Experience goes a long way at the Euros, and these stars had it in abundance when they represented their respective countries on Europe’s biggest stage.
From veteran goalkeepers to a midfielder whose career spanned two decades, these are the oldest players ever to play at the European Championship.
A certain Cristiano Ronaldo is poised to make it onto the list by captaining Portugal at Euro 2024; here’s the company he’s set to be keeping.
The oldest players ever to play at the Euros: 5. Peter Shilton – England (38 years, 271 days)
Peter Shilton (Image credit: Getty Images)
England‘s most-capped player with 125 appearances to his name, Peter Shilton represented the Three Lions at two European Championships.
The last of those was in 1988 – where Bobby Robson’s side crashed out at the group stage without getting a single point, conceding seven goals in the process. Oops.
4. Maarten Stekelenburg – Netherlands (38 years, 279 days)
Maarten Stekelenburg (Image credit: Alamy)
Maarten Stekelenburg hadn’t been capped by his country for almost five years when he made Frank de Boer’s Euro 2020 squad.
And with regular custodian Jasper Cillessen ruled out of the tournament due to Covid, Stekelenburg became the Netherlands‘ number one once more.
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3. Morten Olsen – Denmark (38 years, 308 days)
Morten Olsen (Image credit: Getty Images)
One of Denmark‘s all-time greats, Morten Olsen became the oldest player in European Championship history when he featured at the 1988 tournament.
Olsen called time on his international career after those finals despite sitting on 99 caps – but he was tempted out of retirement 10 months later and brought up a century of appearances, finishing on 102.
2. Lothar Matthaus – Germany (39 years, 92 days)
Lothar Matthaus (Image credit: Alamy)
Lothar Matthaus’ epic international career began at Euro 1980 – which he won – and ended at Euro 2000 – where he won his 150th and final cap for Germany.
The legendary former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan midfielder – who captained his country to victory at the 1990 World Cup – remains the oldest outfield player ever to feature at the European Championship.
1. Gabor Kiraly – Hungary (40 years, 86 days)
Gabor Kiraly (Image credit: Alamy)
Instantly recognisable for the grey trackie bottoms he wore for almost every match, Gabor Kiraly is the only player over the age of 40 ever to appear at the Euros.
The ex-Crystal Palace goalkeeper was Hungary‘s first-choice goalkeeper at Euro 2016, featuring in all four of their games as they reached the last 16.
