Mexico's Marquez becomes 3rd player ever to appear in 5 World Cups
Mexican centre-half Rafael Marquez is now just the third player ever to appear in five World Cups after the 39-year-old was brought on for Andres Guardado in the 74th minute of Sunday's Group F clash with Germany.
Marquez joins countryman Antonio Carbajal (1950-66) and German legend Lothar Matthaus (1982-98) in earning the accolade for longevity. Famed Italy shot-stopper Gianluigi Buffon was named to five World Cup rosters but did not play a minute at the 1998 installment in France.
Rafael Marquez has played in as many World Cups as Johan Cruyff, Alfredo di Stefano, Marco van Basten, Eusebio, Kevin Keegan, George Best, Ryan Giggs and George Weah have between them.
— Richard Jolly (@RichJolly) June 17, 2018
The victory over Die Mannschaft is Marquez's 145th appearance for El Tri and first competitive run-out since last summer's Confederations Cup. The former Barcelona regular is now also the only player to captain Mexico at five World Cups.
Marquez was named to Juan Carlos Osorio's 23-man squad under controversy following accusations by the US Treasury Department linking him to a drug trafficking organisation. Marquez has denied the allegations.
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