00:06the oldest footballers in World Cup history share one distinctive characteristic they tend to be
00:13goalkeepers eight of the ten most senior citizens on the sport's grandest stage have been gloveman
00:24that includes sml hadari who had been alive for a record 45 years and 161 days when he turned out
00:33for egypt against saudi arabia at russia 2018. incredibly it was also his world cup debut
00:45al-hadari was older than three managers at the tournament when he made his 159th and final
00:52international appearance by the time of his official retirement two years later
01:00al-hadari's professional career had taken in a staggering 27 years
01:09the man whose world cup record el-hadari broke was of course another goalkeeper colombia's
01:15farid mondragon 11 years after his international debut mondragon appeared briefly at world cup 2014
01:23setting a mark that would last just one tournament
01:29i 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
01:38it's because he really deserved it
01:41when someone plays on this stage and i know because it happened to me
01:45it has not come about by chance
01:50mondragon inherited the mantle of world cup old-timer from one of the game's great outliers
01:56cameroon striker roger miller
02:01not only was miller not a goalkeeper he was adept at embarrassing them and still holds the record
02:08as the world cup's oldest goal scorer when miller took his swan song at usa 94 he also contributed to
02:17another record the 42 year old striker lined up alongside 17 year old defender rigabe song to create
02:25a 24 year age gap a margin unrivalled in a world cup team
02:33other world cup veterans near the top of the list of golden oldies include british number ones pat jennings
02:41peter shilton jennings jennings jennings jennings jennings jennings jennings jennings jennings the
02:52number of these can lay a glove on italy legend dino zoff the oldest player to lift the world cup
02:58trophy
02:58when he skippered the Azzurri to glory in 1982 at the ripe old age of 40.
03:08Casting 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.
03:25Then four years later, he was awarded the Bronze Ball.
03:28As Croatia finished in third place.
03:33Modric 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, Modric is likely to be overshadowed by his former Real teammate,
03:50Cristiano Ronaldo.
03:52If he steps onto the field in North America, CR7 will become the fourth oldest man in World Cup history
03:59at 41 years of age.
04:03This will be one of a mountain of milestones the Portuguese seems destined to pass, as he further burnishes his
04:11extraordinary career.
04:14These include becoming the first man, fittingly, alongside Lionel Messi, to appear in six separate tournaments.
04:30Three appearances would rank him behind only Messi for all-time World Cup caps, bolstering his existing record for international
04:38appearances 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.
04:57So when the 2026 tournament comes around, take a moment to appreciate the greatness on display and celebrate the many
05:05decades in the making.
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