Players who wore two shirts: World Cup men for two nations
Before the rules tightened, some footballers played the World Cup for two different countries. One even reached two finals under different flags.
Today it seems unthinkable, but for decades it was possible: the same footballer could play the World Cup for two different national teams. Eligibility rules were far looser, and some took the chance to switch flags mid-career.
The most extraordinary case is Luis Monti. This midfielder played the 1930 final with Argentina, who lost to Uruguay, and the 1934 final with Italy, who won as hosts. He is the only footballer to have played two World Cup finals representing two different countries. Hard to top.
There were more. Ferenc Puskás, the soul of Hungary's mythical 1950s side and a finalist in 1954, reappeared years later in a Spain shirt at the 1962 World Cup, naturalised after going into exile. And José Altafini was world champion with Brazil in 1958 only to play for Italy in 1962.
History also holds a famous «almost»: Alfredo Di Stéfano, one of the greatest players of all time, was capped by both Argentina and Spain, but fate meant he never played a World Cup with either. One of the tournament's great absences.
Over time, FIFA gradually tightened the rules until a player with official matches for one country could no longer represent another, save for very specific exceptions. Those footballing dual nationalities remained an oddity of another era.
They are anecdotes that today sound almost like legend, from when football's borders were more porous and the same man could sing, at different World Cups, two different anthems.
Source: Wikipedia (Luis Monti; Ferenc Puskás; José Altafini; Alfredo Di Stéfano).