FIFA President Gianni Infantino mourned the death of former Mexican goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal this Wednesday, who died on Tuesday at the age of 93.
“It is with deep sadness that we learned of the death of Antonio Carbajal, the first footballer to play in five World Cups”wrote Infantino on the social network Twitter, noting that the former goalkeeper held that record for appearances for 32 years.
Antonio ‘Tota’ Carbajal, who played in the World Cups in 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962 and 1966, was the only one to play in the finals up to five times until 1998, when Germany’s Lothar Matthäus matched the feat and competed in the World Cup. Cups in 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998.
Carbalal and the former German midfielder were later joined by Mexico’s Rafa Márquez, and after the 2022 World Cup, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Mexico’s Andrés Guardado, in a list of six players with at least one match played in each edition.
Born on July 7, 1929, Carbajal, who was called up for the 1948 London Olympics but did not play, earned 48 caps for his country’s national team and spent most of his career with León (1950-1966), after joining Real España for two seasons.
Antonio Carbajal died on Tuesday at a hospital in León, in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, where he had been hospitalized for a week due to blood pressure problems.
Source: DN
