WORLD CUP RECORDS (Part 1) - THE OLDEST PLAYERS
Picture : Essam El Hadary stopped a penalty in the World Cup at the age of 45 years 161 days !
One month before the beginning of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the IFFHS will publish a series of World Cup Records.
Oldest Player: Essam El Hadary
*Essam El Hadary (Egypt) is the oldest player and oldest captain in the World Cup history. He has played at 2018 edition at the age of 45 years 161 days. In his only game vs Saudi Arabia (1-2), El Hadary managed to stop a penalty!
*The oldest outfield player Roger Milla (Cameroon) takes 3rd position in the ranking. Having played in the World Cup 1994 at age of 42 years 39 days, he possessed the record of competition during 20 years, until 2014.
*In the current ranking, Milla is the only outfield player among the 9 oldest.
*There are 7 players in the World Cup history to feature at the age 40+ years. Will someone new join them in Qatar? Unlikely. The oldest players expected to enter the squads, Eiji Kawishima (Japan) and Dani Alves (Brazil), are 39 year old.
*Dino Zoff (Italy) is the oldest player to appear in a final game (40 years 133 days, vs Germany, 1982). He became then also the oldest champion.
*The Mexican Rafael Garza Gutiérrez, who performed at the first World Cup (1930), had the most ancient date of birth among all participants in the history of competition – 13 December 1896.
*The oldest player in a World Cup qualifying match was MacDonald Taylor Sr. of the U.S. Virgin Islands: 46 years 175 days in the game vs Saint Kitts and Nevis on 18 February 2004 (CONCACAF First Round).
| OLDEST PLAYERS | IN WORLD CUPS | ||||
| Player | Country | Age (Y-D) | Date | Game | |
| 1 | Essam El Hadary | Egypt | 45-161 | 25/06/2018 | Saudi Arabia 1-2 |
| 2 | Faryd Mondragon | Colombia | 43-003 | 24/06/2014 | Japan 4-1 |
| 3 | Roger Milla | Cameroon | 42-039 | 28/06/1994 | Russia 1-6 |
| 4 | Pat Jennings | Northern Ireland | 41-000 | 12/06/1986 | Brazil 0-3 |
| 5 | Peter Shilton | England | 40-292 | 07/07/1990 | Italy 1-2 |
| 6 | Dino Zoff | Italy | 40-133 | 11/07/1982 | Germany 3-1 |
| 7 | Ali Boumnijel | Tunisia | 40-071 | 23/06/2006 | Ukraine 0-1 |
| 8 | Jim Leighton | Scotland | 39-334 | 23/06/1998 | Morocco 0-3 |
| 9 | David James | England | 39-330 | 27/06/2010 | Germany 1-4 |
| 10 | Angel Labruna | Argentina | 39-260 | 15/06/1958 | Czechoslovakia 1-6 |
| 11 | Joseph Antoine Bell | Cameroon | 39-259 | 24.06.1994 | Brazil 0-3 |
| 12 | Stanley Matthews | England | 39-141 | 26/06/1954 | Uruguay 2-4 |
| 13 | Sergei Ignashevich | Russia | 38-358 | 07.07.2018 | Croatia 2-2 |
| 14 | Jan Heintze | Denmark | 38-293 | 06/06/2002 | Senegal 1-1 |
| 15 | David Seaman | England | 38-275 | 21/06/2002 | Brazil 1-2 |
| 16 | Vitor Damas | Portugal | 38-246 | 11/06/1986 | Morocco 1-3 |
| 17 | Mario Yepes | Colombia | 38-172 | 04/07/2014 | Brazil 1-2 |