Football is a great leveller. Not everyone goes to a school with a rugby pitch and not everyone can afford a pony.However, from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro and the slums of Nairobi to the playgrounds of Monaco and Beverly Hills, you will see children kicking a football about.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listPerhaps the way in which football stars have often escaped humble origins to shine in the sport allows the very best to become icons on and off the pitch and truly become heroes of nations.Arguments over the greatest 10 World Cup heroes have kept friends debating into the small hours for decades.Such arguments will continue for as long as football is played. But here, before the FIFA World Cup 2026, are the 10 we think have been the best:10. Zinedine ZidaneOne of the greatest and most controversial players of the game, Zidane won the 1998 World Cup for France at home, scoring twice in the final.Injuries kept him largely out of France’s short-lived 2002 World Cup campaign, but he went on to be named player of the tournament at the 2006 edition – despite the infamous head butt that sent him off in the final against Italy. Thousands of fans lined the streets of Paris chanting Zidane’s name when the team returned home.Having scored 31 goals in 108 matches for France, his talismanic leadership shaped the national team into something much greater than the sum …
