Roger Milla (
Cameroon,
1994) and
Faryd Mondragón (
Colombia,
2014) were both named in squads aged 42, and Mondragón became the oldest ever when appearing in the latter competition. His appearance was actually three days after his 43rd birthday.
Essam El Hadary (
Egypt smashed this record in
2018, playing at the age of 45 years and 161 days.
Brazil has had the youngest player the most times, with five:
Carvalho Leite in
1930,
Pelé in
1958,
Edu in
1966,
Marco Antônio in
1970 and
Ronaldo in
1994. With
Nílton Santos and
Djalma Santos the oldest players in
1962 and
1966 respectively, they also have the most "extreme" players overall, with seven. Additionally, Nílton Santos and Djalma Santos, and latterly Edu and Marco Antônio, made them the only team to have had either the oldest or youngest player in consecutive tournaments.
Andrei Bărbulescu was named in the
Romania squad in
1960 aged 43, but didn't play.
Gábor Király became the oldest ever to play when appearing for
Hungary in
2016 aged 40 years and 75 days. This record was broken by
Pepe when he appeared for
Portugal in
2024 aged 41 years and 113 days.
The youngest player has represented the champions just once:
Lothar Matthäus for
West Germany in
1980. The oldest player has never represented the champions.
The oldest player has represented the hosts on two occasions:
Dino Zoff for
Italy in
1980 and
Pascal Zuberbühler for
Switzerland in
2008. Switzerland also had the youngest player,
Eren Derdiyok, in 2008, making this the only time that the youngest player has represented the hosts, and the only time the oldest and youngest player have represented the same team.
Switzerland (with Stiel and Zuberbühler as oldest players and
Raphaël Wicky in
1996 and
Eren Derdiyok in
2008 as youngest players), Soviet Union/Russia (with Smolnikov, Baidachny and Akinfeev as youngest players and
Lev Yashin in
1964 as an oldest player) and West Germany/Germany (with Stielike, Matthäus and Wörns as youngest players and Matthäus also being oldest player in
2000) have all had "extreme" players a record four times.
Bolivia has had the oldest player the most times, with four: Mario Rojas in
1975, Ricardo Fontana in
1989, and
Carlos Trucco in
1995 and
1997. Trucco is one of two players to have been the oldest player in consecutive tournaments, the other being
Justo Villar of
Paraguay in
2015 and at the
Copa América Centenario in 2016. These are the only two occasions a team has had the oldest player in consecutive tournaments.
Uruguay has had the youngest player the most times, also with four: Freddy Clavijo in
1979,
Juan Ferrari in
1983,
Rubén Olivera in
2001 and
Cristian Rodríguez in
2004. Clavijo and Ferrari, and latterly Olivera and Rodríguez, make them the only team to have done so in consecutive tournaments.
The youngest player has also represented the champions once:
Emilio Mora for
Mexico in
1998.
The oldest player has represented the hosts on eight occasions, six of which were for the
United States:
Fernando Clavijo in
1991 and
1993,
Thomas Dooley in
1996 and
1998,
Marcus Hahnemann in
2011, and
Tim Howard in
2017. The other two were
Lars Hirschfeld for
Canada in
2015 and
Álvaro Saborío for
Costa Rica in
2019. The United States's six mean they have had the oldest player the most times. With Clavijo and Dooley, they are the only team to do so consecutively, which they achieved over four successive tournaments. No team has ever had the youngest player in consecutive tournaments.
Another
United States player,
Juan Agudelo, is the only youngest player to represent the hosts, doing so in
2011. This means the United States also have the most "extreme" players overall, with seven. With Hahnemann, this is also one of only two occasions on which the oldest and youngest player have represented the same team, the other being
David Nakhid and
Derek King for
Trinidad and Tobago in
2000.
Ronaldo (
Brazil,
1994 and
1995) is the only player to be the youngest player at a World Cup and a Copa América. No player has ever been the oldest player in both competitions.
