In soccer, a cap refers to the number of appearances a player has made with their senior national team in international games). The term originated in the United Kingdom, where players were awarded physical caps to mark their involvements in international matches). Although physical caps are no longer given, the term is still used to indicate the number of times a player has represented their country in international games).

A player earns a cap by playing in an international game, and simply being named to the squad is not enough). According to FIFA’s regulations handbook, caps are only awarded in International “A” games, which include World Cup games, World Cup qualifiers, continental competitions and its qualifying games, friendly games between senior national teams, and Olympic games and its qualifiers). There are no minimums or maximums for time, and even if a player plays for only a few minutes, they earn a cap.

The number of caps a player has earned is considered one of the highest honors a player can achieve in the sport). Some of the most capped socc...