, ,

WORLD CUP 2026 REVIEW – PART 16

·

1–2 minutes

Picture : Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo entered in the club !

“Club 40+ years” doubled

Prior to the 2026 World Cup, seven players in the tournament’s history had played at the age of 40 or older. The latest edition doubled that figure, adding another seven players from this age group.
Nevertheless, the historic top three remained unchanged: El-Hadary, Mondragón, and Milla. Cristiano Ronaldo, the oldest participant at the 2026 World Cup, is ranked now fourth.
The top three could have changed had the oldest player named to squad lists, Scotland’s reserve goalkeeper Craig Gordon (aged 43 years 162 days at the start of the tournament), played even a single minute; however, he never saw action on the pitch.
Interestingly, these 14 World Cup “super-veterans” represent 14 different nations.
Fernando Muslera, rounding out the ranking of 40-year old participants, became the first man to ever turn his 40 years while playing at the World Cup.
In the 2022 edition, there was not a single player aged 40+ on pitch.

WORLD CUPOLDESTPLAYERS
PlayerCountryAgeDateGame
1Essam El HadaryEgypt45-16125/06/2018Saudi Arabia 1-2
2Faryd MondragonColombia43-00324/06/2014Japan 4-1
3Roger MillaCameroon42-03928/06/1994Russia 1-6
4Cristiano RonaldoPortugal41-15106/07/2026Spain 0-1
5Pat JenningsNorthern Ireland41-00012/06/1986Brazil 0-3
6Guillermo OchoaMexico40-34725/06/2026Czechia 3-0
7Peter ShiltonEngland40-29207/07/1990Italy 1-2
8Luka ModrićCroatia40-29703/07/2026Portugal 1-2
9Dino ZoffItaly40-13311/07/1982Germany 3-1
10Edin DžekoBosnia-Herzegovina40-10702/07/2026USA 0-2
11Manuel NeuerGermany40-09429/06/2026Paraguay 1-1 (p 3-4)
12Ali BoumnijelTunisia40-07123/06/2006Ukraine 0-1
13VozinhaCabo Verde40-03003/07/2026Argentina 2-3
14Fernando MusleraUruguay40-01127/06/2026Spain 0-1
, ,