There was a staggering 39-centimeter height gap between Serbia and Montenegro striker Nikola Zigic, who stood at 2.02 meters, and Ivory Coast winger Bakary Kone, who measured just 1.63 meters, when they faced each other at the 2006 Germany World Cup. This remains the biggest height difference between opponents ever recorded in World Cup history.
Interestingly, the next three largest height gaps also occurred at the same tournament. Zigic also had a 36-centimeter difference with Arthur Boka in the same match. Similarly large gaps existed between Trinidad and Tobago's Dennis Lawrence and England's Aaron Lennon, and between Germany's Per Mertesacker and Ecuador's Christian Lara, who at 1.62 meters is the shortest player to appear in a World Cup this century.
