While every World Cup introduces viewers to new young stars, this tournament featured eight players who were older than 40 — one more than the number of over-40 players in the previous 22 World Cups combined.
Among them were Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, and Mexico’s Memo Ochoa, 40, who were playing in their sixth World Cups alongside Argentina’s Lionel Messi, a relative youngster at 39. No one has played in more men’s World Cups.
But while Ronaldo and Ochoa have gone home, Messi will be playing in his third semifinal in four tournaments Wednesday when Argentina, the reigning champion, faces England at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The newfound longevity of elite soccer players has been made possible by advances in sports medicine, diet and analytics that measure everything from biomechanics and heart rate to muscular output and sleep cycles, all in real time. And injuries that once ended careers can now be repaired through outpatient procedures.
Argentina star Lionel Messi holds his jersey up and celebrates with teammates after a World Cup quarterfinal win over Switzerland on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.
(David Ramos / Getty Images)
“Over the past 10, 20 years, the sports science within the game has changed a lot,” said Liam Anderson, an exercise physiologist at the University of Birmingham in England, who has worked as an applied practitioner in top-flight professional soccer for more than a decade.
“Players are now definitely more aware of their bodies and I think the professionalism has changed quite a lot as well. But they’re also in tune with the things which are helping them recover, manage their training load and ultimately stay fitter and healthier for longer.”
Gone are the days when chain-smoking Dutch legend Johan Cruyff would light up a cigarette on the bench, French world champion Zinedine Zidane would smoke in the locker room and George Best would party and drink so hard he would disappear for days at a time.
“There’s a couple of reasons,” Dr. Michael Joyner, a specialist in the physiology of elite athletes at the Mayo Clinic, said of the growing lifespan of soccer players. “The first is that people just make a lot more money and as a result, there’s tremendous incentive to keep playing. The second is people are taking much better care of themselves.”
“You just don’t hear about people like George Best anymore,” said Joyner, speaking for himself and not the clinic where he works.
“Diet is huge,” Anderson added. “High-protein diets and fueling with carbohydrates for matches. Nutritional strategies have changed considerably in the last 10-15 years.”
And those diets are tailored by position since a midfielder, who may run more than seven miles in a match, burns more calories than a goalkeeper.
As the eldest player in Major League Soccer, Diego Chara has had to make some concessions to age.
“It’s a little detailed,” said Chara, a midfielder with the Portland Timbers. “Talking about recovery time, it maybe takes a little bit longer than before. Nutrition. Working in the gym, it’ll be longer than other players.”
But if Chara, 40, is an old man in a league where the average age is younger than 26, he would have been something of whippersnapper in this summer’s World Cup.
The Portland Timbers’ Diego Chará passes the ball under pressure from the Columbus Crew’s Wessam Abou Ali on Feb. 21in Portland, Ore.
(Amanda Loman / Associated Press)
Soccer isn’t the only sport in which 40 is the new 30.
Serena Williams returned to Wimbledon this summer at age 44 and at least half a dozen athletes 40 and older showed up at the Milan-Cortina Olympics last February hoping to medal. Four of them succeeded, including American Elana Meyers Taylor, 41, who became the oldest athlete to win an individual gold in Winter Olympics history in the women’s monobob.
It isn’t unheard of for athletes to be golden in their golden years. Ted Williams hit .316 at 41 and Gordie Howe played 80 games and had 41 points in his final NHL season at 52. Nolan Ryan threw a no-hitter and pitched 173 innings at 44 while Tom Brady quarterbacked the Tampa Bay Bucs to a Super Bowl title at 43.
But if those age-defying performances were outliers, playing into your mid-40s and even early 50s may soon become, if not common, at least less unusual.
“People are just staying in better shape, taking care of themselves,” Joyner said. “Career-changing or career-ending injuries are no longer career-ending injuries. It just goes on and on, all of this stuff combined.”
American Serena Williams, 44, serves against Australian Maya Joint during a match at Wimbledon on June 30.
