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A list of top 10 footballers in world football in 2023.
While successful football (soccer) players can come in all shapes and sizes, certain physical attributes, such as height, can play an important part in their performance. Height and arm span reach are particularly important for goalkeepers. Around the pitch, taller players with a good leap and positional skills have an advantage in overhead contests.
Although Modern football now comprises of shorter footballers given it is a world where agility and mobility is defining the game nowadays, there are still some tall football players out there. Some play at the highest of levels, while others play in the lower leagues.
Pulse Sports Kenya lists the tallest footballers in the world.
Top 10 tallest players in the world
10. Mikkel Mena Qvist (6ft 7.9″ or 203cm)
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Danish-Colombian defender Mikkel Mena Qvist tenth in the list of tallest footballers in the world. He currently plays as a center-back for Icelandic club Breiðablik. Qvist joined ASA Fodbold at Under-10’s level and started life as a left winger before eventually moving to play at left back in the 4th tier of Danish football.
He has also played for other Danish league sides including Lyseng, Horsens, KA and HB Koge. Now at Breiðablik, Qvist is gigantic and towers above most opponents at nearly 6ft 8″, which makes him reportedly the tallest professional defender in the world and one of the tallest football players ever.
9. Andries Noppert (6ft 8″ or 203cm)
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This list will be unsurprisingly dominated by goalkeepers, and Andries Noppert is a Dutch goalkeeper who plays for Eredivisie club Heerenveen.
He has recently established himself as the Netherlands national team first choice stopper, as he made his debut against Senegal at the 2022 World Cup.
He was called up to the national team in September 2022 by Louis Van Gaal and just two months later, Van Gaal included him in their 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
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As one of the tallest football players active today, Van Gaal undoubtedly sees the value in having such a huge presence between the posts.
Interestingly, Noppert discovered his inclusion in the squad on TV! He went on to make his international debut by starting the opening match of the tournament against Senegal which the Dutch won 2–0. He has only played a handful of games for the Netherlands so far but as one of the sport’s tallest football players looks likely to have a hugely successful international career.
8. Kjell Scherpen (6ft 8.3″ or 204cm)
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A second Dutch goalkeeper makes this list.Goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen plays for Dutch league side Vitesse and is also Netherlands under-21 international
He is currently on loan from Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion. He began his youth career at hometown club FC Emmen and made his professional debut in August 2018. Today he is amongst the planet’s tallest football players.
A year later Ajax announced that they had signed Scherpen on a four-year contract for a fee of €1.5 million. Scherpen spent the 2019-20 season playing for Jong Ajax, the reserve team of Ajax Amsterdam, where he made a total of 21 appearances in the Dutch second-tier Eerste Divisie.
The young goalkeeper is already a huge commanding presence in and around his goal, for a man of his size he is able to effectively play out from the back and has superb reflexes.
7. Øyvind Hoås (6ft 8.4″ or 204cm)
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Øyvind Hoås is a Norwegian striker who plays for club side Kristiansund in Norway. He has previously played for Molde and in 2007 even went on a trial with English League One side Luton Town before finally joining FK Fredrikstad the following season.
Hoås is one of the tallest outfield football players in the world, to feature in Europe and in the top 10 tallest football players. He is also a former under-21 Norway international, having made four appearances and scored one goal in that time.
6. Jacob Samnik (6ft 8.5″ or 204cm)
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Twenty-two year old Goalkeeper Jacob Samnik is a United States national but whose career is now based in Germany. He has played across a variety of different European leagues.He is sixth on the list of tallest footballers in the world.
Samnik has previously featured for Romanian second tier club FC Politehnica Lași and in the Danish League for Hobro IK. He recently signed for Dusseldorf who currently play in Germany’s fifth tier.
5. Yang Changpeng (6ft 8.5″ or 204cm)
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Chinese player Yang Changpeng found relative fame around parts of Asia, all because of his notable height. Playing as a forward for Chinese league sides such as Chengdu Blades, Meizhou Kejia and Henan Jianye, Changpeng stands at nearly a whopping 6ft 9″!
Once nicknamed the “Chinese Peter Crouch,” he even embarked on a one-month trial with English club Bolton Wanderers.
Scoring only twelve goals in 88 appearances, Changpeng has never managed to reach the top of the profession, many suggesting his stature and body type made it difficult to sustain a lengthy successful career. Yet he can still call himself fifth of all the world’s tallest football players.
4. Lucas Bergström (6ft 8.7″ or 205cm)
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Another keeper makes the list. Twenty-one year old Finnish goalkeeper Lucas Bergström currently plays for Premier League club Chelsea. Joining the English side from native club TPS in 2018, Bergström has mainly featured for Chelsea’s youth team, however he was named as a substitute for their Champions League group game against Zenit Saint Petersburg three years later.
Bergström has also represented his national side Finland at up to under-17 level and was even promoted to their under-21 squad ready for the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification rounds. He is a talent with huge potential and in amongst the top 5 tallest football players, seemingly has a bright future ahead of him.
3. Dino Hodzic (6ft 9″ or 206cm)
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At this point, you need no introduction or sense that the list is dominated by goalkeepers, and Dino Hodzic towers above most other professional players on the planet at a monstrous 6ft 9”.
The 27 year old goalkeeper was born in Croatia but is a relative unknown across most regions of the globe.
Hodzic is based in Iceland following a move from IA Akranes to join second tier club Lengjudeild in the spring of 2023.
2. Kyle Hudlin (6ft 9″ or 206cm)
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Kyle Hudlin is the only Englishman on this list. He is the second tallest football player in the world.
He is also reportedly the tallest outfielder in professional football and started playing professionally in 2023.
The forward currently plays for Huddersfield Town in the English Football League Championship.
He has scored 21 goals in 87 appearances for various clubs.Despite being a gigantic player, Hudlin is surprisingly agile, possesses an excellent touch and with such a height advantage, has obvious aerial abilities.
1. Tomáš Holý (6ft 9.2″ or 206cm)
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Czech goalkeeper Tomáš Holý is currently the tallest active football player in the world. He started his professional career at Sparta Prague, featuring for their reserve team from 2010 until 2012.
He was sent out on loan to a number of Czech sides including Vlašim, Viktoria Žižkov and Fastav Zlín. In a surprising switch, Holý moved to English football side Gillingham, where he spent two-and-a-half seasons and made over 100 appearances.
Since then, the Goalkeeper has transferred to Ipswich Town and became the club’s first-choice goalkeeper for almost two full seasons. Holý also featured for Cambridge United and Port Vale before joining Carlisle United on a free transfer in June 2022. He has also won caps for the Czech Republic up to and including under-18’s youth level.
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