of the finest players ever to play the game.

• Johan Cruyff — lost the 1974 final with the Netherlands
• Ferenc Puskás — runner-up with Hungary in 1954
• Eusébio — Portugal's 1966 star, third place his best
• Paolo Maldini — four tournaments, a 1994 final defeat, no title
• Cristiano Ronaldo — five World Cups, never past the semi-finals' edge
• Robert Lewandowski — one of the great strikers, no deep run

Lionel Messi finally escaped this list in 2022. Who might join — or leave — it in 2026?