00:06The oldest footballers in World Cup history share one distinctive characteristic.
00:11They tend to be goalkeepers.
00:15Eight of the ten most senior citizens on the sport's grandest stage have been glovemen.
00:24That includes Esim El-Hadari, who had been alive for a record 45 years and 161 days when he turned
00:32out for Egypt against Saudi Arabia at Russia 2018.
00:39Incredibly, it was also his World Cup debut.
00:45El-Hadari was older than three managers at the tournament when he made his 159th and final international appearance.
00:56By the time of his official retirement two years later, El-Hadari's professional career had taken in a staggering 27
01:05years.
01:08The man whose World Cup record El-Hadari broke was, of course, another goalkeeper, Colombia's Farid Mondragon.
01:17Eleven years after his international debut, Mondragon appeared briefly at World Cup 2014, setting a mark that would last just
01:26one tournament.
01:28I will be very sad, but I won't be jealous.
01:32I will be sad, of course, but if he is still there at the age of 45, playing in a
01:37World Cup, it's because he really deserved it.
01:41When someone plays on this stage, and I know because it happened to me, it has not come about by
01:47chance.
01:50Mondragon inherited the mantle of World Cup old-timer from one of the game's great outliers.
01:55Cameroon striker, Roger Miller.
02:01Not only was Miller not a goalkeeper, he was adept at embarrassing them, and still holds the record as the
02:08World Cup's oldest goal scorer.
02:12When Miller took his swan song at USA 94, he also contributed to another record.
02:17The 42-year-old striker lined up alongside 17-year-old defender Rigober Song to create a 24-year age
02:26gap, a margin unrivaled in a World Cup team.
02:33Other World Cup veterans near the top of the list of golden oldies include British No. 1s Pat Jennings,
02:41Peter Shilton,
02:43Peter Shilton,
02:44Jim Layton,
02:45and David James.
02:51But none of these can lay a glove on Italy legend Dino Zoff,
02:55the oldest player to lift the World Cup trophy when he skippered the Atsiri to glory in 1982, at the
03:02ripe old age of 40.
03:07Casting ahead to the 2026 tournament, two names are destined to join the pantheon of veterans.
03:17Luka Modric is a World Cup specialist.
03:20He won the Golden Ball in 2018 as he guided Croatia to the final.
03:25And four years later, he was awarded the Bronze Ball as Croatia finished in third place.
03:32Modric will be 40 years old at his fifth World Cup, but remains a vital cog in the Croatian machine.
03:43But not for the first time in his career,
03:46Modric is likely to be overshadowed by his former Real teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo.
03:51If he steps onto the field in North America,
03:55CR7 will become the fourth oldest man in World Cup history at 41 years of age.
04:03This will be one of a mountain of milestones the Portuguese seems destined to pass,
04:08as he further burnishes his extraordinary career.
04:14These include becoming the first man, fittingly alongside Lionel Messi, to appear in six separate tournaments.
04:22And if he scores, he will be the first to find the back of the net in six editions.
04:30Three appearances would rank him behind only Messi for all-time World Cup caps,
04:35bolstering his existing record for international appearances that is already well in excess of 200.
04:44And any goals he bags will push his record of international strikes in the region of 150.
04:51For context, only two other men have registered triple figures.
04:56So when the 2026 tournament comes around,
04:59take a moment to appreciate the greatness on display
05:02and celebrate the many decades in the making.
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