(Cameron Spencer / Getty Images)
State-of-the-art training centers and access to top-line sports medicine have also become more accessible, even in poor countries.
“The elite level has spread and really become global, as opposed to where there used to be pockets,” Joyner said. “The opportunities to compete are so great.”
Few team sports are as physically demanding as soccer, though, which makes both the growing number of seasoned citizens and their performances noteworthy. Messi has averaged nearly a game a week for club and country during the past 23 years, yet he entered the semifinals of this tournament tied for the scoring lead with France’s Kylian Mbappé, who is 12 years younger.
Ronaldo has played even more games yet he became the oldest player to score in a World Cup knockout game when his penalty kick helped eliminate Croatia and midfielder Luka Modric, who will be 41 in less than two months.
“They’ve probably lost a little bit off the top, but their experience and their mind make up for that,” said Scott Trappe, a professor of human bioenergetics at Ball State. “So the overall package of them as a sports person is really they’re contributing at a high level. I think we’re going to continue to see this movement.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring a World Cup group stage goal against Uzbekistan on June 23 in Houston.
(Charlotte Wilson / Getty Images)
“They like playing the sport and as long as they can and contribute and they make these teams, they’re going to do it. I don’t see the trend going away.”
And that will not only change the way we think of sports and athletes, it will completely rewrite the record book. Messi, for instance, entered the semifinals of this World Cup as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer with 21 goals. But that was just one ahead of Mbappé, who could appear in another three or four World Cups.
“No question,” Trappe said. “You look what’s going on in pro cycling. We’ve got some guys in their upper 30s competing in the Tour de France, but we also have a teenager competing. So this lifespan, what used to be a five- to eight-year period for cycling at the at the highest levels is turning out to be, you know, double or triple that.”
Both Messi and Ronaldo have benefited from how they play as well, walking rather running for long stretches of the game to conserve energy for the burst they need to lose a defender. It’s a strategy Mbappé, Norway’s Erling Haaland and other young players have adopted and if they do that over enough games, the wear and tear it saves could add years to the end of their careers.
“We are expanding. The age will start moving up a little bit further up and players’ careers will definitely be longer,” Anderson said. “The sort of normal distribution of playing age will begin to move forward and that experience within the squad will be key.’
Argentina’s Lionel Messi dribbles the ball during the World Cup quarterfinal match against Switzerland on Saturday in Kansas City, Mo.
(Charlie Riedel / Ap Photo/charlie Riedel)
Consider Wednesday’s semifinalists. In its quarterfinal win, Argentina used six players older than 32 and two — Messi and defender Nicolas Otamendi — who are over 38. The spine of England’s team runs from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford through defender John Stones to striker Harry Kane, who are all 32.
“We’re coming up with new ways on how to improve and maximizing potential,” Anderson said. “God gave us what we are and it’s maximizing that, not necessarily changing that.”
That knowledge won’t stay in the stadiums and locker rooms for long, expanding to others who choose to adopt the same wellness discipline as professional athletes.
“It cycles down,” Trappe said. “We’re studying that in the lab at a pretty high level. This sort of healthy lifestyle in terms of functionality and extending into our later years and having a higher quality life, there’s data starting to emerge there.
“These types of things are going to trickle into that for sure.”
When it comes to fear of heights, Maddi Haferling was born with the opposite gene — loving heights.
The Woodbridge High senior started climbing a door at home at age 4 trying to reach a pull-up bar. By 10, she was signed up for a climbing academy. At 17, she won a gold medal in speed climbing last week at the USU19 National Championship in Salt Lake City.
On Thursday, she leaves for Arco, Italy, to compete at the Youth World Championships.
“It’s pretty cool,” she said.
At 5 feet tall, her challenge is climbing a standardized 15-meter wall course and finishing with the fastest time going against an opponent climbing an identical course. She’s attached to a safety rope in case there’s a fall.
Maddi Haferling of Woodbridge won a gold medal in speed climbing.
(Haferling family)
Being a climber, I have a lot of strength that oust don’t have,” Haferling said. “I can do 25 pull-ups that can impress you.”
