Canada's World Cup squad is, on average, nearly a year younger than the team that competed in Qatar four years ago. There are fewer players older than 30, too. And it was all by design.
"I learned from Bruce Arena, who was the first person to say this to me, that the World Cup is a young man's tournament, because the games come fast," said Canadian coach Jesse Marsch. "The games are fast, and if you go to a tournament with too old of a team, you risk picking up injuries and you risk not being able to meet the standards of how good the games are."
But that doesn't mean there aren't any well-seasoned names among the 1,248 players competing for 48 countries in the tournament this year. Eight of them are over 40. In fact, the second-oldest player is one of the biggest names: the finally-no-longer-completely ageless Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal's star striker turned 41 on Feb. 6, and along with Lionel Messi (who turns 39 during the World Cup) will become the only men to have competed at six World Cups.
Mexico's Guillermo Ochoa (who turns 41 during the World Cup) will be at his sixth World Cup, though he didn't play in his first two (Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010) before his heroic debut in Brazil 2014 against the hosts. It is likely the last for all three, though Portugal coach Roberto Martinez didn't close the door on Ronaldo — the country's all-time leader in goals (143) and appearances — coming back in 2030.
"Our captain sets an example in everything he does," Martinez told media on Tuesday. "He gives his all, 24 hours a day, to help the national team. Our captain and the rest of the players are not thinking about the future. We don't know what can happen in the future because they can get injured and there are decisions that are out of their hands. The focus is on training, being the best, putting the concepts into practice and showing pride in wearing the shirt. That's the example he sets. His sole aim is to use it for tomorrow to improve."
The elder statesman of 2026 is 43-year-old Scottish goalkeeper Craig Gordon, whose career is spotted with a long list of broken bones, jacked-up joints, tales of tendinitis and surgeries, even forcing him out of the game for two years between 2012 and 2014. "Magnificent to be here, after all the years of trying, not only personally but as a country. Delighted to be here," he said on Tuesday on the verge of his first-ever World Cup, and the first for Scotland since 1998. "Without a doubt I thought this opportunity would pass me by on more than one occasion. So to finally be here, to be part of something this big, to finally see it, it's a huge moment for any player in their career, and especially for me. For the many years, I've been trying to get here, to finally be here on the edge of the tournament starting properly. It's a fantastic feeling. It feels like it's getting real now."
Ochoa, Mexico's goalkeeper, already had five pro seasons under his belt by the time his 17-year-old teammate Gilberto Mora was born. Croatia's Luka Modrić, one of the most celebrated and skilled midfielders of all time, enters the tournament at 40 years old, and fresh off a fractured cheekbone that ended his pro season in April. He'll likely crack the 200-cap mark during the tournament, as he currently sits at 198. Another goalkeeper, Germany's Manuel Neuer, came out of international retirement to join his national team for one last World Cup. He even got the endorsement of former Bayern Munich teammate and current Vancouver Whitecaps star Thomas Müller. "Absolutely, because we want to have the best goalkeepers there," Müller said on the Bild podcast Bayern Insider earlier this year. "Of course there is a debate – Olli Baumann has been performing really well and is a great goalkeeper – but if you have access to Manuel Neuer and have seen how well he performed on the biggest stage this spring, then in my view you have to take him as your No. 1."
It will be the fifth World Cup for Modrić, Yuto Nagatomo and Neuer. Panama is fielding the oldest team in the tournament, with an average age of 30 and no players under 23. Ivory Coast, which upset France in a World Cup warmup last week, is the youngest, at 25.35.
Elder Statesmen
The oldest players who will be competing at this year's World Cup include:
- 43: Craig Gordon, Scotland
- 41: Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
- 40: Guillermo Ochoa, Mexico
- 40: Luka Modric, Croatia
- 40: Edin Dzeko, Bosnia-Herzegovina
- 40: Manuel Neuer, Germany
- 40: Vozinha, Cabo Verde
- 40: Fernando Muslera, Uruguay
- 39: Yuto Nagatomo, Japan
- 39: Hernan Galindez, Ecuador
- 39: Mahdy Soliman, Egypt
- 39: Lionel Messi, Argentina
- 38: Tim Ream, USA
- 38: Weverton, Brazil
- 38: Alberto Quintero, Panama
- 38: Johny Placide, Haiti
- 38: Nicolas Otamendi, Argentina
- 38: Gatito Fernandez, Paraguay
- 38: Stopira, Cabo Verde
- 37: Michael Boxall, New Zealand
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