Cristiano Ronaldo is one of many old fogeys still playing international football. The Portugal captain needs a reality check but Luka Modric does not.
Here are ten geriatric players called up for their country this month…
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Where better to start than the embodiment of longevity? Cristiano Ronaldo is a freak of nature but time has most certainly caught up with him which, as a 40-year-old man more than two decades into his professional career, is actually fine.
As the greatest Portuguese footballer of all-time and in the eyes of many the greatest footballer of all-time full stop, Ronaldo still has a stranglehold on the country he has represented over 200 times. The Real Madrid and Manchester United legend hinders more than he helps nowadays but is undroppable and if Roberto Martinez dareschallenge that, Ronaldo’s Homelander eyes will light up and the ex-Everton manager will backtrack like because his life depends on it.
Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes in Portugal’s Nations League play-off defeat in Denmark on Thursday and failed to register a shot on target or any key passes or dribbles. An awful evening was capped off by Rasmus Hojlund doing Ronaldo’s iconic celebration under his nose after scoring the only goal of the game.
Unfortunately for Portugal fans, Ronaldo will continue to start up front until he can’t be bothered anymore – which will be never. He could be an 80-year-old man in a wheelchair and new Portugal manager Joao Neves would still be scared to drop him.
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Luka Modric (Croatia)
We mean no disrespect to the freak of nature and incredible legend that is Ronaldo, but while he hinders in his old age, Luka Modric remains Croatia’s best and most inspirational player at the age of 39.
Portugal fans never expected to be hopelessly waiting for the day CR7 either called it a day or accepted his limitations and sat on the bench, but here we are. On the contrary, Croatia fans are dreading the day their 2018 Ballon d’Or winner hangs up his boots.
Croatia beat World Cup finalists France 2-0 on Thursday evening and Modric played the full match, inspiring his nation to a surprise victory over Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, William Saliba and friends.
The Real Madrid midfielder has always been known for his world-class technical ability, yet his durability and availability is bloody ridiculous. The supposedly weak midfielder is anything but.
Craig Gordon (Scotland)
Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon is Scotland No. 1, 21 years after making his international debut. Now 42, he made his 79th cap and kept a clean sheet in Thursday’s 1-0 victory away to Greece.
What makes Gordon’s longevity all the more impressive is that he suffered a gruesome leg break in December 2022. Many people, myself included, assumed a 39-year-old Gordon would not return. He didn’t just return – after less than a year – but he came #backstronger. Hell, people thought the same when he tore his ACL in April 2012, a year after suffering another serious knee injury that ruled him out for 260 days.
Goalkeepers often get a pass when it comes to this sort of thing but Gordon is more than an honourable mention. The thing is, he is actually still a very good goalkeeper.
Kyle Walker (England)
There was surprise in some quarters when Kyle Walker was named in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad but with the AC Milan right-back closing in on 100 caps, he really wanted this call-up and has been rewarded for his experience and willingness to find a new club in January.
It is anyone’s guess where or even if Tuchel plays Walker against Albania at Wembley on Friday night but if the German plays with three centre-backs, we can envision the 34-year-old being the man on the right, not wing-back.
Like we alluded to, not everyone agreed with Walker’s inclusion in this month’s England squad, but he is not the most controversial pick. That goes to Jordan Henderson, who has barely played for Ajax this year. Ah, way to endear yourself to the doubters, Thomas.
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Kasper Schmeichel (Denmark)
Kasper Schmeichel is a young pup in comparison to Gordon. Both play their club football in Scotland but the former has a much more cushty number at Celtic; it is nowhere near as fun being Hearts’ goalkeeper.
Like Gordon, Schmeichel kept a Nations League clean sheet on Thursday night, keeping out Ronaldo’s Portugal in a crucial first-leg victory. He had a relatively quiet night with two saves, but he did have more touches (33) than Ronaldo’s 30.
The Dane is obviously not the elite goalkeeper we saw at Leicester but was a big summer coup for the Bhoys and is still his country’s first-choice goalkeeper ahead of promising Chelsea star Filip Jorgensen and Leicester City’s Mads Hermansen.
Joe Allen (Wales)
Wales kick off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a winnable home match against Kazakhstan on Saturday. They were handed a very decent group, always drawing a fragile and inconsistent Belgium side, Liechtenstein and North Macedonia. There might be a Welsh invasion of North America next year, lads.
The oldest player in their squad is Joe Allen, who is hoping to add to his 76 caps this month. There are three teenagers in Craig Bellamy’s squad, including five-cap Stoke City player Lewis Koumas – who is the son of ex-Wales international and Barclaysman Jason.
Allen did not start in any of Wales’ last three matches but did earn two more caps off the bench, so he will be hopeful Bellamy gives him some playing time against Kazakhstan and/or North Macedonia.
Ivan Perisic (Croatia)
The second Croatian on this list, Ivan Perisic is enjoying a successful season at PSV after a fairytale return to Hajduk Split quickly became a nightmare.
The breakdown in relationship between Perisic and Hajduk boss Gennaro Gattuso should not have come as a surprise considering the Italian’s temperament but it did and it was also a surprise when PSV gave the player a contract. He has taken his chance and repaid the faith with some super performances and Perisic is in the Croatia squad on merit, not reputation.
Perisic, 36, was crucial in his side’s 2-0 win over France, scoring and assisting. He was not the best player on the park though. His performance was narrowly bettered by his goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
Marko Arnautovic (Austria)
Allen’s former Stoke team-mate Marko Arnautovic is still knocking about up front for Austria. Given an unfair reputation as a bad egg, the 35-year-old’s former club team-mates only have good things to say about the big man, who started and made an assist in Thursday’s 1-1 draw against England’s Euro 2024 opponents Serbia.
Unlike with Schmeichel competing against Hermansen and Jorgensen and Modric vying with Martin Baturina, Petar Sucic and others, there are not very many striker options for Austria manager Ralf Rangnick, who is more than happy to keep using Arnautovic.
Eduardo Vargas (Chile)
Remember this guy? Well, Eduardo Vargas used to play for Queens Park Rangers and is still starting for Chile.
The 35-year-old was the lone striker in his side’s 1-0 defeat against Paraguay on Thursday, picking up his 118th cap, which is a gargantuan number.
Absolutely incredible that the only English team he has played for is QPR; we are sure he played for Watford at some point.
Marc Pujol (Andorra)
Forget Ronaldo and Modric, Marc Pujol is undoubtedly the biggest name on this list. He is comfortably the oldest outfielder anyway.
With a ridiculous 120 caps to his name, 42-year-old Pujol made his Andorra debut in February 2000 and in the first two squads he was included in, his nation only lost once, drawing two and beating Belarus.
He did not taste international victory again until 2002 and then 2004, before the two-year win cycle ended and Pujol had to wait until 2017 in a friendly against San Marino; if only they’d thought of organising that sooner. That sparked another two matches without defeat – including a shock World Cup qualification victory at home to Hungary.
The Nations League has given countries like Andorra the opportunity to play other teams on their level but now is the time for World Cup qualifiers and Andorra have Latvia on Friday before Albania on Monday. They face England on June 7.