1. Oldest coach to attend World Cup
The record currently belongs to Otto Rehhagel of Germany, who led the Greek national team in 2010 at the age of 71. The leading candidate to break this record is Dick Advocaat, 78 years old, coach of the Curaçao national team.
This Dutch coach helped the national team win a ticket to the World Cup, but resigned in February 2026 due to family issues.
Reappointed in May, he will become the oldest coach in World Cup history when Curacao faces Germany on June 14.
Ranked after Dick Advocaat are Miroslav Koubek (Czech Republic) and Hugo Broos (South Africa) both 74 years old.
2. Oldest player to score in a knockout match
The record currently belongs to Pepe, who scored for Portugal at the age of 39 at the 2022 World Cup. The main candidates to surpass this number are Cristiano Ronaldo (41), Luka Modric (40) and Edin Dzeko (40).
Although they are legends of the national team, Cristiano Ronaldo and Modric have never scored in a World Cup knockout match.
3. Player with the most wins
The current record holder is Miroslav Klose, with 17 wins for the German team. The top candidate is Lionel Messi, who has 16 wins with the Argentine team after 5 World Cup appearances.
With only one more victory to break the record, the Argentine star has a chance to overcome the Germans right from the group stage, where Argentina will face Algeria, Austria and Jordan.
4. World Cup top scorer in history
Miroslav Klose is also leading the scoring list in World Cup history with 16 goals. The candidates to surpass him are Lionel Messi (13 goals) and Kylian Mbappé (12 goals).
Mbappe is the main long-term threat to Klose's record, having scored 11 goals in the last 11 World Cup matches.
Meanwhile, Messi needs three more goals to equal Klose's record and four goals to monopolize the record.
5. Record for hat-tricks at different World Cups
The current record belongs to Gabriel Batistuta, the only player in history to score three goals in a match in two different World Cups (1994 and 1998), in the Argentina national team jersey.
The candidates for surpassing this achievement are Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane, Goncalo Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo.
They have all scored hat-tricks at previous World Cups and are aiming to repeat that achievement to equal or surpass the Argentine player.
6. Most goals from outside the penalty area
The record belongs to legendary star Rivelino, who scored 5 goals for Brazil from shots from outside the 16m50 box.
The candidate to break the record is Lionel Messi, who has scored 4 goals from long-range shots and is only one goal away from the Brazilian legend.
7. Youngest player to win Golden Ball
Ronaldo Nazario has held this record since 1998, when he was honored as the Best Player of the tournament at the age of 21.
The leading candidate to surpass the Brazilian player is the 18-year-old Spanish star, Lamine Yamal.
8. Number of matches led the most
Coach Helmut Schön holds the absolute record with 25 matches leading the German national team. The candidate who surpassed him is Didier Deschamps, who has led the French national team 19 matches.
Deschamps needs to help France reach the quarter-finals in 2026 to equal Schon's record, and the semi-finals to set a new record.
9. Most final matches as a player
Cafu of the Brazilian team leads with three participated finals (1994, 1998 and 2002). The candidates to equal the record are Lionel Messi (who participated in the 2014 and 2022 World Cup finals) and Kylian Mbappé (2018 and 2022).
10. Most clean sheets
Goalkeepers Peter Shilton and Fabien Barthez share the record with 10 clean sheets each. The candidate to break this record is Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who has had 7 clean sheets.
11. Most appearances from the bench
Denilson is holding the record with 11 appearances from the bench for the Brazilian national team. The brightest candidate to surpass this record is Marcus Rashford, with 9 appearances. The English player is often chosen to play in the second half of the England national team and needs to play from the bench in three more matches to surpass Denilson.