So what happens if a Woodbridge football player challenges her to a pull-up contest?
“I think they know they’d lose,” she said.
She trains five days a week, three hours a day at a Santa Ana climbing facility lifting weights and practicing speed climbing techniques with other team members.
“It’s nice I can push myself in a sport and commit to something,” she said. “Being on a team is amazing.”
Iraqi security forces arrested several politicians, lawmakers and senior officials in dawn raids across Baghdad as part of a sweeping anti-corruption campaign ordered by Iraq’s new prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi. Elite Counter Terrorism Service units carried out operations in the Green Zone.
June 24 (UPI) — A U.S. airstrike launched last week in northwest Syria killed a senior Islamic State leader, U.S. military officials announced Wednesday.
U.S. Central Command said the Friday attack killed Ali Husayn al-Ulaywi as “part of ongoing U.S. efforts to disrupt and eliminate terrorists seeking to attack Americans abroad or the U.S. homeland.”
The announcement comes a little more than a month after U.S. and Nigerian forces killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, believed at the time to be second-in-command for USUS.
U.S. forces have been battling ISIS and its predecessors for more than a decade in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria and other locations throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa. This fight was entwined with both the Iraq war and the Syrian civil war.
“CENTCOM and our partners remain committed to rooting out remaining remnants of ISIS to ensure its enduring defeat,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander.
German MEP Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, has warned that the long-running Airbus-Boeing dispute could jeopardise the EU-US trade agreement struck last summer if transatlantic tensions flare again in the coming weeks.
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The implementation of the Turnberry Agreement, clinched in July 2025 by US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland, is entering its final stretch, with EU lawmakers expected to approve it in a vote next Tuesday.
However, the five-year truce between US aerospace giant Boeing and its European rival Airbus over mutual subsidy allegations expires on 11 July, with the Trump administration and the European Commission yet to agree to extend it.
“Will this lead to another escalation? Nobody knows,” Lange, the Parliament’s lead negotiator on the EU-US deal, told journalists on Thursday during a meeting with fellow Socialist lawmakers.
The MEP is concerned that a renewed aerospace dispute could further strain transatlantic trade ties after a year of intense tensions.
“I hope this will not blow up,” Lange told Euronews.
Turnberry deal remains fragile
The battle between Boeing and Airbus dates back more than two decades. The US first brought a case before the World Trade Organization arguing that the EU was illegally subsidising Airbus. Brussels responded with its own complaint, accusing Washington of unlawfully supporting Boeing.
The dispute eventually spiralled into a tariff war, with both sides imposing punitive duties on products ranging from wine and spirits to cheese and tobacco, affecting $11.5 billion worth of trade.
A truce was reached in 2021 under the Biden administration, taking effect on 11 July that year and suspending retaliatory measures for five years. However no extension has been announced since.
“Discussions with the US are ongoing to ensure stability and certainty and to continue the suspension of countermeasures on both sides,” Commission deputy chief spokesperson Olof Gill told Euronews.
In its Trade Policy Agenda 2026, the Trump administration said the US Trade Representative would decide in July “whether to take action in the Section 301 investigation involving the enforcement of US rights in the World Trade Organization disputes involving large civil aircraft”.
The US is able to impose tariffs on trading partners under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
Last week, Washington threatened to impose 10 percent tariffs on EU goods over forced labour following a Section 301 investigation. If implemented, those duties would be added to existing most-favoured-nation tariffs, pushing average US tariffs on EU goods above the 15 percent ceiling agreed under the Turnberry deal.
Under the agreement, which EU lawmakers are expected to adopt next week, the EU committed on its side to eliminate its duties on US goods. However, lawmakers fought hard to include safeguards to protect the deal from future US tariff threats and ensure the 15 percent cap is respected.
The agreement has always appeared fragile. Trump has repeatedly used tariffs as leverage in non-trade disputes, from his push for the acquisition of Greenland earlier this year to his more recent threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on EU cars after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised the war with Iran.
