Lifting the FIFA World Cup™ trophy and clinching an Olympic gold medal are two of the most difficult feats to achieve as a footballer. More difficult still is managing both.

In the 100 years that FIFA has hosted the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament, just 15 players have managed to win the highly-coveted double. FIFA takes a look at those players and how their sides managed it.

‘Fideo’ and ‘La Pulga’
Players: Angel Di Maria and Lionel Messi
Olympics: Beijing 2008
FIFA World Cup: Qatar 2022

The only postwar players to win both tournaments are Argentina legends Di Maria and Messi. The pair followed up their FIFA U-20 World Cup™ success of 2005 by helping La Albiceleste to a second consecutive Olympic gold at Beijing 2008, with Messi setting up Di Maria to score the decisive goal in the final against Nigeria.

More than 14 years later, the pair were at it again on World Cup soil. Di Maria netted in between a Messi brace as Argentina beat France on penalties to clinch their first world title in 36 years.

The Italian quartet
Players: Sergio Bertoni, Alfredo Foni, Ugo Locatelli, Pietro Rava
Olympics: Berlin 1936
FIFA World Cup: France 1938

While reigning world champions Italy headed to Berlin 1936, they did so with a completely different side to the one which defeated Czechoslovakia in the 1934 showpiece. Despite that, the Azzurri still made it to the gold-medal match, where an Annibale Frossi brace sunk Austria at the Olympiastadion.

Four of that side, indeed, would then make up the Italy team which headed to Paris looking to defend the nation’s World Cup title two years later. Foni, Rava and Locatelli all started the final against Hungary, with forward Bertoni also in the squad, as the insatiable Italians ran out 4-2 winners.

Uruguay’s golden generation
Players: Jose Andrade, Hector Castro, Pedro Cea, Lorenzo Fernandez, Alvaro Gestido, Jose Nazassi, Pedro Petrone, Hector Scarone, Santos Urdinaran
Olympics: Paris 1924, Amsterdam 1928
FIFA World Cup: Uruguay 1930

The 1924 Games brought the first Men’s Olympic Football Tournament hosted by FIFA, and the first international event which South American nations took part in. The continent was represented by Uruguay, who would go on to establish themselves as the sport’s first global powerhouse.

The South Americans travelled by ship – goalkeeper Andres Mazali arranged training sessions on the deck – to Spain to take part in a series of friendly matches to fund their trip to Paris. Once there, teenage sensation Petrone top-scored with seven goals, including one in the 3-0 final victory over Switzerland.

Four years later, the spine of that side took home gold from Amsterdam, where Petrone dazzled once again alongside Cea and wing-half Andrade, as La Celeste defeated Argentina in the final following a replay.

The birth of the World Cup in 1930 gave the Olympic kings a chance to further their dominance. Legendary captain Nazassi once again led the side out as Uruguay swept all before them, including Argentina in the final, on home soil.