It's not Ronaldo nor Yamal. Who are the oldest and youngest players at the 2026 World Cup?

Cristiano Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal are the two most high-profile figures drawing public attention ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Ronaldo stands as an icon of global football who still competes at the elite level past the age of 40, while Yamal is the breakout young star widely tipped to become the future face of World Football.

But do these two hold the age records for the 2026 World Cup? In reality, neither Ronaldo nor Yamal will claim the title of oldest or youngest player at football's flagship international tournament.

For Ronaldo, the 2026 World Cup will mark his sixth appearance at the quadrennial competition with the Portugal National Team. When the tournament kicks off, he will be 41 years and 126 days old - an exceptional feat for a first-choice centre forward.

Even so, the Portuguese captain will not be the oldest player at the 2026 World Cup. That distinction belongs to Scotland national team goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who will be 43 years old at the start of the tournament.

Ronaldo will instead hold the record as the oldest outfield (non-goalkeeper) player at the competition.

Following Ronaldo, the list of veteran players at the 2026 World Cup includes multiple established stars who will also be aged 40 or over: Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico), Luka Modric (Croatia), Edin Dzeko (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Manuel Neuer (Germany) and Vozinha (Cape Verde).

This list of players aged 40 and above will expand once the tournament is underway. Uruguay goalkeeper Fernando Muslera will celebrate his 40th birthday on 16 June during the group stage.

At the opposite end of the age scale, public focus has also landed heavily on Lamine Yamal. The young Spanish winger, currently 18 years old, will turn 19 on 13 July - just 24 hours before the first semi-final fixture is scheduled.

Despite being celebrated as the symbol of football's next generation, Yamal will not be the youngest player at the 2026 World Cup. That title belongs to teenage Mexican midfielder Gilberto Mora.

Born 14 October 2008, Mora will arrive at the tournament aged 17 years and 8 months old. Though remarkably young, his competitive experience cannot be dismissed.

Mora has already earned 7 senior international caps for Mexico, and has made over 50 professional appearances for his club side Tijuana across the last two full seasons.

This track record establishes him as one of the most promising emerging talents in North America.

Hugo Sochurek of the Czech Republic ranks as the second youngest player at the tournament, while Bayern Munich wonderkid Lennart Karl places third at 18 years old.

Yamal does not even rank inside the top 10 youngest players at the 2026 World Cup. This reflects the growing number of teenage talents now being trusted with senior call-ups for football's biggest global stage.

Looking at historical World Cup records, the all-time oldest player at the tournament remains Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadary. He set the benchmark at the 2018 World Cup aged 45 years old, surpassing the previous record held by Colombia's Faryd Mondragon.

Meanwhile, the all-time record for the youngest ever World Cup player is still held by Northern Ireland legend Norman Whiteside, who featured at the 1982 World Cup aged just 17 years and 41 days old.

This long-standing record remains unbroken, and will not be beaten by Gilberto Mora at the 2026 edition.