Should the Airbus-Boeing dispute reignite, it could give the US president another pretext to unravel the 2025 agreement.
A humanoid robot jointly developed by KB Financial Group and GENON is demonstrated at the AI EXPO Korea 2026 in Seoul on Friday. Photo by KB Financial Group
SEOUL, May 10 (UPI) — South Korea’s KB Financial Group unveiled a humanoid robot for senior care during AI EXPO Korea 2026 held in southern Seoul.
During the three-day event last week, KB Financial showcased the humanoid robot, named “GenP,” which was jointly developed with domestic AI company GENON.
KB Financial noted that GenP was specifically designed for senior care, as it is equipped with upgraded finger-module capabilities to perform precise movements suited for assisting elderly users.
During the exhibition, the humanoid robot carried out five demonstrations, including greeting visitors and delivering daily information, such as rehabilitation schedules.
The Seoul-based financial conglomerate said that the presentation demonstrated its transition from text-based agentic AI to physical AI geared toward engaging directly with the everyday lives of senior customers.
Next month, KB Financial’s affiliate plans to introduce an AI-powered care robot, dubbed “KeBi,” at a South Korean facility for senior citizens.
South Korea is widely regarded as having one of the world’s fastest-aging societies, as the proportion of people age 65 or older topped 20% of the population. As of the end of last year, it was 21.21%, according to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
“Starting with this demonstration, we plan to gradually verify the feasibility of applying physical AI to care settings. Based on those results, we will further expand our service scope and business operations,” KB Financial said in a statement.
“Going forward, we will concentrate our capabilities on realizing the future of senior care solutions, which combine advanced technology and compassionate care,” it said.
The share price of KB Financial rose 0.31% on the Seoul bourse Friday.
UCLA senior Megan Grant continues to etch her name into NCAA record books.
Grant hit her 38th home run of the season during a Big Ten tournament title game loss to Nebraska on Saturday, breaking the NCAA Division I record set in 1995 by Arizona’s Lauren Espinoza.
As a team, UCLA pushed its NCAA record single-season team home run total to 182.
After Grant’s historic bomb in the third inning off Big Ten pitcher of the year Jordy Frahm gave UCLA a 2-0 lead, the Bruins’ (47-8) offense sputtered and Nebraska (46-6) rolled to a 7-2 victory.
UCLA will learn its NCAA tournament matchup when the the softball bracket is revealed at 4 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2. The Bruins are expected to host an NCAA Regional and Super Regional should they advance.
Grant and Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells have hit homers at a blistering pace and are battling to close the season with the NCAA home run title. Wells has 36 home runs, two behind Grant. Her team was eliminated from the Southeastern Conference tournament Friday, but she can add to her tally when the loaded Sooners compete in the NCAA tournament.
UCLA senior Megan Grant hit her 37th home run of the season, tying the NCAA single-season record during the Bruins’ 19-5 win over Wisconsin during the Big Ten tournament semifinal Friday in College Park, Md.
The record was set in 1995 by Arizona’s Lauren Espinoza, but Grant and Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells have hit homers at a blistering pace all season and are battling to close the season as the new title holder. Wells has 36 home runs, but her team was eliminated from the Southeastern Conference tournament Friday and she’ll have to wait until the NCAA tournament begins to add to her tally.
Grant, meanwhile, will be in the lineup when UCLA plays regular-season Big Ten champion Nebraska for the league tournament title at 10 a.m. Saturday in College Park, Md. The game will air on the Big Ten Network. First pitch was shifted earlier with the hope of avoiding storms in Maryland.
Grant’s teammates celebrated blast No. 37 and cheered behind her while she was interviewed on the Big Ten Network.
“I was just focusing as much as I can, just competing within that at-bat,” Grant said when asked about her record-tying blast. “… A one-on-one battle is all I think about. It kind of had a good payout.”
During their semifinal win over Wisconsin, the Bruins hit four home runs and pushed their NCAA record single-season team home run total to 181.
Earlier Friday, UCLA senior Jordan Woolery was named Big Ten player of the year by the league’s 17 head coaches.
