From Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt to Wayne Rooney’s stamp, discover which players and teams have received the most red cards in FIFA World Cup history.
Players With the Most Red Cards in World Cup History
Across its storied history, 174 players have been sent off in the FIFA World Cup, but only two of them have seen red more than once: Rigobert Song of Cameroon and Zinedine Zidane of France.
At just 17 years old, Song received a surprise call-up to Henri Michel’s Cameroon squad for the 1994 tournament in the United States. After playing in the opener against Sweden, he was sent off in their next match against Brazil. He remains the youngest player ever sent off in a World Cup (17y 358d), and he is still the only teenager to receive a red card in the tournament.
His second dismissal came four years later, in Cameroon’s final group game at the 1998 World Cup — a 1-1 draw with Chile that saw the Indomitable Lions fail to advance.
Zidane received the first of his two red cards in that same 1998 tournament, sent off in France’s second group game against Saudi Arabia for a stamp on Fuad Anwar.
That did not stop the French number 10 leaving his – ahem – stamp on the tournament. He went on to score twice in the final as France lifted the World Cup on home soil.
His second red card, however, was as infamous as they come. In the 2006 World Cup final, Zidane was sent off in extra-time for headbutting Marco Materazzi. It was the last act of his professional career, as France went on to lose the final to Italy on penalties.
Red Cards in the World Cup Final
Zidane’s red card against Italy in 2006 is one of five red cards shown in a men’s FIFA World Cup final. Here’s the full list:
Pedro Monzón – Argentina vs West Germany, 1990 Gustavo Dezotti – Argentina vs West Germany, 1990 Marcel Desailly – France vs Brazil, 1998 Zinedine Zidane – France vs Italy, 2006 John Heitinga – Netherlands vs Spain, 2010The double sending off of Argentina’s Pedro Monzon and Gustavo Dezotti against West Germany in 1990 came in what is often cited as one of the most cynical and ugliest World Cup finals. It is one of 14 World Cup games where one team has seen two players sent off.
Of the five red cards in finals, only Desailly ended the match on the winning side.
Teams With the Most Red Cards in World Cup History
Despite being closely associated with attacking brilliance, Brazil top the all-time list for most red cards in World Cup history across the men’s tournament:
Brazil: 11 Argentina: 10 Cameroon: 9 Uruguay: 9 Netherlands: 8 Italy: 8 Germany: 8 Portugal: 6 Mexico: 6 France: 6 Hungary: 5Brazil’s high tally partly reflects the fact they’ve played more World Cup matches than any other nation. If you’re looking at red cards per game, Cameroon stand out — they’ve received nine red cards in just 26 matches, averaging a dismissal every 2.9 games.
Meanwhile, Japan are the cleanest team in World Cup history. They’ve appeared in more games at the World Cup (25) without getting a red card than any other team.
Most Red Cards in a Single World Cup Tournament
The 2006 World Cup in Germany holds the record for the most red cards shown at a single men’s tournament, with 28 players sent off.
Germany, 2006: 28France, 1998: 22South Korea & Japan, 2002: 17South Africa, 2010: 17Italy, 1990: 16USA, 1994: 15Brazil, 2014; 10
In addition to Zidane’s red card in the final, 2006 featured one of England’s most infamous World Cup moments: Wayne Rooney’s dismissal against Portugal in the quarter-finals after a stamp on Ricardo Carvalho. Cristiano Ronaldo’s wink to the Portugal bench after the incident only added fuel to the fire.
That tournament also saw one of the most bizarre refereeing moments in World Cup history, when referee Graham Poll mistakenly issued three yellow cards to Croatia’s Josip Šimunić before finally sending him off.
Most Red Cards in a Single World Cup Match
The World Cup match with the most dismissals is Portugal vs Netherlands in 2006, when referee Valentin Ivanov dished out four red cards, two for each team. A match so iconic it’s got its own Wikipedia page – see ‘The Battle of Nuremberg’ – Portugal won the last-16 tie 1-0 thanks to a goal from Maniche.
Costinha and Deco were dismissed for Portugal while Khalid Boulahrouz and Giovanni van Bronckhorst saw red for the Dutch.
As well as four red cards, referee Ivanov handed out 16 yellows, a record at the time. That yellow card record was later broken in 2022, when Spanish referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz issued 18 yellow cards (16 to players, plus two to coaching staff) in the Argentina vs Netherlands quarter-final.
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