Ten Top Liverpool World Cup Players

Disclaimer: This isn’t a Top Ten, just a selection of past and, in one case, current Liverpool players who I think are worthy of a mention for their World Cup finals record. Who have I missed?

Kevin Keegan: 1982 for England

Injuries and a poor qualifying record restricted him to just 26 minutes of World Cup finals football

Alan Hansen: 1982 for Scotland

Failed to dislodge an Aberdeen central defence partnership and made a right mess of one tackle against the USSR

Jan Molby: 1986 for Denmark

Part of the so-called Danish Dynamite Team which included Michael Laudrup

Graeme Souness: 1978, 1982 and 1986 for Scotland

A formidable opponent who usually raised Scotland’s game by force of personality alone

John Barnes: 1986 and 1990 for England

Set up Gary Lineker against Argentina in 1986 and repeated the trick minutes later only to see the second chance cleared

Steven Gerrard: 2006 and 2010 for England

While he missed out in 2002 through injury, and failed to score from the spot in 2006, Gerrard may still end his World Cup career as England captain

Dietmar Hamann: 1998 and 2002 for Germany

This clever and much-respected German became only the second Liverpool player to take part in a World Cup Final

Kenny Dalglish: 1974, 1978 and 1982 for Scotland

Probably his country’s greatest ever player, Dalglish’s Liverpool – Scotland link was forever cemented by the headed goal at Anfield against Wales which secured a place at the 1978 World Cup (before anyone moans, I know this wasn’t a World Cup finals match, but I had to put it in anyway)

Michael Owen: 1998, 2002 and 2006 for England

Fondly remembered for his breathtaking arrival on the World Cup scene in 1998, Owen went on to provide some hope against Brazil in 2002, succumbed to injury in 2006, and now looks extremely unlikely to play in 2010

Roger Hunt: 1962 and 1966 for England

Known to Liverpool fans as “Sir Roger”, striker Hunt already had a formidable goal scoring record before the 1966 tournament.

He went on to start every game at the 1966 World Cup finals and scored three goals. Hunt is the player seen turning away celebrating as Geoff Hurst’s shot crashes against the underside of the bar for England’s third goal.

His Wikipedia entry says “Roger Hunt is the player whom strike partner Hurst always mentions when discussing his controversial second goal in the final when the ball hit the crossbar and bounced down - Hurst always says that Hunt, the closest player to the ball, would have followed up to score himself if he'd been in any doubt.”

Coming soon: Ten Top Manchester United World Cup Players