The youngest and oldest player on each Women's World Cup roster

The host French have a lot of talent on their roster that is mostly bolstered by players from the Lyon team that dominates Europe. As such, the 20-year-old Laurent may not see much playing time. The striker has made three appearances and has yet to score a goal, but she still made the World Cup squad.

France has two 33-year-old players on the squad, but Bussaglia’s birthday is a little earlier than Gaetane Thiney’s. Bussaglia also happens to be the player on the team with the most caps. The midfielder has already played a whopping 186 games for France, and way back in 2003 she led the U-19 team to glory.

The Nigerian’s have a really young team. In fact, there are three 18-year-olds on the squad. Backup goalie Nnadozie is the youngest, though, as she was born in December of 2000.

In addition to the handful of teenagers on the team, Nigeria has one of the oldest players at this year’s tournament as well. Ebi is a 36-year-old defender who will be appearing in her fifth World Cup with the team. Currently, she plays professionally in the second division of Chinese soccer, so it seems like Ebi may not quite be in a place to contribute much to the team any longer.

Despite only being 19, she turns 20 in July, Maanum has already picked up 18 caps for Norway. The midfielder doesn’t have an international goal yet, but she’s scored six times in 28 caps for Swedish club side Linkoping

Goalies tend to be able to keep their career going for longer than most. That explains how Hjelmseth is on Norway’s roster at the age of 39. She’s been the top choice in net for Norway for a while, tallying 131 caps, but now she’s competing with the 23-year-old Cecilie Fiskerstrand, who has 21 appearances of her own.

The South Koreans are bringing an experienced team. They have only one player younger than 22, and that’s Kang, who is 21. She hasn’t exactly seen a lot of experience either, as she has one cap to her name. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Son Hwa-yeon has scored seven goals in 20 appearances, making her the youngest contributor.

On the flip side, Hwang is the oldest player on Korea despite being only 31 on a team full of players in their primes. Hwang is a defenseman who has a decent amount of international experience and will likely see some playing time in this tournament.

Two of China’s youngest players are goalies, interestingly enough. However, Xu is unlikely to be able to see any time on the field. The 20-year-old seems likely to be stuck to the bench, as opposed to 21-year-old goalie Peng Shimeng, who is in the running to play and perhaps even start.

Zhang is only 30, but she still earns the title of China’s oldest player. She’s been playing for the national team for a decade, having made her debut in 2009. Once upon a time, China played in the World Cup finals, but its star has fallen in recent years.

Germany is one of the best women’s soccer teams in the world. It has won two World Cups and is one of the favorites this year. As such, it takes a true talent to make this roster at the tender age of 17. Yet that’s what Oberdorf has done. She’s even been capped twice!

Yes, somehow, both Germany’s youngest and oldest players are named Lena. However, Goessling, at 33, is basically twice as old as her teenage teammate. She’s been one of the stars of the powerhouse Wolfsburg team and has over 100 caps for the German national team to boot.

This is South Africa’s first World Cup appearance, not that Dhlamini had to wait long. The midfielder is only 17, but she’s made five appearances for the national team already. She’s hoping this isn’t her country’s last appearance, or there will be a lot of years in Dhlamini’s career without a World Cup appearance.

Meanwhile, it’s been a long wait for Matlou. The 33-year-old is something of a do-it-all player for South Africa, as she has played both defender and striker. Yes, she stops goals from being scored and has also scored quite a few of them. Matlou was the first player from her country to be named Africa’s Women’s Player of the Year.

Spain has a young team, with only one player over 29 and a bunch of players in their early 20s. That included the 20-year-old Garcia, a forward with 13 appearances for the Spanish squad. Also, she’s a quadruplet!

Speaking of the only 30-year-old on Spain. This is Meseguer’s second World Cup appearance, as she played in 2015 as well. While she’s not the most experienced player on this roster, she brings a veteran presence in the midfield.

