A RECORD FOR ZE CARLOS
Picture : Ze Carlos (13) fighting with Dutch Edgar Davids.
Ze Carlos, the most occasional World Cup semifinalist
A former Brazilian international Ze Carlos (full name Jose Carlos de Almeida) died earlier this year (on 25 October) at the age of 56. He was not a great footballer but became the holder of a kind of “record” still unmatched up to now.
Ze Carlos has played in as high-profile game as World Cup semifinal (or final) being capped only once over his career, that is never appearing in any other match of his national team.
Performing as a right-back, Ze Carlos was uncapped when he was occasionally picked in the “Seleção” squad for the 1998 World Cup as a replacement for the injured Flávio Conceição.
He remained an unused substitute during all games until the semifinal against the Netherlands when he turned needed due to first-choice right-back Cafu’s suspension.
Brazil beat “Oranje” on shoot-out, and Ze Carlos returned to the bench for the 0-3 defeat by France in the final. He was never selected to play for Brazil again.
The whole history of the World Cup doesn’t know any other so occasional participant at the highest stages of the tournament.
Here is the ranking for players ever emerging in the World Cup semifinals or finals having represented their nations fewest times during their careers.
The final round of the World Cup 1950 is also considered. Two players following Ze Carlos in the ranking came just from there.
| FEWEST CAPPED | SEMIFINALISTS | WORLD | CUP | |
| Player | Country | Caps | Edition | |
| 1 | Zé Carlos | Brazil | 1 | 1998 |
| 2 | José Juncosa | Spain | 2 | 1950 |
| 3 | Gunnar Johansson | Sweden | 2 | 1950 |
| 4 | Raphael Tracey | United States | 3 | 1930 |
| 5 | Bart McGhee | United States | 3 | 1930 |
| 6 | Rudolf Noack | Germany | 3 | 1934 |
| 7 | Walter | Brazil | 3 | 1938 |
| 8 | Harry Andersson | Sweden | 3 | 1938 |
| 9 | Guillermo Stábile | Argentina | 4 | 1930 |
| 10 | Alexander Wood | United States | 4 | 1930 |
| 11 | Bert Patenaude | United States | 4 | 1930 |
| 12 | Jim Brown | United States | 4 | 1930 |
| 13 | Dragoslav Mihajlović | Yugoslavia | 4 | 1930 |
| 14 | Ljubiša Stevanović | Yugoslavia | 4 | 1930 |
| 15 | Ivar Eriksson | Sweden | 4 | 1938 |
| 16 | Rosendo Hernández | Spain | 4 | 1950 |
| 17 | José Della Torre | Argentina | 5 | 1930 |
| 18 | Jimmy Gallagher | United States | 5 | 1930 |
| 19 | Andy Auld | United States | 5 | 1930 |
| 20 | Santos Iriarte | Uruguay | 5 | 1930 |
| 21 | Alfonso Silva | Spain | 5 | 1950 |
| 22 | Rubén Morán | Uruguay | 5 | 1950 |
| 23 | Lothar Emmerich | Germany | 5 | 1966 |
| 24 | Axel Disasi | France | 5 | 2022 |