Who is the oldest player to have appeared at a EURO?

Oldest player to appear

Gábor Király (40 years and 86 days)

No longer fated to be remembered solely for his choice of trousers, 'Pyjama Man' set a record as the oldest player at a EURO as he helped to steer unfancied Hungary through to the last 16. There they lost 4-0 to Belgium, but Király's block from Kevin De Bruyne's free-kick was voted UEFA's Save of the Season for 2015/16.

Oldest outfield player to appear

Lothar Matthäus (39 years and 91 days)

Matthäus's appearance against Portugal at UEFA EURO 2000 had made him the oldest player to figure at a UEFA European Championship – until Király's intervention – and also marked his 150th and final cap for Germany. He was thoroughly upstaged on the day as Sérgio Conceição scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for Portugal.

Oldest player to score

Ivica Vastic (38 years and 257 days)

The former Sturm Graz and Austria Wien man came off the bench with 26 minutes left against Poland in a UEFA EURO 2008 group game and salvaged a 1-1 draw for Austria by converting a late penalty. It was his 14th national-team goal on his 50th outing and made him the oldest player to score at a final tournament. Goran Pandev became the second-oldest scorer in EURO history when he struck for North Macedonia against Austria on Matchday 1 of UEFA EURO 2020.

Oldest player to win

Arnold Mühren (37 years and 23 days)

It should first be noted that Ricardo Carvalho was aged 38 years and 53 days when the Portugal squad that he was a part of lifted the UEFA EURO 2016 trophy. However, as he did not appear in the final itself we have given this particular accolade to Mühren.

In the 1988 final in Munich, Mühren delivered the ball for Van Basten to give the Dutch a two-goal lead against the USSR. "Only when we came back to Holland did we realise the madness, the sheer joy and the celebrations that were going on," he recalled.

Oldest player in a final

Jens Lehmann (38 years and 232 days)

Following a successful career with Schalke, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal, