MEXICO CITY, Mexico - Few are the footballers who have ever been named to five FIFA World Cup rosters, yet that rarified air is where Mexico MF Rafael Marquez finds himself after being named to Mexico Head Coach Juan Carlos Osorio's 23-man roster for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The Atlas man will hope to become just the third player in history to see the field in five different World Cups.
"It is a blessing, it's fortunate to be here once again, to have the opportunity to still belong to this national team," said Marquez to reporters following Mexico's 1-0 friendly win over Scotland last Saturday.
"I was aware that it might or might not happen. If it happened, great; if not, they have me here giving my best to do the best for the team," added Marquez.
Marquez's countryman Antonio Carvajal achieved the feat of playing in five World Cups, featuring in the 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962 and 1966 World Cups with El Tri.
That was then matched by former Germany international Lothar Matthaus, who played in the 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998 World Cups, earning a World Cup title with the Germans in 1990.
Legendary Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has also appeared in five different World Cup squads but was an unused substitute for the Azzurri at France 1998 prior to playing in the 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 editions. Like Matthaus, Buffon was a World Cup winner in 2006.
The 39-year-old Marquez has appeared in a total of 16 World Cup matches for Mexico, scoring three goals.
With the exception of the final two minutes of Mexico's final match at Korea/Japan 2002, Marquez has played every minute of every match of Mexico's last four World Cups.
