World Cup 2018: 8 Pieces Of History That Were Made

6. Oldest Ever Player

Kylian Mbappe France World Cup
By Анна Нэсси (https://www.soccer.ru/galery/1055236/photo/733160) [CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Goalkeeper Essam El-Hadary became the oldest player to play in a World Cup game at 45 years old, overtaking Faryd Mondragon's record, when he appeared for Egypt in their final group game against Saudi Arabia.

Egypt were already mathematically eliminated from the tournament when El-Hadary made his bow, and had nothing to lose by allowing their second choice keeper to capture the record.

This was his 159th international cap for his country and incredibly, his first ever appearance at the World Cup. As if that wasn't enough, the oldest player to play at a World Cup also became the oldest goalkeeper to save a penalty at the World Cup, stopping Fahad Al-Mulwallad's effort from 12 yards.

Contributor
Contributor

This standard nerd combines the looks of Shaggy with the brains of Scooby, has an unhealthy obsession with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and is a firm believer that Alter Bridge are the greatest band in the world.