There was a staggering 39-centimetre height gap between Serbia and Montenegro striker Nikola Zigic (2.02 metres) and Côte d’Ivoire winger Bakary Kone (1.63m) when they met at Germany 2006 – the biggest between opponents ever recorded in the World Cup.
Curiously, the next three biggest also occurred 20 years ago. Indeed, 36-centimetre gaps split Zigic and Athur Boka (1.66m) in the same game, Trinidad and Tobago’s Dennis Lawrence (2.01m) and England’s Aaron Lennon (1.65m), and Germany’s Per Mertesacker (1.98m) and Ecuador’s Christian Lara (1.62m). The latter is the shortest player to appear in the competition this century.
Tallest players in World Cup history
Tallest outfield players in World Cup history
Little and large
