Croatia legend Luka Modrić entered the record books on Saturday (Sunday IST) by becoming the oldest player to provide an assist in a FIFA World Cup match.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball winner set up Nikola Vlašić’s goal in the 83rd minute of Croatia’s Group L clash against Ghana at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Modrić, one of only four players to have made more than 200 international appearances, was 40 years and 291 days old on June 27, 2026. He broke the previous record held by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Edin Džeko.
40 – Aged 40y 291d today, Luka Modric has become the oldest player to provide an assist at the World Cup on Opta record (since 1966).
Timeless. pic.twitter.com/Pv8S1W8br3
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 27, 2026
Džeko had become
the oldest player to register an assist in a FIFA World Cup match earlier in the ongoing 2026 edition, when he set up a goal for Bosnia and Herzegovina during their Group B match against Qatar at Lumen Field in Seattle on June 24. He was 40 years and 109 days old at the time.
Oldest players to provide an assist in FIFA World Cup match
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | AGE | AGAINST | EDITION |
| Luka Modric | Croatia | 40 years, 291 days | Ghana | 2026 |
| Edin Džeko | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 40 years, 109 days | Qatar | 2026 |
| Thiago Silva | Brazil | 38 years, 74 days | South Korea | 2022 |
| Roger Milla | Cameroon | 38 years, 51 days | England | 1990 |
| Fritz Walter | West Germany | 37 years, 236 days | Northern Ireland | 1958 |
The record for being the oldest goal-scorer in FIFA World Cup history belongs to Roger Milla. The Cameroonian legend was 42 years and 39 days old when he scored against Russia in a group-stage match at the FIFA World Cup 1994.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo is in second place. He was 41 years and 138 days old when he scored a brace for Portugal in their match against Uzbekistan on June 23, 2026.
Oldest goal scorers in FIFA World Cup
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | AGE | AGAINST | YEAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Milla | Cameroon | 42 years, 39 days | Russia | 1994 |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 41 years, 138 days | Uzbekistan | 2026 |
| Pepe | Portugal | 39 years, 283 days | Switzerland | 2022 |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | 38 years, 363 days | Austria | 2026 |
| Gunnar Gren | Sweden | 37 years, 236 days | West Germany | 1958 |
| Cuauhtemoc Blanco | Mexico | 37 years, 151 days | France | 2010 |
| Felipe Baloy | Panama | 37 years, 120 days | England | 2018 |
| Marko Arnautovic | Austria | 37 years, 58 days | Jordan | 2026 |
| Obdulio Varela | Uruguay | 36 years, 279 days | England | 1954 |
| Martin Palermo | Argentina | 36 years, 227 days | Greece | 2010 |
The first goal against Uzbekistan in the sixth minute of that match also helped Ronaldo become the first and only player in the world to score in six different editions of the FIFA World Cup.
