Oldest goal-scorers in FIFA World Cup: Roger Milla heads list that also has Cristiano Ronaldo - the top 10

Football, especially at the highest levels like the FIFA World Cup, is a young man’s game.

Outfield players in football peak in their late 20s or early 30s. By the time they are in their mid-30s, most are past their prime and consequently, players over 35 are often a rarity on the biggest stage of the game

However, there are an exceptional few, who have defied age and made their mark on the biggest of stages even in their twilight years. Cameroon legend Roger Milla, the oldest goal-scorer in a FIFA World Cup match, and Portugal ace Cristiano Ronaldo, who recently became the third-oldest footballer to score in a World Cup match, are fine examples.

Here are the 10 oldest World Cup goal-scorers in the history of football.

Oldest footballers to score in FIFA World Cup

1. Roger Milla (Cameroon) - 42 years and 39 days vs Russia in FIFA World Cup 1994

Cameroon legend Roger Milla holds the record of being the oldest footballer to score a goal in the men’s FIFA World Cup, having netted against Russia in the 1994 World Cup in the USA at the ripe old age of 42 years and 39 days.

To date, Roger Milla, often dubbed ‘the Old Lion’ by fans, is the only player over 40 years of age to have scored at a World Cup. However, perhaps the story that led up to Milla’s feat is even more fascinating than the record in itself.

Having made his international debut in 1973, Roger Milla retired from international football in 1987 at the age of 35. For 15 years, the striker had enjoyed a fruitful career with the national side and hung up his boots with the reputation as one of the best footballers to have ever come out of Cameroon and Africa.

An Olympian from the Los Angeles 1984 Games, Roger Milla had also represented Cameroon at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain and even got the ball in the net in a match against Peru. Unfortunately, the goal was disallowed and Milla had made peace with the fact that his dream of scoring in a World Cup will remain unrealised.

However, little did Milla know when he retired that his best years were yet to come. The striker was still playing club football after his early international retirement. However, after Cameroon qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, fate came calling.

Paul Biya, the then President of Cameroon, had seen Milla play in a charity match and insisted that he be included in the national team for the showpiece in Italy. Biya went a step further and personally called Roger Milla to make up his mind.

“I got a call from the President who said he thought I should play and I was in no position to argue. I knew that if I got into shape, I could make an impact.” Milla later told Reuters.

Roger Milla scored four goals, all after coming on as a substitute, to lead Cameroon to the quarter-finals of Italy 1990 - the furthest any African team had progressed in the competition at that time. Senegal matched the record in 2002.

Milla didn’t score in his nine-minute cameo against reigning champions Argentina, a match Cameroon famously won with nine men. But Milla scored twice against Romania in a group game before single-handedly dragging the Indomitable Lions to the quarters with a brace against Colombia in the Round of 16.

Incidentally, any of Milla’s goals in the 1990 World Cup would have been enough to make him the oldest-ever scorer in FIFA World Cup history. His extra-time brace against Colombia in the pre-quarterfinals came when he was 38 years and 34 days old - a good 100 days younger than Cristiano Ronaldo, the second-oldest World Cup scorer in history.

However, Roger Milla would return for the 1994 World Cup in the USA and scored Cameroon’s only goal in a 6-1 defeat to Russia. However, his feat in the contest was overshadowed by Oleg Salenko’s five goals, which still stands as the record for most goals scored in a single World Cup match by a player.

Roger Milla is also the oldest outfield player and third-oldest player to have ever taken the field in a football World Cup match. Egypt’s Essam El-Hadary (45 years, 161 days) and Colombia’s Faryd Mondragon (43 years, 3 days), the top two oldest players to have played in a World Cup match, were both goalkeepers.

2. Pepe (Portugal) - 39 years and 283 days vs Switzerland in FIFA World Cup 2022

Pepe became the oldest player to score at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar when he netted one in Portugal’s 6-1 drubbing of Switzerland in the Round of 16. At 39 years and 283 days, Pepe thus became the second-oldest ever to score at the World Cup, eclipsing Cristiano Ronaldo, who had taken the position in the team’s opening game.

Captaining the team against Switzerland, Pepe was the second player to score in the match, handing Portugal a 2-0 lead in the 33rd minute. In the end, however, it was Gonçalo Ramos who starred for Portugal with a hat-trick, the first of Qatar 2022.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - 37 years and 295 days vs Ghana in FIFA World Cup 2022

Cristiano Ronaldo became the third-oldest World Cup goal-scorer in history after converting from the penalty spot during Portugal’s 3-2 win over Ghana in their Group H opener at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

The Portuguese legend’s penalty kick in the 65th minute was the opening goal of the match and proved vital as the match ended 3-2 in Portugal’s favour.

Incidentally, Russian defender Sergei Ignashevich did score an own goal against Spain in the 2018 World Cup in South Africa at the age of 38 years and 352 days. However, self goals aren’t counted as records.

4. Gunnar Gren (Sweden) - 37 years and 236 days vs West Germany in FIFA World Cup 1958

Before Roger Milla came out of retirement and scored his maiden World Cup goal against Romania in Italy 1990, Sweden’s Gunnar Gren owned the record of the oldest goal-scorer in a football World Cup for over three decades.

Gunnar Gren’s only World Cup goal came against West Germany in the semi-finals, a match Sweden famously won before going down 5-2 to Pele’s Brazil in the final.

Gunnar Gren’s Swedish team-mate Nils Liedholm netted the opening goal in the 1958 final against Brazil, which made him the oldest player to score in a World Cup final. Nils Liedholm was 35 years and 264 days old at the time.

Considered one of the greats of Swedish football, Gunnar Gren played a pivotal role in helping his national team win the gold medal in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London.

Obdulio Varela, who captained Uruguay to the FIFA World Cup title in 1950, and Germany’s Miroslav Klose, the top goal-scorer in World Cup history also features in the top 10 list of oldest scorers in the football World Cup.

Oldest footballer to score in a FIFA Women’s World Cup

Formiga (Brazil) 37 years and 98 days vs South Korea in FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015

Brazil’s Formiga is the oldest goal-scorer in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, having scored in a match against South Korea in her team’s Group E opener vs South Africa in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 in Canada. She was 37 years and 98 days old at the time.

USA legend Megan Rapinoe is the oldest player to have scored in a FIFA Women’s World Cup final. She scored in the 2019 Women’s World Cup final against the Netherlands just two days after her 34th birthday.