World Cup 2018: 5 greatest footballers who never won the world cup

#3 Zico

The small and slender attacker was known for his dribbling skills and his ingenious playmaking abilities

Zico was an Attacking Midfielder from Brazil. The small and slender attacker was known for his dribbling skills and his ingenious playmaking abilities.

Eighth in the list of 100 best players of the century, Zico was on top of his game in the late 70s and early 80s. Surprisingly, Zico never won a Ballon d'Or but rarely would a follower of the beautiful game deny that he is one of the greatest playmakers and free kick specialists to have ever played the game.

Zico got three shots at the World Cup. His first chance came in 1978 where the Brazilian team were knocked out in the semifinal and won the third-place playoff to end up as bronze medalists.

In 1982, one of the greatest Brazilian squad featuring Zico crashed out of the World Cup when they lost the final match of the second round group stage 3-2 to Paolo Rossi's Italy who went on to become champions.

Finally, in 1986, an injured Zico missed a regular time penalty against France at the quarterfinals and then Socrates missed another spot kick in the tiebreakers to crash out of the tournament.

Thus, the elegant Zico never got to lay his hands on the World Cup.