The squads in numbers
236 of the players at Brazil 2014 have been called up to at least one previous FIFA World Cup™. Spain lead the way in this respect with 16 World Cup veterans, with Uruguay (15) and Cameroon (13) second and third respectively. Of the Brazil-bound players, Faryd Mondragon has the lengthiest World Cup history, having made his debut at USA 1994. The Colombia keeper was also present at France 1998 alongside Samuel Eto'o and Gianluigi Buffon, who has become just the third player - after Mexico’s Antonio Carbajal and Germany legend Lothar Matthaus - to be called up for a fifth World Cup. Buffon's two predecessors did, however, play in all five of their tournaments, while the Italy keeper was an unused substitute at France 1998. That nonetheless leaves him in line to play at his fourth edition, a carrot that also dangles in front of DaMarcus Beasley (USA), Iker Casillas and Xavi (Spain), Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Miroslav Klose (Germany) and Rafael Marquez (Mexico). Eto'o, for his part, has equalled an African record simply by being called up for his fourth World Cup, emulating a feat already achieved by Jacques Songo'o and Rigobert Song.
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