Players can become a World Cup cult hero in a variety of ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For some, it is being involved in bizarre on-pitch action. For others, it is starring in a great upset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Goalkeepers and strikers have hit the best form of their career at opportune moments, while some cult heroes have captured the public\u2019s imagination with eye-catching hairdos or flamboyant personalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are plenty to choose from, so it wasn\u2019t easy narrowing down the top World Cup cult heroes to this list of 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who else? Guillermo Ochoa was without a club ahead of the 2014 World Cup, but that didn\u2019t stop him putting in arguably the greatest goalkeeping performance in World Cup history to shut out Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ochoa conceded just one goal in the group stage as Mexico made their way to the round of 16. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four years later, he kept a clean sheet against Germany in the opening match on Mexico\u2019s route to the knockout rounds once again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ochoa was El Tri\u2019s hero in Qatar, too, saving a penalty from Robert Lewandowski in the opening match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Only one goalkeeper in World Cup history has been brought on specifically for penalties. That \u2018keeper was Tim Krul when the Netherlands faced Costa Rica in 2014. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fittingly, the manager was the larger-than-life Louis van Gaal, who hooked Jasper Cillessen in the final minute of stoppage time to introduce Krul for the spot kicks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fortunately for van Gaal, his unusual approach paid dividends, even if Cillessen wasn\u2019t aware of this plan before the match. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Krul saved two penalties from Los Ticos as the Oranje progressed to the semi-finals. He has earned just eight caps for the Netherlands since 2014. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Entering the 1986 World Cup without a single cap to his name, Josimar was a backup right-back for Brazil. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Playing for Botafogo, those outside South America weren\u2019t exactly clued up on Josimar, but it didn\u2019t take long for him to become a worldwide star.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Debuting in the second match of the group stage against Northern Ireland, Josimar fired home from 25 yards, which he followed up with a solo effort in the next match. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His reward was a place in the Team of the Tournament and South American Team of the Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite breaking through in Mexico, Josimar only made 16 total appearances for the Canarinho. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until Mois\u00e9s Caicedo scored in Ecuador\u2019s loss to Senegal in Qatar, Enner Valencia had scored his country\u2019s last six World Cup goals across two editions of the tournament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valencia had underwhelming stints with Everton and West Ham, but he has found his best form at the World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ecuador hasn\u2019t made it out of the group on either occasion, yet Valencia was something of a sensation from the wing in 2014, when he scored three goals in his first two matches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Cup\u2019s oldest goal scorer at 42 years old, Roger Milla set the record for the first time in 1990 before breaking his own record in the USA four years later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was at 38 years old that the brilliant Milla lit up the World Cup, scoring four goals as Cameroon made history by reaching the last eight of the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While a member of the World Cup All-Star Team in 1990 and twice named African Footballer of the Year, many will best remember Milla for his iconic dancing celebrations at the corner flag. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To this day, Milla is Cameroon\u2019s second-leading goal scorer all-time, and only seven players have more caps for the Indomitable Lions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Carlos Valderrama\u2019s unmistakeable blonde curls were a sure-fire route to cult hero status. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Valderrama was more than a recognisable hair style, though. He was a two-time winner of South American Footballer of the Year and won Copa Am\u00e9rica MVP in 1987.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
El Pibe played the game at his own pace, showcasing supreme technical ability and finding pockets of space to create chances for others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His brief foray into European club football didn\u2019t work out, but Valderrama will forever be remembered fondly for skippering Colombia at three World Cups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To this day, R\u00fc\u015ft\u00fc Re\u00e7ber holds the appearance record for Turkey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Re\u00e7ber was eight years into his international career when he shone at the 2002 World Cup, as Turkey made a surprise run to the semi-final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Possessing bucket loads of charisma, Re\u00e7ber\u2019s face paint and long hair were part of his appeal as a cult hero. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His superb reflexes and shot-stopping ability helped Turkey to clean sheets over Japan and Senegal in the knockout rounds, which earned Re\u00e7ber a place in the Team of the Tournament. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Out of form at Perugia, Ahn Jun-hwan was coming off the bench for Guus Hiddink\u2019s South Korea at the start of the 2002 World Cup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A goal against the USA earned Jung-hwan a place in the starting XI, and against Italy in the round of 16, he became a true World Cup legend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Korea were 1-0 down to the Azzurri with Jung-hwan having had a penalty saved by Gianluigi Buffon. The Italians tried to cling on rather than kill the game, though, and a late strike from Seol Ki-Hyeon sent the match to extra time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With only a couple of minutes left before penalties, Jung-hwan attacked a cross, out-jumping Paolo Maldini, and scored an historic golden goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is only part of his story, however, as a lengthy dispute with Perugia president Luciano Gaucci altered the trajectory of his club career. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jung-hwan, however, had the last laugh \u2013 South Korea made it to the semi-final, and he finished his career with 71 caps. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oleg Salenko scored just six goals in his international career, all of which came at the 1994 World Cup. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Included in that tally was five against Cameroon, which remains the World Cup single-match goal-scoring record to this day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Salenko\u2019s reward for his historic exploits was a share of the Golden Boot with Bulgarian legend Hristo Stoichkov. He remains the only player to win the Golden Boot without making it out the group stage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having featured for Dynamo Kyiv from 1989 to 1992, Salenko embarked on a journeyman career, including stops at Rangers, Valencia and \u0130stanbulspor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Croatia were the surprise package of the 1998 World Cup, eventually falling in the semi-final to hosts France. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Slaven Bili\u0107\u2019s campaign is unfortunately remembered for his play acting to get Laurent Blanc sent off (and suspended from the final). But prior to those antics, Bili\u0107 had become a favourite of neutrals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lover of heavy metal and a technically gifted defender, Bili\u0107 has been a cult hero throughout his career as a player and manager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ferociously competitive but ultimately a very talented footballer, Bili\u0107 has been widely praised for his punditry stints at more recent tournaments. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Players can become a World Cup cult hero in a variety of ways. For some, it is being involved in bizarre on-pitch action. For others, it is starring in a great upset. Goalkeepers and strikers have hit the best form of their career at opportune moments, while some cult heroes have captured the public\u2019s imagination…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":28074,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/betting.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/competition-page\/4446"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/betting.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/competition-page"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/betting.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/competition-page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betting.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/betting.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/competition-page\/4446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28434,"href":"https:\/\/betting.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/competition-page\/4446\/revisions\/28434"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betting.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/betting.com\/gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}