Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo become the first men in history to appear at six separate World Cups, and they do it simultaneously at the same tournament. Messi, the Argentina captain who turns 39 during the group stage, opens against Algeria on 16 June in Kansas City. Ronaldo, the only player to have scored at five separate World Cups, follows with Portugal on 17 June. Neither plays on opening day, but the symmetry frames the whole competition. 1
The pair lead the oldest World Cup field on record. Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon, at 43, sits atop the age list confirmed in the pre-tournament squad survey , above Ronaldo, Croatia's Luka Modric, Germany's Manuel Neuer and Bosnia's Edin Dzeko. A generation that came through in the mid-2000s has outlasted the cycle that should have replaced it.
Messi, who lifted the trophy with Argentina in Qatar, said he is "savouring every moment". For two of football's defining careers this is, on the arithmetic of age, the last act on this stage. The record is the more striking for arriving together: several players have reached five World Cups, but none had played a sixth until now.