Australia isn’t afraid to take a chance on players when they are young. Ellie Carpenter is only 19 but has appeared in 31 games already. However, despite being 19 she isn’t even close to being the youngest player on the Matildas, as Fowler is only 16. She managed to score 17 goals in 10 games for Australia’s U-20 team, which certainly earned her a call-up.

Luik may be 34, and the oldest player on Australia, but she hasn’t seen a lot of playing time for the national squad. She only has 21 caps which, again, is fewer than her 19-year-old teammate Ellie Carpenter. Of course if Luik wasn’t on the team, the honor would have gone to Australia legend Lisa De Vanna, who has 147 caps.

Brazil’s team is old. Like, really old. Kathellen is a 23-year-old defender, and that makes her the youngest player on the squad. Brazil loaded up on veterans to make one last run at the World Cup with Marta. Kathellen plays her club ball in France and played in college in America as well.

Like we said, Brazil has an older team with a lot of players in their 30s…and one player in her 40s. That would be Formiga. In fact, the midfielder previously retired from international play but came back in 2018. Now here she is, still playing for Brazil, a team she debuted for in 1995.

Italy’s men’s team has had a ton of success, but this is the women’s first World Cup appearance since 1999. The 21-year-old Serturini had barely been alive at that time, but now she is part of this team. However, she has yet to get an official cap with Italy, so she may not actually see the field.

The 33-year-old Sabatino has scored 20 goals in 45 caps for Italy. That being said, six of those came in a 15-0 win over North Macedonia in the 2015 World Cup qualifiers. Italy didn’t make that tournament but made this year’s, thanks in part to two more goals from Sabatino.

Jamaica is a great story. Less than a decade ago the team was disbanded due to a lack of funding. Now, it is in its first World Cup. Brown is a talented 17-year-old striker who has notched eight goals in only 12 games. Of all the teenagers in this tournament, she may make the biggest impact.

Given that Jamaica didn’t have a team for a few years, it is not surprising that it is a young squad. The team has two players older than 27, including the 29-year-old goalie McClure, its oldest player. However, she will be competing with the 19-year-old Sydney Schneider for playing time.

Argentina has only a few young players, and nobody under the age of 23 has more than three caps. The 17-year-old Ippolito, who plays for River Plate in her home country, has just one appearance but has plenty of time to rack up more.

The 37-year-old Coronel is more than twice as old as her teammate Ippolito, but she’s currently plying her trade in Spain’s second division. With 34 caps, she is one of the more experienced players on Argentina’s squad, but she’s only ever notched two goals.

Did you know former England star Phil Neville manages England’s women’s team? And that the team has become one of the best in the world? The 20-year-old Stanway won the Golden Boot at the 2018 U-20 World Cup, and she was just named the PFA Women’s Young Player of the Year as well.

The 34-year-old Bardsley and Stanway are teammates at Manchester City, in addition to being teammates for England. Though she was born in America, Bardsley joined England early and found herself as the first-choice netminder for the team. This will be her second World Cup as England’s top goalie.

Japan was the runner-up at the 2015 Women’s World Cup, but Endo was too young to be a part of that team. In fact, she just turned 19 in May. The forward has gotten a few caps already, though, and could make an appearance in this tourney.

Sameshima was part of that World Cup silver medalist team, though, and will be looking for redemption. The defender is 31, which means she could have another World Cup in her, but this will be her last chance at a title in her prime. She’s already played in 108 games for Japan, and she will hope to add several more to her total this summer.

This is Scotland’s first World Cup, but it is not a young team. The team does get a lot of help from one particular youngster, though. Cuthbert is only 20, but she’s already appeared in 29 games and notched nine goals. She also has 10 goals for Chelsea at the club level.

The 33-year-old Lynn is a goalie who has been with Scotland since 2010. However, she is not guaranteed to be the first-choice keeper. Lee has 30 caps, but the 27-year-old Lee Alexander has 16 caps of her own. That being said, you’d think Lynn would get at least one start at Scotland’s first World Cup, given all that she’s done for the team.

