It seemed the perfect goodbye. Lionel Messi had scored two goals in a World Cup final, a third in the shootout. He had emulated Diego Maradona by lifting the World Cup as Argentina captain. He had been named player of the tournament and man of the match in the final. He had completed football.
It looked a decidedly imperfect goodbye. The supposed GOAT was reduced to the status of Portugal’s 12th man; or 13th, given that a substitute came on at the same time as Joao Cancelo. Cristiano Ronaldo was dropped for the knockout stages, seeing his replacement Goncalo Ramos score a hat-trick in the 6-1 thrashing by Switzerland and being unable to rescue Portugal as they went out 1-0 to Morocco. He had become the first man ever to score in five World Cups, but none of those goals were in the knockout stages. Messi’s eventual triumph seemed to end an argument about which of them was the greatest; only Ronaldo fanboys could disagree now.
And yet, four years later, they are back, each set for a sixth World Cup. The Argentinian will turn 39 during the tournament. The Portuguese is already 41. But the United States has been a gerontocracy of late, its two oldest presidents being the two most recent. Now the aged will not just be found in the corridors of power, but on the footballing fields.
The 2026 World Cup should be the last for a veteran group, even if 2022 had appeared to be. Careers have been prolonged by some combination of sports science, diet, motivation, money, unfinished business, football associations in thrall to their biggest names, governing bodies who wipe away suspensions and veterans who just carry on.
Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff and Bobby Moore last appeared in the World Cup in their twenties. Now there is a sizeable group in their late thirties or, in select cases, in their forties. Messi overhauled Lothar Matthaus’ record of 25 World Cup appearances. The great German was one of four players – three of them Mexican – to take the field in five tournaments. Messi and Ronaldo, ever presents since 2006, will make it six; Luka Modric surely would have joined them in that group, except that Croatia will failed to qualify in 2010.
But the 2018 Golden Ball winner, who turns 41 in September, should win his 200th cap in the USA. Messi could be a double centurion before the tournament even begins. Ronaldo already is. In different times, none of Geoff Hurst, Mario Kempes, Paolo Rossi or Cruyff won 50 caps.
Modric, though, has taken Croatia to unexpected heights after his 30th birthday. He is joined in the squad by Ivan Perisic, a 2018 final scorer and a man nearer 200 caps than 100. For James Rodriguez, national hero status stems from the 2014 World Cup, when the flair player won the Golden Ball. He was club-less earlier this year. He has had a short-term deal with Minnesota United, but retained a prominence in his country’s colours.
Neymar seemed to feel the 2014 World Cup was destined to be his tournament. He has since taken Pele’s record as the Selecao’s record scorer but not the prize that would really cement greatness. He has earned – or received, anyway – a recall for his fourth World Cup, even if he may be a fringe figure. For the captain Casemiro, this should be a third and last World Cup.
Among defensive midfielders. N’Golo Kante is now France’s resident old-timer; a World Cup winner in 2018, absent through injury in 2022, he used to do the running of two men. At 35, his task is to keep on running.
France beat Belgium in the 2018 semi-final. The golden generation have become the olden generation, but some of them are still going: Axel Witsel, at 37, Kevin de Bruyne, who will turn 35 before the round of 32, and Romelu Lukaku, a rather old 33. Another 2018 semi-finalist still going is Jordan Henderson, who could become the first Englishman to play in four World Cups; in his case, the expansion in the size of squads may help.
Henderson will turn 36 during the tournament, his former Liverpool teammate Virgil van Dijk 35. The centre-back, who has only played in one previous World Cup, is among those trying to make up for lost time. So, too, Mohamed Salah, who was semi-fit in 2018, while Egypt did not qualify in 2022. For Sadio Mane, 34 now, it may be a farewell to the global stage.
For Edin Dzeko, Bosnia’s qualification gives the 40-year-old a surprise return, 12 years after his last World Cup. Others are propelled by memories of 2014. Even for those who have conquered the footballing world, the chance to do so again can be seductive. Manuel Neuer has rescinded his international retirement to take his place in the Germany goal, making him the last of the 2014 winners still going.
For past champions, there is the risk it is a tournament too far. Nicolas Otamendi is 38 now. He won his 100th cap in the 2022 final, which could have offered an opportunity to take his leave. Instead, he is still going. As, inevitably, are some of the Mexicans. Raul Jimenez is set for his fourth World Cup. The 40-year-old goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa is in the squad for a sixth. It would put him alongside Messi and Ronaldo, even if he is unlikely to attract as much attention as the men stretching their rivalry into a third decade.