Woolery leads the nation in RBIs (107) and is the fifth player in NCAA Division I history to record more than 100 RBIs in a season.
Bri Alejandre, Aleena Garcia, Rylee Slimp and Grant joined Woolery on the All-Big Ten first team. Bruins Kaniya Bragg, Alexis Ramirez and Taylor Tinsley earned second-team honors.
For Blake Bowen and his JSerra High baseball teammates, their final week of the high school baseball season could not have gone any better.
The 6-foot-4 senior hit three home runs during a three-game sweep of Santa Margarita. But the Lions finished their season on Friday with an 11-17 record, which means there will be no postseason.
“Too little, too late,” coach Brett Kay said.
Bowen came on strong, finishing with nine home runs and a .360 batting average. His ability to hit the ball hard and far should make him a high draft pick this summer.
“It’s the best power I’ve ever seen for a high school player,” Kay said.
Bowen is a former football player who began focusing only on baseball after transferring to JSerra from Riverside King. He plays baseball like he did in football — with an aggressiveness.
“Once he comes into his own, he’s going to be special,” Kay said.
The Lions had a young team that was hurt by injuries. One of the impressive young players was freshman Joey Koenig, who showed he can hit and will get a chance to pitch in the future.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com
A majority of South Koreans support raising the country’s senior age threshold to 70 from the current 65, a survey showed Friday. In this file photo, attendees take part in a Senior Citizens’ Day ceremony in Seoul on October 2, 2025. File Photo by Yonhap
A majority of South Koreans support raising the country’s senior age threshold to 70 from the current 65, a survey by Gallup Korea showed Friday.
The survey, conducted from Tuesday to Thursday on 1,002 adults aged 18 and older, found that 59 percent of respondents favored raising the eligibility age for senior benefits.
Opposition stood at 30 percent, while 12 percent either declined to answer or said they were unsure.
In similar surveys conducted in 2015 and 2023, 46 percent and 60 percent of respondents, respectively, backed raising the threshold.
The poll also found 60 percent of respondents believe individuals should be primarily responsible for their own livelihood in old age.
By contrast, 29 percent said the government and society should take responsibility, while 4 percent said such responsibility fell on their offspring and 3 percent chose other options.
Across all age groups, more than half said individuals should take primary responsibility for their retirement.
Copyright (c) Yonhap News Agency prohibits its content from being redistributed or reprinted without consent, and forbids the content from being learned and used by artificial intelligence systems.
The Antrim senior hurling squad have requested a meeting with the county board at Tuesday evening’s training session to address “significant concern” after they claimed they received conflicting reports about manager Davy Fitzgerald’s future.
In a letter to the county board, which has been seen by BBC Sport NI, the players say they were under the impression that a decision was made to remove Fitzgerald from his role following last weekend’s Joe McDonagh Cup defeat by Laois, only for the decision to be reversed.
However, the squad said they were subsequently informed “that no such action had taken place” and when the matter was brought to Antrim GAA chairman Seamus McMullan, he “indicated that he had no knowledge of it”.
In the letter, the playing group say McMullan’s response is “particularly concerning” given that Fitzgerald confirmed that “the sequence of events did in fact occur”.
“The contradiction between what occurred and what has been communicated has created uncertainty and a lack of trust among players,” read the letter.
The players added that if the board do not attend the meeting and engage with the squad, they will “not proceed with the scheduled training session and further action could be taken”.
BBC Sport NI has contacted Antrim GAA for comment.
While the run of poor results has led to disquiet among the playing panel and some Antrim GAA administrators, it is understood Fitzgerald has indicated a desire to remain in charge.
Her two-decade career has also seen her star in a host of TV dramas, such as ITV’s Cilla, following the life of singer and presenter Cilla Black. Sheridan scooped a National Television Award and a TV Choice Award for the role.
Appearing on BBC Radio 2, Sheridan recalled: “I do feel like an adopted Scouser and they do tell me that, which is lovely.
