Gilberto Mora will be the “baby” of the World Cup among 1,248 registered players
Gilberto Mora will be the youngest player to participate in the 2026 World Cup among 1,248 footballers who were registered by the 48 teams
Gilberto Mora, midfielder for the Mexico national team, will become the youngest player to participate in the 2026 World Cup, after FIFA published the list with the 1,248 players from the 48 squads that will participate in the twenty-third edition in the history of this competition.
Mora, under this scenario, will have double responsibility on his shoulders. First, stand out with the Mexican team and second, demonstrate that your youth is not an impediment to excelling in a World Cup-level competition.
The Xolos de Tijuana midfielder, at 17 years and 240 days old, is the youngest in a relationship that includes Hugo Sochůrek from the Czech Republic, at 17 years and eleven months; Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi from the Spanish national team, aged 18; Estevao from Brazil, also 18 years old; Kendry Páez from Ecuador and Lennart Karl from Germany, aged 18; and Ibrahim Mbayede from Senegal.
One of the peculiarities of Gilberto's age is that he will not even be of age when he plays in the third World Cup that will take place in his country of origin, but he will also be one of the only two players who are not 18 years old during the competition, since the other younger footballers are older than that already mentioned age.
On the other side of the World Cup prism, Memo Ochoa, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have made it to the list of their countries in a last attempt to achieve glory with six World Cups under their belts.
Mexico will bet on the momentum of players like Gilberto Mora, Obed Vargas, Brian Rodríguez and Mateo Chávez, who will be among the youngest players in the competition, as in that adventure in Argentina 1978 when José Antonio Roca bet on Hugo Sánchez, Víctor Rodríguez and Enrique López Zarza.
The experience was not satisfactory as they finished in last place in the tournament after the defeats over Tunisia 3-1, Germany 6-0 and Poland 3-1, in one of the most notorious failures of the Mexican team along with Qatar 2022, where the Mexican team tied with Poland, lost with Argentina and beat Saudi Arabia, which was not enough to advance to the next phase.
On the other side of history appears Craig Gordon, Scotland's goalkeeper, who will play in his first World Cup at the age of 43, on the other side of the coin of the players who have become professionals and will have the opportunity to play in a World Cup after four decades of life.