The oldest and youngest players set to compete in the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 have been identified, highlighting a diverse range of experience levels among the participating squads.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, citing official FIFA data, Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo is among the oldest players expected to participate in the tournament. At the start of the competition, Ronaldo will be 41 years and 126 days old. Should he take the field, he will become the fourth-oldest player in World Cup history to appear in a match, following Egypt's Essam El-Hadary (45), Colombia's Faryd Mondragón (43), and Cameroon's Roger Milla (42).
Ronaldo is joined on the list of veteran players by Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa (40), Croatian midfielder Luka Modrić (40), Bosnian forward Edin Džeko (40), German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (40), and Cape Verdean goalkeeper Vozinha (39).
Conversely, the tournament will feature emerging talent, with 17-year-old Mexican midfielder Gilberto Mora currently identified as the youngest player. A member of the Club Tijuana squad, Mora is poised to become the youngest player from the CONCACAF region to appear in a World Cup, potentially breaking the long-standing record set by his compatriot Manuel Rosas, who was 18 during the inaugural 1930 tournament in Uruguay. If Mora plays in Mexico's opening match against South Africa, he will become the sixth-youngest player in the history of the competition, joining a prestigious list that includes legends such as Pelé (Brazil), Samuel Eto'o (Cameroon), and Norman Whiteside (Northern Ireland).
The top five youngest players at the 2026 World Cup also include Czech midfielder Hugo Sochurek (18 years, 4 days), German talent Lennart Karl (18 years, 109 days), Senegalese forward Ibrahim Mbaye (18 years, 138 days), and Egyptian player Hamza Abdelkarim (18 years, 161 days).
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will feature 48 teams, is scheduled to take place from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This tournament marks a significant expansion in the number of participating nations, reflecting FIFA's commitment to growing the sport globally and providing more opportunities for diverse teams to compete on the world stage.
