Who is the oldest player to feature in a FIFA World Cup?
One of the most highly-anticipated moments of any FIFA World Cup is the nostalgia of watching veteran players continue to make a mark on the tournament despite coming towards the end of their careers. FIFA World Cup 2026 will be no different, with plenty of players in their golden years making what could be their final FWC bow.
With that in mind, we've listed the top ten oldest players to appear in the FIFA World Cup before the latest edition in 2026. All ten of them were aged 40 or older with only three of the ten being outfield players.
AGE (Years/Days) | PLAYER | NATIONALITY | MATCH | DATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
45y 161d | Essam El-Hadary | Egypt | Saudi Arabia 2-1 Egypt | 25/06/2018 |
43y 3d | Faryd Mondragon | Colombia | Japan 1-4 Colombia | 24/06/2014 |
42y 39d | Roger Milla | Cameroon | Russia 6-1 Cameroon | 28/06/1994 |
41y 151d | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Spain 1-0 Portugal | 06/07/2026 |
41y 0d | Pat Jennings | Northern Ireland | Northern Ireland 0-3 Brazil | 12/06/1986 |
40y 346d | Guillermo Ochoa | Mexico | Czechia 0-3 Mexico | 24/06/2026 |
40y 296d | Luka Modric | Croatia | Portugal 2-1 Croatia | 02/07/2026 |
40y 292d | Peter Shilton | England | Italy 2-1 England | 07/07/1990 |
40y 133d | Dino Zoff | Italy | Italy 3-1 West Germany | 11/07/1982 |
40y 79d | Manuel Neuer | Germany | Germany 1-1 Paraguay AET (Paraguay win 4-3 on penalties) | 29/06/2026 |
Goalkeepers dominate this list with Roger Milla of Cameroon the only outfield player in the top five. A forward notorious for that famous celebration at Italia 90, Milla scored four goals in that tournament as a 38-year-old and at 42 years old, made his final World Cup appearance in 1994.
Those players to have made a FWC appearance at an older age than Milla are both goalkeepers, Faryd Mondragon of Colombia and Egypt's Essam El-Hadary. The latter currently stands as the oldest player to feature at a World Cup, having done so as a 45-year-old against Saudi Arabia in 2018. Mondragon had turned 43 just a few days before his final World Cup appearance in 2014.
The oldest player to play in a FIFA World Cup final is also a goalkeeper, that being Italian Dino Zoff in 1982. Zoff ended his World Cup career in fairytale fashion, captaining the Azzurri to victory over West Germany in Madrid at 40 years of age and lifting the famous trophy.
Most recently entering the top ten are the foursome of Cristiano Ronaldo, Guillermo Ochoa, Luka Modric and Manuel Neuer, with all of them doing so during FIFA World Cup 2026. Croatia legend Modric was ultimately beaten by Portugal's Ronaldo in the first knockout round, a special fixture as two of the three oldest outfield players in World Cup history and former club teammates at Real Madrid faced off in the knockout stage.
Goalkeeper Ochoa made his final World Cup appearance for Mexico as a substitute against Czechia in the group stage, whilst Ronaldo became only the fifth player over the age of 40 to play in a FIFA World Cup fixture, with his five appearances overall at the tournament for Portugal all coming as a starter. Neuer had reversed his international retirement to play for Germany at FIFA World Cup 2026, but has since retired again following his country's elimination from the tournament.
