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Okocha holds World Cup dribbles record, FIFA says
Former Super Eagles star and captain, Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha, holds the record for the most successful dribbles in a single FIFA World Cup match.
This was confirmed by world football governing body FIFA, making Okocha one of the most skillful players to have graced the game.
According to FIFA, during Nigeria’s Round of 16 clash at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Okocha completed 15 successful dribbles against Italy.
This, he executed against a team that paraded some of the best defenders of the era, like Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta, and Demetrio Albertini, a feat that has remained unequalled in World Cup history.
Brazil’s Jairzinho comes in second place, with 13 dribbles against Uruguay in 1970, a position shared by England’s Paul Gascoigne against Cameroon at the 1990 World Cup.
Other players that have recorded 12 successful dribbles in a single match to make the all-time list include: Portugal’s Eusebio against Hungary in 1966, West Germany’s Reinhard Libuda against Bulgaria in 1970, the Netherlands’ Johan Cruyff against Sweden in 1974, Italy’s Sandro Mazzola against Poland in 1974, Argentina’s Diego Maradona against England in 1986, and Germany’s Jamal Musiala against Costa Rica in 2022.
This makes a total of 9 players included in the list of at least 12 successful dribbles in a single match.
Meanwhile, Lionel Messi the Argentina star and captain often regarded as the greatest of all time, holds the record for the most successful dribbles across all World Cup appearances combined, according to FIFA, with 125 successes so far recorded for him in the tournament.
Whereas, his compatriot ‎the late Maradona, with 53 dribbles at Mexico 1986, holds the record for the most dribbles in a single World Cup edition.
