Who are the youngest and oldest players heading into FIFA World Cup 2022?

The FIFA World Cup 2022 is all set to kick off with a game between Qatar and Ecuador on Sunday, November 20. The Group A match will be played at Al Bayt Stadium and is scheduled to begin at 9:30 p.m. IST. A total of 32 teams have qualified for the group stage of the tournament, which is slated to last till December 3. The knockout stage of the competition will begin on the same day the group stage ends. Ahead of the start of the marquee event, let's take a look at the youngest and oldest players to take part in this year's World Cup. 

FIFA World Cup 2022: Youngest player

German striker Youssoufa Moukoko is the youngest player at this year's World Cup. The Borussia Dortmund star is just 18 years old. He was born on November 20th, 2004. Moukoko was born in Cameroon and spent the first 10 years of his life in his native country. He moved to Germany in 2014 with his father, who already lived there as a citizen since the 1990s. In November 2022, Moukoko received a call-up to join the German national team for the World Cup in Qatar. Moukoko had earlier represented the German U16 and U21 teams. 

FIFA World Cup 2022: Oldest player

Mexican goalkeeper Alfredo Talavera is the oldest player at this year's World Cup. The footballer is 40 years old and if he plays in the tournament, he will become just the eighth player to play in the men’s World Cup in his 40s. Talavera was born on September 18, 1982, in Jalisco, Mexico. He was part of the Mexican squad during the 2018 FIFA World Cup but did not receive any playing time on the field. Talavera was also part of the squad during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but did not appear in any matches. Talavera was Mexico's starting goalkeeper in the Summer Olympics 2016, however, his team failed to make it past the group stage. 

FIFA World Cup 2022: Participating teams

Group A: Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
Group B: England, Iran, United States, Wales
Group C: Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
Group D: France, Australia, Denmark, Tunisia
Group E: Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
Group F: Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
Group G: Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
Group H: Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea 

Image: AP