Who is the oldest player to have appeared at a EURO?
domingo, 1 de janeiro de 2023
Sumário do artigo
Meet the oldest EURO players, the oldest EURO finalist, the oldest EURO scorers and the oldest EURO outfield players.
Conteúdo media do artigo

Corpo do artigo
Oldest player to appear
Gábor Király (40 years and 86 days)
Instantly recognisable for his unconventional choice of trousers, 'Pyjama Man' set a record as the oldest player at a UEFA European Championship as he helped to steer unfancied Hungary through to the last 16 of EURO 2016. There they lost 4-0 to Belgium, but Király's block from Kevin De Bruyne's free-kick was voted UEFA's Save of the Season for 2015/16.
Oldest outfield player to appear
Lothar Matthäus (39 years and 91 days)
Matthäus's appearance against Portugal at EURO 2000 had made him the oldest player to figure at a UEFA European Championship – until Király's intervention – and also marked his 150th and final cap for Germany. He was thoroughly upstaged on the day as Sérgio Conceição scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for his side's opponents.
Oldest player to score
Ivica Vastić (38 years and 257 days)
The former Sturm Graz and Austria Wien man came off the bench with 26 minutes left against Poland in a EURO 2008 group game and salvaged a 1-1 draw for Austria by converting a late penalty. It was his 14th national-team goal on his 50th outing and made him the oldest player to score at a final tournament.
Oldest player to win
Arnold Mühren (37 years and 23 days)
Ricardo Carvalho was aged 38 years and 53 days when Portugal won the trophy in 2016 but he did not appear in the final itself. Mühren is the oldest player to win a decider, the midfielder notably teeing up Marco van Basten to give the Dutch a two-goal lead against the USSR in the 1988 final in Munich.
Oldest player in a final
Jens Lehmann (38 years and 232 days)
Following a successful career with Schalke, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal, Lehmann was on course to bow out of international football on a high in 2008, only to be denied a winners' medal by Spain. It was scant consolation that he established a record that night as the oldest ever EURO finalist.
Oldest scorer in a final
Leonardo Bonucci (34 years and 71 days)
Overtaking Bernd Hölzenbein, who had found the net for West Germany against Czechoslovakia in 1976, Italy defender Bonucci became just the second player over the age of 30 to score in a EURO final when he prodded in from close range in the 67th minute to make it 1-1 in their EURO 2020 decider against England.