“I just love the city, I’m just obsessed with the people, they’re so friendly, although when I was doing Cilla, I do remember someone going past and they went, ‘Who’s that, Lulu?’
“But they’re just brilliant and fun and I do feel that after Cilla came out they’ve kind of taken me under their wing. So to be back there was great, they were bringing me cups of tea, inviting me around, inviting me out, it was great, I love them.
“I love playing Cilla, because obviously she’s so iconic and well known, I mean the teeth helped, but I did a lot of research on her three months before and training my voice to sound a bit like her. But we recorded the songs live, the history of the Cavern Club, of Liverpool, is amazing.”
Sheridan’s newest drama series, The Cage, kicks off this evening at 9pm on BBC One. The thriller centres on two casino workers who discover each other pilfering from their employer.
Co-starring Michael Socha, the programme tracks the duo as they mutually decide to call off their schemes, only to watch their lives descend into chaos. Their predicament propels them into a perilous collision course involving criminals, authorities, and ultimately one another.
The part required Sheridan, portraying Leanne, to head back to Liverpool for production. Last June, she was seen navigating a mustard yellow Fiat Multipla through the city’s centre while television crews prepared what looked to be a car chase sequence.
Production carried on along Brunswick Street alongside two additional cast members, Barry Sloane and Sophie Mensah, playing Gary and Fen respectively. The Cage comprises five episodes in total.
Sheridan has openly expressed her affection for Liverpool on numerous occasions. She remarked: “I love Liverpool that is my favourite city. I feel like an adopted Scouser. The people were so nice, we were invited over for cups of tea and people were bringing out doughnuts and biscuits. I just love that city from when I did Cilla. It was lovely being there, and seeing all the landmarks.”
The Lincolnshire-born actress has stated she experiences a sense of “coming home” whenever she visits Liverpool. Chatting to the Echo in 2023, she revealed: “I’ve got earrings saying Scouser and I should have worn them tonight. I love this city.”
Long-haul flights can cause in-flight circulation stiffness and fatigue, especially for older travellers
Isobel Pankhurst Audience Writer
03:52, 17 Apr 2026
Senior travellers urged to perform simple task on the plane ‘every 30 minutes’(Image: Westend61 via Getty Images)
Anyone who’s flown long-haul will be acutely aware of the stiffness, exhaustion and sluggish circulation that can develop, potentially marring the start of your holiday. And this is particularly relevant for older passengers.
With this in mind, Inspiring Vacations has teamed up with Melbourne-based Pilates instructor Brittany Tatterson to reveal some movements anyone can perform while still aboard their flight.
She explained: “Seated movements every 30 to 60 minutes are ideal, with the opportunity to stand and walk every one to two hours where possible. Many people wait until they already feel stiff, but by that point the body has already tightened and circulation has slowed.
“The good news is you don’t need to stand in the aisle or take up extra space. The most effective movements are often the smallest and can be done entirely within your seat.”
The discreet in-seat exercises you can do (without anyone noticing)
The first movement Brittany suggests is gently tilting your pelvis forward and backwards, as this can help engage your core and relieve pressure from your lower back.
“You can also keep your toes on the floor and slowly lift your heels up and down to encourage circulation through the legs, which is particularly important on long-haul flights,” Brittany added.
“Breathing is another big one. Inhaling through your nose and allowing your ribs to expand, then exhaling slowly, can help improve both your breathing and overall energy levels.” She also notes that even minor neck movements, such as gentle nods, turns and slight tilts, can alleviate tension that accumulates from screen time and poor posture.
Meanwhile, simply clenching and releasing your glutes can help support your pelvis and ease strain on the lower back without drawing any attention from those around you.
How to move without annoying your neighbour
While these movements are vital for a comfortable journey, Brittany emphasises that they should never come at the expense of those around you.
“Move slowly and mindfully; there’s no rush. Slower movement is not only more considerate, it’s actually more effective for the body,” she says. “The key is to keep everything small and controlled, staying within your own space wherever possible.”
A few simple etiquette rules can make all the difference:
