Egypt fielded the 45 year-old goalkeeper Essam El Hadary for their final World Cup game against Saudi Arabia to give him a chance to get to history books. Egypt went on to lose the game following controversial penalty decision but El Hadary had a memorable moment of saving another penalty earlier on. He surpassed Colombian goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon, who made his last World Cup appearance at the age of 43.  Roger Milla of Cameroon remains the oldest outfield player to ever feature in the tournament.

Curiously, El Hadary is older than three head coaches of the national teams, represented in Russia, including Aliou Cisse, Mladen Krstajic and Roberto Martinez.