The FIFA World Cup is where the brightest stars in soccer shine. The game's youngest standouts and most tenured performers put their respective countries on their backs in pursuit of the sport's biggest prize.
In 2018, Kylian Mbappé became the youngest French player to score a goal in a World Cup and only the second teenager to score in a World Cup final, joining legendary Brazil forward Pelé's performance in 1958. At just 19 years and 207 days old, Mbappé found the back of the net in the 65th minute of France's 4-2 title-winning victory over Croatia. The win sealed the Frenchmen's second World Cup crown (1998).
Four years later, Lionel Messi became the oldest player to win the quadrennial tournament's Golden Ball. At 35 years and 177 days old, the Argentina captain claimed the award reserved for the competition's best player for the second time (2014) en route to leading the Argentines past Mbappé and France in the 2022 final to secure their third World Cup title (1978 and 1986).
Mbappé and Messi both used the World Cup stage to show age is merely a number. Here is a look at the youngest and oldest World Cup final winners in history:
Youngest
▪︎ Pelé (Brazil) - won 1958 World Cup at 17 years and 249 days old
▪︎ Ronaldo (Brazil) - won 1994 World Cup at 17 years and 298 days old
▪︎ Giuseppe Bergomi (Italy) - won 1982 World Cup at 18 years and 174 days old
▪︎ Coutinho (Brazil) - won 1962 World Cup at 19 years and 6 days old
▪︎ Marco Antonio (Brazil) - won 1970 World Cup at 19 years and 135 days old
▪︎ Kylian Mbappé (France) - won 2018 World Cup at 19 years and 207 days old
▪︎ Mazzola (Brazil) - won 1958 World Cup at 19 years and 309 days old
▪︎ Rubén Morán (Uruguay) - won 1950 World Cup at 19 years and 344 days old
▪︎ Felice Borel (Italy) - won 1934 World Cup at 20 years and 66 days old
▪︎ Kaká (Brazil) - won 2002 World Cup at 20 years and 69 days old
Oldest
▪︎ Dino Zoff (Italy) - won 1982 World Cup at 40 years and 133 days old
▪︎ Nilton Santos (Brazil) - won 1962 World Cup at 37 years and 32 days old
▪︎ Angelo Peruzzi (Italy) - won 2006 World Cup at 36 years and 143 days old
▪︎ Franco Armani (Argentina) - won 2022 World Cup at 36 years and 63 days old
▪︎ Miroslav Klose (Germany) - won 2014 World Cup at 36 years and 34 days old
▪︎ Gilmar Rinaldi (Brazil) - won 1994 World Cup at 35 years and 185 days old
▪︎ Lionel Messi (Argentina) - won 2022 World Cup at 35 years and 177 days old
▪︎ Toni Turek (West Germany) - won 1954 World Cup at 35 years and 167 days old
▪︎ Bernard Lama (France) - won 1998 World Cup at 35 years and 96 days old
▪︎ Nicolás Otamendi (Argentina) - won 2022 World Cup at 34 years and 309 days old
Check out the ESPN FIFA World Cup hub page for the latest news, scores, stats, schedule, standings and more.