With all squads confirmed – here are are some interesting facts ahead of the World Cup | OneFootball

The final squads have been submitted to FIFA ahead of the start of the World Cup on June 11, and this will be a historic competition.

357 players of the 1,248 taking part will be returning after at least one previous World Cup squad inclusion. 891 of the players are set to experience the competition for the first time.

The generational breadth is striking, with over 25 years separating the oldest player (Scotland’s Craig Gordon at 43 years and 162 days old) from the youngest (Mexico’s Gilberto Mora at 17 years and 240 days old).

A total of 22 players under 20 years old and seven players aged 40 or above at the start of the tournament could feature, whilst 22 World Cup winners are returning to the global stage.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and Mexico’s goalkeeping icon Guillermo Ochoa are all set for record-breaking sixth FIFA World Cup campaigns.

449 different clubs from 71 countries will be represented (14 from the AFC region, six from CAF, seven from Concacaf, eight from CONMEBOL, one from the OFC, and 35 from UEFA).

Ghana’s Portuguese tactician Carlos Queiroz is coaching at his fifth consecutive FIFA World Cup, having previously led Portugal in 2010 and Iran in 2014, 2018 and 2022. He is only the second coach to appear at five straight tournaments, after Bora Milutinović (1986–2002).