Flaco could become first foreign world champion as a Palmeiras player | OneFootball

Argentina’s qualification for the 2026 World Cup semifinal has put Flaco López very close to an unprecedented milestone in Palmeiras history. If the Albiceleste win the title, the striker will become the club’s tenth player to win a World Cup while representing Verdão and, more than that, the first foreigner to achieve the feat.

Called up by Lionel Scaloni, Flaco is the only player from Brazilian football among the tournament’s semifinalists. Argentina face England this Wednesday (15) for a place in the World Cup final against Spain, who qualified this Tuesday (14).

Palmeiras world champions

To this day, all Palmeiras players who won the World Cup while representing the club were Brazilian. The list began with Mazzola in 1958, included Djalma Santos, Vavá and Zequinha (1962), Leão and Baldochi (1970), Zinho and Mazinho (1994), and had Marcos as its last representative in the 2002 fifth title.

Although Palmeiras has sent players to other national teams at World Cups, such as Arce (Paraguay), Gamarra (Paraguay), Freddy Rincón and Miguel Borja (Colombia), as well as Valdivia (Chile) and Víctor Diogo (Uruguay), none of them won the title while playing for the green-and-white club.

Signed by Palmeiras in 2022, Flaco López is playing in his first World Cup with Argentina’s senior national team. The center-forward arrived at the tournament after earning more opportunities in Scaloni’s squads and is now two wins away from definitively writing his name into the club’s history.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.