Getting to know the 2018 World Cup draw presenter

CAIRO – 1 December 2017: The 2018 World Cup draw ceremony takes place on Friday 6:00 PM (Cairo Local Time) at the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia; it will be presented by the former English player Gary Lineker.

Gary Lineker, born in 1960 in Leicester, is one of the most popular football personalities in the World. After he retired from his successful football career, he changed vocation and started working in the media industry.

Lineker started his football career with his hometown club, Leicester City, at the age of 16. He played for the club for nine years and led them to the first division in 1983.

In his two years with the club in the first division, Lineker finished the first year as the second top goal scorer with 22 goals, and the second year, he was the top goal scorer with 24 goals.

In 1985, Lineker moved to the reigning champion Everton and for the second time in his career, he ended up as the top goal scorer with 30 goals.

Lineker’s amazing performance caught Barcelona’s attention, and they signed him in 1986. He played for three years with the Spanish club, scoring more than 42 goals including a famous hat-trick against Real Madrid in 1987.

Lineker won the 1988 Spanish Cup and 1989 European Cup with Barcelona before his return to England, where he played for the Tottenham Hotspurs.

Lineker’s first season with Tottenham was astounding; he finished as the league’s top goal scorer with 24 goals.


Lineker wore the Tottenham shirt for three years, leading the team to victory in the 1991 FA Cup, before ending his football career in Japan with the Nagoya Grampus Eight.

On the International level, Lineker represented England at four major tournaments: the 1986 World Cup, the UEFA EURO 1988, the 1990 World Cup and the UEFA EURO 1992.

Lineker was 1986’s top goal scorer with six goals. Additionally, he scored 48 goals for England in 80 games. He is the third top goal scorer in the nation’s history after Wayne Rooney and Sir Bobby Charlton.

After all the success, Lineker retired as a football player and started his career in the media. Currently he presents the “Match of the Day” program on the BBC and covers the BT Champions League.

Lineker will present the 2018 World Cup draw ceremony alongside the Russian journalist Maria Komandnaya.