10 football stars who may be playing their final World Cup

The knockout rounds of the 2026 World Cup are underway, and for football's most decorated generation, every match now carries extra weight. These are players who built their legacies across two, three, and sometimes five World Cups — and for many, North America 2026 is shaping up to be the closing chapter.

At 41, Ronaldo remains the most-capped international footballer in history with 231 appearances and 145 goals for Portugal. The World Cup, though, is the one prize missing from his cabinet. This is his sixth appearance at the tournament, and he still hasn't bettered the semi-final run from his 2006 debut. He has, however, become the only player ever to score at six different World Cups, taking his tally to 10 goals in 25 matches. After a brace against Uzbekistan, his message was blunt: "I'm back." Whether Portugal can turn that into silverware before his international career winds down is the real question.

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Messi didn't walk away after winning it all in 2022 – and at 39, he's still breaking records most players never touch. He now owns the all-time World Cup scoring record with 19 goals, added eight assists, and has scored in seven consecutive World Cup matches. Two Golden Balls, in 2014 and 2022, sit alongside a winner's medal. This is his sixth World Cup, matching only Ronaldo among outfield players for longevity on this stage. A seventh, at 2030, feels like a long shot.

Egypt's win over New Zealand snapped a 91-year drought – their first World Cup victory since 1934 – and Mohamed Salah, 34, was at the heart of it with a goal and an assist. It's only his second World Cup; Egypt didn't qualify in 2022. Back in 2018, an injury-hampered Salah still scored twice, but Egypt lost every group game. His overall record now reads three goals and two assists in five World Cup appearances. A win over Australia would send Egypt into the last 16 – potentially setting up a mouth-watering tie against Messi's Argentina.

Senegal had featured at just one World Cup before Mane arrived. With him on their side, they've now reached three straight tournaments. His only World Cup goal came in 2018, and a knee injury cost him the 2022 finals entirely, though not before he scored the winning penalty in the playoff that got Senegal there. Now 34, Senegal face Belgium for a last-16 spot in what could realistically be Mane's final World Cup outing.

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Luka Modric, at 40 years and 291 days, recently became the oldest player to record a World Cup assist. He's made 22 World Cup appearances across five tournaments since debuting in 2006 — a total bettered by only five players in the game's history. Croatia reached the final in 2018 and finished third in 2022, with Modric's 120-minute performance against Brazil in that quarter-final standing out as one of his finest moments in the shirt. For a country of under four million people, that's a golden generation built largely around one man.

Manuel Neuer, 40, came out of international retirement at Germany's request, and his form this tournament has been shaky at best. But his legacy doesn't hinge on 2026; he already won the World Cup and the Golden Glove back in 2014 and has racked up 23 World Cup appearances since 2010. Germany's exit in the last 32 this time round stings, but nothing changes what he achieved over a decade ago.

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Neymar's World Cup story peaked early: four goals in five games as a 22-year-old in 2014, before a back injury cut his tournament short and Brazil were mauled 7-1 by Germany in the semis. He scored twice each in 2018 and 2022, both ending in quarter-final exits. Now 34 and coming back from repeated injury setbacks, he has eight goals and four assists across 14 World Cup games. His emotional comeback against Scotland was a reminder of how much this tournament still means to him.

Belgium's celebrated generation has never quite delivered a quarter-final in 2014, a semi-final in 2018, and a group-stage exit in 2022. Kevin De Bruyne, now 35 and at his fourth World Cup, has scored in three of them and added four assists across 16 appearances. Belgium face Egypt for a knockout spot, with a possible USA clash waiting on the other side.

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Because the Netherlands missed the 2018 tournament altogether, Van Dijk has just eight World Cup caps despite being one of the world's best defenders for the better part of a decade. The Dutch fell to Argentina on penalties in the 2022 quarter-finals and this time round were eliminated by Morocco in a last-32 shootout, despite Van Dijk opening the scoring. At 34, this may be as far as his World Cup story goes.

South Korea's tournament is already over, and Son, 33, was dropped from the starting eleven for the final group match after going scoreless. He still holds his country's records for World Cup goals (three) and appearances (13) across four tournaments, but South Korea have never come close to replicating their 2002 run to the semi-finals on home soil.