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The final team lists have now been officially submitted to FIFA in preparation for the start of the World Cup on June 11, marking what promises to be a historic edition of the tournament.

Out of the 1,248 players selected to take part, 357 have previous World Cup experience, having been included in past squads, while 891 players are set to make their debut on football’s grandest stage.

The age range among participants is remarkable — more than 25 years separate the oldest player, Scotland’s Craig Gordon (43 years and 162 days), from the youngest, Mexico’s Gilberto Mora (17 years and 240 days).

In total, 22 players aged below 20 and seven players aged 40 or older will be part of the competition when it begins. Additionally, 22 former World Cup winners are returning to the international spotlight.

Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Mexico’s veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa are each preparing to feature in their record-setting sixth FIFA World Cup campaigns.

Players representing 449 different clubs from 71 nations will participate in the tournament. The distribution includes 14 clubs from the AFC region, six from CAF, seven from Concacaf, eight from CONMEBOL, one from the OFC, and 35 from UEFA.

Ghana’s head coach, the Portuguese strategist Carlos Queiroz, will be on the sidelines for his fifth consecutive FIFA World Cup. He previously managed Portugal in 2010 and Iran in 2014, 2018, and 2022. Queiroz becomes just the second coach in history to appear in five successive tournaments, following Bora Milutinović, who achieved the feat between 1986 and 2002.