Era-defining players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric are all playing what’s surely their last-ever World Cups at Qatar 2022 – but they won’t quite be the oldest players to have represented their country on the biggest global stage.
The World Cup has seen some legendary veterans have one final go at international glory, going all the way back to the 1950s and up to the present day.
We’ve taken a look way beyond that, looking at the oldest outfield players to ever feature at a World Cup.
Fernando Clavijo
In 1981, Clavijo chose to give up the regular game and turn his attention to the American Indoor Soccer League. He spent just one further season of his career playing the outdoor game, favouring the variation under a roof.
He was without a club after the Indoor League disbanded in 1992 but still made up part of the US national team for their home World Cup in 1994, playing in three of their four games, ending with a 1-0 defeat to Brazil – Clavijo’s final ever appearance on a football field, aged 38 years, five months and 11 days.
Tim Cahill
The Australian scored in three successive World Cups – 2006, 2010 and 2014 – and is his country’s all-time top scorer in the history of the tournament with five goals in total. Who could forget his stunner against the Netherlands in Porto Alegre?
The former Everton favourite was unable to stretch that record to four World Cups, drawing a black as he bowed out aged 38 years, six months and 20 days at Russia 2018.
Mario Yepes
Yepes was captain of the Colombia squad which made it to the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup, eventually losing 2-1 to hosts Brazil.
It was their best-ever performance at a World Cup, while Yepes earned his 100th cap in a squad that featured the oldest player ever to play in the competition, 43-year-old goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon – at least, he was at the time, with 45-year-old Egypt keeper Essam El Hadary breaking that record at Russia 2018.
It’s quite mad that 38-year-old centre back Mario Yepes isn’t even the oldest player in the #COL squad (3rd choice GK Faryd Mondragon is!)
— Sam Thompson (@Thom_Sampson_) June 19, 2014
Jan Heintze
Denmark finished top of their group at the 2002 World Cup, joining Senegal in defeating holders France, who finished bottom of Group A.
And in Denmark’s group game with Senegal, Heintze made his second and final appearance in the tournament aged 38 years, 9 months and 20 days, before being replaced as captain by Rene Henriksen.
Sergey Ignashevich
The Russian centre-half was 38 years, 11 months and 23 days old when the 2018 hosts were eliminated on penalties at the quarter-final stage by eventual runners-up Croatia.
“I couldn’t imagine that I would finish my football career on such a high note,” Ignashevich wrote after announcing his retirement days later.
Stanley Matthews
A 39-year-old Matthews travelled to the 1954 World Cup alongside other legendary names such as Nat Lofthouse and Tom Finney.
Unfortunately, due to the second World War, it was only the second World Cup that England’s oldest-ever player – and the English top flight’s oldest-ever player – could appear in.
4⃣2⃣ years, 1⃣0⃣3⃣ days
The age at which Sir Stanley Matthews became England’s oldest player in a #WCQ against Denmark 60 years ago today 🦁🙌 pic.twitter.com/iSCsUJGOZb— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) May 15, 2017
Rafael Marquez
The only player to appear in both the 2002 and 2018 World Cups, Mexican centre-back Rafael Marquez became the first player to captain his nation at five different tournaments in Russia.
He was 39 years, four months and 19 days when he played for Mexico in a 2-0 defeat to Brazil – keeping up his run of captaining Mexico in five successive Round of 16 eliminations.
2002: #MEX captain
2006: #MEX captain
2010: #MEX captain
2014: #MEX captain
2018: #MEX captainRafael Márquez has captained his country at every World Cup in the 21st century. pic.twitter.com/H7QJGdBKr1
— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) July 2, 2018
Angel Labruna
The third player from the 1958 World Cup to appear in this list is Argentine forward Labruna, who played in two group games as his side finished bottom of their group.
At club level, Labruna played 515 times for River Plate over 20 years, scoring 293 times, leaving a year after appearing at the World Cup aged 39 years, eight months and 18 days.
Pepe
Brazil-born Pepe has made over 100 appearances for Portugal since making his international debut back in 2007. Qatar 2022 is his eighth major international tournament for the nation where he obtained citizenship and became naturalised at the age of 24.
The legendary sh*thouse helped Portugal keep a clean sheet as he featured in a 2-0 group stage victory over Uruguay, at the age of 39 years, nine months and three days.
Roger Milla
Six players over the age of 40 have appeared at a World Cup, but Milla is the only outfield player to achieve the feat.
It also makes him the oldest scorer at a World Cup, as he netted in Cameroon’s final match of the 1982 tournament, a 6-1 defeat to Russia with Milla aged 42.
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