The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ is drawing ever nearer – with just 21 days to go! Between now and the start of the World Cup, we will take a closer look at a different statistic from the history of the tournament each day.

21 – Of the thousands of players who have graced the FIFA World Cup™ on the 20 occasions it has been held to date, only a very select band of 422 have had the honour of winning the Trophy. And within that small number, only 21 have experienced the joy of claiming it twice. Not surprisingly, as five-time world champions, Brazil account for the largest contingent of multiple winners. Fourteen of the players who contributed to the nation’s first world title in 1958 also played a part in the second in 1962, among them the iconic figures of Garrincha, Didi, Vava and Nilton Santos. Eight years later, only one member of that legendary side remained: Pele, the only player in World Cup history to have won it three times. As for Ronaldo and Cafu, they both took part in the victorious campaigns of 1994 and 2002.

Aside from the Auriverdes, four Italian players have also hoisted the Trophy aloft twice. Goalkeeper Guido Masetti, defender Eraldo Monzeglio, midfielder Giovanni Ferrari, and fabled forward Giuseppe Meazza were all involved in La Nazionale’s first World Cup win in 1934 and helped retain the title in 1938. The final member of this elite multiple winners’ club is Argentina’s Daniel Passarella, who captained La Albiceleste to their maiden world crown in 1978 and was part of the squad that secured their second at Mexico 1986.