Italy at the FIFA World Cup game, equalised with a powerful header soon after, and provoked Zidane in a manner that lead to the French captain being sent off. He also scored in the penalty-shootout that was to follow. It was only the second time a World Cup final was decided on penalties, again involving Italy after the 1994 final lost to Brazil. Paolo Maldini is the player with the third-most matches at FIFA World Cups, trailing only behind the Germans Lothar Matthäus (25) and Miroslav Klose (24). This also makes him the player with the most World Cup matches who has never won the trophy.
FIFA World Player of the Year FIFA World Player of the Year The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representatives selected the player they deem to have performed the best in the previous calendar year. Originally a single award for the world's best men's player, parallels awards for men and women were awarded from 2001–2009. The men's award was subsumed into the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010 while the women's award remained until 2015. After 2015 both men's and women's awards