No player has ever been the youngest or oldest player at both a World Cup and a CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Roger Milla (
Cameroon,
1994) and
Faryd Mondragón (
Colombia,
2014) were both named in squads aged 42, and Mondragón became the oldest ever when appearing in the latter competition. His appearance was actually three days after his 43rd birthday.
Essam El Hadary (
Egypt smashed this record in
2018, playing at the age of 45 years and 161 days.
Brazil has had the youngest player the most times, with five:
Carvalho Leite in
1930,
Pelé in
1958,
Edu in
1966,
Marco Antônio in
1970 and
Ronaldo in
1994. With
Nílton Santos and
Djalma Santos the oldest players in
1962 and
1966 respectively, they also have the most "extreme" players overall, with seven. Additionally, Nílton Santos and Djalma Santos, and latterly Edu and Marco Antônio, made them the only team to have had either the oldest or youngest player in consecutive tournaments.
Andrei Bărbulescu was named in the
Romania squad in
1960 aged 43, but didn't play.
Gábor Király became the oldest ever to play when appearing for
Hungary in
2016 aged 40 years and 75 days. This record was broken by
Pepe when he appeared for
Portugal in
2024 aged 41 years and 113 days.
The youngest player has represented the champions just once:
Lothar Matthäus for
West Germany in
1980. The oldest player has never represented the champions.
The oldest player has represented the hosts on two occasions:
Dino Zoff for
Italy in
1980 and
Pascal Zuberbühler for
Switzerland in
2008. Switzerland also had the youngest player,
Eren Derdiyok, in 2008, making this the only time that the youngest player has represented the hosts, and the only time the oldest and youngest player have represented the same team.
Switzerland (with Stiel and Zuberbühler as oldest players and
Raphaël Wicky in
1996 and
Eren Derdiyok in
2008 as youngest players), Soviet Union/Russia (with Smolnikov, Baidachny and Akinfeev as youngest players and
Lev Yashin in
1964 as an oldest player) and West Germany/Germany (with Stielike, Matthäus and Wörns as youngest players and Matthäus also being oldest player in
2000) have all had "extreme" players a record four times.
Bolivia has had the oldest player the most times, with four: Mario Rojas in
1975, Ricardo Fontana in
1989, and
Carlos Trucco in
1995 and
1997. Trucco is one of two players to have been the oldest player in consecutive tournaments, the other being
Justo Villar of
Paraguay in
2015 and at the
Copa América Centenario in 2016. These are the only two occasions a team has had the oldest player in consecutive tournaments.
Uruguay has had the youngest player the most times, also with four: Freddy Clavijo in
1979,
Juan Ferrari in
1983,
Rubén Olivera in
2001 and
Cristian Rodríguez in
2004. Clavijo and Ferrari, and latterly Olivera and Rodríguez, make them the only team to have done so in consecutive tournaments.
The youngest player has also represented the champions once:
Emilio Mora for
Mexico in
1998.
The oldest player has represented the hosts on eight occasions, six of which were for the
United States:
Fernando Clavijo in
1991 and
1993,
Thomas Dooley in
1996 and
1998,
Marcus Hahnemann in
2011, and
Tim Howard in
2017. The other two were
Lars Hirschfeld for
Canada in
2015 and
Álvaro Saborío for
Costa Rica in
2019. The United States's six mean they have had the oldest player the most times. With Clavijo and Dooley, they are the only team to do so consecutively, which they achieved over four successive tournaments. No team has ever had the youngest player in consecutive tournaments.
Another
United States player,
Juan Agudelo, is the only youngest player to represent the hosts, doing so in
2011. This means the United States also have the most "extreme" players overall, with seven. With Hahnemann, this is also one of only two occasions on which the oldest and youngest player have represented the same team, the other being
David Nakhid and
Derek King for
Trinidad and Tobago in
2000.
Ronaldo (
Brazil,
1994 and
1995) is the only player to be the youngest player at a World Cup and a Copa América. No player has ever been the oldest player in both competitions.
No player has ever been the youngest or oldest player at both a World Cup and a CONCACAF Gold Cup.