What are your top World Cup performances by individual players (in your lifetime)?

I can only go as far back as Paul Gascoigne in 1990- best WC performance by an English player I ever saw. He played in a very non-English manner if I may say so. He had great ball skills, he understood the game perfectly, passed intelligently and had the ability to change the course of a game.

Zinedine Zidane in both 1998 and 2006. I think this choice is pretty self-explanatory. I have not seen a better player who made more of an impact on any team at any World Cup.

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro in 2006. He is the best defender I have ever seen play, and as far as I'm concerned, he carried Italy to that World Cup win. With Nesta out of the World Cup, Cannavaro was left with Materazzi as his replacement. Not to diminish Materazzi's incredible impact on the outcome of the final, he was better at scoring goals and getting sent off every other game than defending. It was left to Cannavaro to create an almost impenetrable wall at the back. He practically stood alone against the full swagger of Germany's attack in the semi-final and against the best player of our time in the final. Cannavaro not only defended heroically, but he understood the game and played very intelligently. I only hope he becomes Italy's manager in the future to teach them how to play Italian style football again.

If it's individual performances over the course of a tournament you mean then you can't really look too much further than Maradona in 1986. Argentina weren't quite made up of Diego plus 10 pub league players as some historians would have you believe; but there was no doubt that his teammates were nowhere near his level on the football pitch.

Obviously, you have to disregard the 'Hand of God' goal (or at least put it in perspective - if one of your own players did it, you would be pleased he was prepared to do anything for the team), but the remainder of his play for that World Cup was astounding. I don't think before then that any single player had dragged a team so far on his own, and to be honest - I don't think it has happened since then either.

Socrates at the 1982 tournament. A true master of the game, his goal against Italy a triumph of geometry...

Matthaus for Germany, particularly in 1990, was an immense player

Maradona in 1986 was absolutely unstoppable. He made the tournament his own and the unbelievable individual goal he scored against England just about sums up his World Cup.

The best player I've ever seen by a country mile.

Diego Maradona (ARG), 1986.

Sergio Goycochea (ARG), 1990.

I agree with Maradonna being the outstanding individual performance at a World Cup, but this makes interesting reading...

http://www.averageopposition.com/201...-maradona.html

If we're talking single games also, Moustapha Hadji looked like the best player in human history against Norway in 98.

Fabio Cannavaro is a God of Italian football He'd be a fantastic coach for the national team.

Maradona without a doubt. Whatever you thoughts of the man it can not be denied that he put in the single best individual performance at a wired cup. I can't imagine I will ever see anyone like him in my life time again. Such a shame that he seems like a ass in his personal life.

Till this day cause of him Argentina are my B team at the world cup.

Absolutely! He already said he would take the job, but I'm afraid Italy's establishment may consider his inexperience too much of a risk. Cannavaro for me personifies the essence of Italian football. As far as I remember Italy only conceded 2 goals in 2006 - an own goal against USA and a questionable penalty in the final. Cannavaro stood alone like a Chinese wall against the best attacks in the world. He almost carried balls off the goal line. Defenders get terribly underrated on this forum, but Cannavaro in 2006 was the most magnificent World Cup performance, the impression of which has stayed with me to this day.

Great players always make fantastic coaches, no exceptions.

No they don't.

Michel Platini. 82 & 86, although he was arguably at his very best during Euro 84 when he led France to victory. Europe's best player at the time. Worth watching the short documentary on that French team on Sky Sports on demand.

I'd also give a nod to Michael Laudrup's performances in the group stage in 1986. I was a student at the time and we were more excited by his performances in the group stage than Maradona's. Denmark looked like they were going to be unstable until they inexplicably came undone by Spain in the knockout stage.

Wow, thanks.

Maradona was a disaster at the 2010 World Cup, great attacking free flowing football, but the first decent team they met, i.e. Germany, they got annihilated 4-0.

I wasn't sure whether you were being serious or not.

I'm still scarred by Terry Butcher trying to manage us in the early 90s.

I always thought Gazza should be England manager Can't be worse than Maradona

Maradona was a master, argentina scored 13 goals, 5 of those goals came from his individual play, 6 assists, 2 remaining goals almost was an assist that just clipped the keeper with deflection and recieved by his teamates to score the open net. Cruyff deserves a mention, did not win but led holland in 1974.

Cruyff 1974. Tragedy that cruyff and neeskens and the others did not win that world cup. I think they were the best side I have seen and cruyff was sublime through that world cup.

Indeed ! The second goal against GER in the semis starts from him coming out of his defence chesting it and almost pushing totti for the counter .
Talking about players carrying a team ...Baggio in '94 from the NIG game onwards was sublime , until , unfortunately he skied his penalty.

Poor Baggio. He absolutely carried Italy to the final in 1994, but if the French have forgiven Zidane for his moment of madness, I don't think Italy has been as kind to Baggio. It was crazy for the Italian coach to allow injured players to shoot in the first place.

My stand out performers of each World Cup since 1990

1990: Gazza: I remember his performances through rose tinted glasses as it was that World Cup that got me into football. I wanted to be Gazza in school but unfortunately ended up playing more like Vinnie Jones

1994: Hristo Stoichkov-Bulgaria
I am sure he had the sort of power in his shots only previously seen in arcade games. Him and the bald fella Letchkov really lit up that World Cup

1998: Lillian Thuram-France
Might be the most faultless tournament from a player I have witnessed. France were poor up front but their defence kept them in may a game. Thuram getting the 2 goals in the Semi against Croatia seemed to top off his World Cup

2002: Michael Ballack-Germany
Germany had a desperately average team but thanks to being well organized they proved as hard to beat as always. Ballack though was the reason they made the final. Maybe they would have beat the odds and won the whole thing had he been available for the final.

2006: Zinedine Zidane-France
Cannavaro was immaculate but there was something special about seeing Zidance take an out of sorts French team and lead them to the final in his last hurrah. I think he was more influential in this World Cup than the one in 1998

2010: Diego Forlan-Uruguay
Spain had better players but Forlan gave me more enjoyment than all of them. As someone who only recalled his laborious displays in a Man Utd shirt his performances came as a huge surprise to me

2014: James Rodriguez-Colombia
Unless Messi or Muller do something spectacular in the final I don't think any other player can say they have had the same impact on this years tournament

No , Italy has not been kind to Robi , i agree.
Baggio carried that team with class , although it did take a while to emerge at that WC.
Personally , i never even blamed him , he was my idol when i started playing football and he was never replaced. One bad penalty can't cancel out tons of moments of joy to be honest

P.S. Guess my nick kind of illustrates the point i suppose lol