Cameroon has several older players, including four at least 34 years of age. Takounda, on the other hand, is just 18. She’s the only teenager on the team and as such is still plying her trade in Cameroon. It’s unlikely she’ll see much playing time, though.

One of the people who will be fighting for playing time with Takounda is Cameroon’s oldest player, Mani. The 35-year-old has a whopping 128 caps to her name, more than double anybody else on the squad. She also has tallied 49 goals for her nation.

If you don’t follow women’s soccer, you might not know that Canada is one of the best teams in the world. There are three 18-year-olds on the roster ,with Huitema the youngest and also the best. She’s already plying her trade for Paris Saint-Germain and has scored six goals for her nation.

Sinclair is a Canadian legend. She’s still the captain, and her numbers are gaudy. The 35-year-old has a staggering 282 caps for Canada and has tallied 181 goals. She’s the best Canadian soccer player of all time. This is her last World Cup. Will she go out with a bang?

The Dutch roster includes a couple of 22-year-olds who are really dynamic players, but Pelova, who is 20, isn’t quite there yet. The midfielder has only three caps, making her one of the least experienced players on the team. 

The Netherlands has two experienced goalies on theroster. The 29-year-old Sari van Veenendaal plays for Arsenal and has 52 caps. However, the 33-year-old Geurts, who plays in Sweden, has a whopping 123 caps. Whomever the Dutch go with, there will be a solid veteran in net.

New Zealand doesn’t have a lot of prestige. Many of its players ply their trade in their home country, and several are unattached to any team. Olla is a 19-year-old goalie who plays for Western Springs in New Zealand. She almost definitely won’t play in this tourney.

The 31-year-old Gregorius definitely will. Though she isn’t one of the Kiwis who plays in Europe — she plays locally for Miramar Rangers — Gregorious has 33 goals for New Zealand, tops on the team.

Chile is the final team making its first appearance. There are three teenagers on the roster, two 18-year-olds who have some experience and Duran, who is 17 and does not. If you want to keep an eye on a teen, make it Javiera Grez, 18, who isn’t quite as young as Duran.

There’s not a lot of experience on this team. In fact, the player with the most caps on Chile has a mere 22. That isn’t Rojas, who has 20 in her 31 years. She’s also the only Chilean who has scored double-digit goals for her country.

As you can probably tell by her name, Olme is part Italian, but she plies her trade for Sweden. The forward is 21 years of age and might make an appearance in this World Cup. Sweden has had a good amount of success at the Women’s World Cup, so there will be some pressure on Olme if she plays.

There is no question about who the No. 1 goalie is for Sweden. Lindahl, who is 36 and plays for Chelsea in club soccer, has 157 caps. The other two goalies on the Swedish roster have two total. This is probably Lindahl’s last World Cup. Let’s see if she still has life left in her legs.

Thailand’s national team mostly plays in Thailand, a few players are not attached to any team and 21-year-old goalie Tiffany Sornpao plays for Kennesaw State in the U.S. So yeah, it’s not the most exciting roster, and the team is a bit of a mystery. Philawan is more mysterious than most, but the 20-year-old does hold the distinction of being the youngest player on the team.

The 33-year-old defender is Thailand’s captain, but her stats are indicative of the relative level of inexperience on this team. Sritala has been with the squad since 2008 but has made only 25 appearances. That qualifies as veteran leadership for Thailand.

The 21-year-old Mallory Pugh is America’s next star. She’s already played in 50 games and notched 15 goals, and she is oozing potential. That being said, Davidson is a few months younger. The defender is less experienced but still has 19 caps to her name as a 20-year-old.

You know Lloyd’s name. She has over 100 goals for the U.S. She scored a hat trick in the 2015 World Cup Final against Japan. Lloyd is 36 and has played in 271 games. Her role is getting smaller, but if you need somebody to score a goal, you can still believe in Lloyd.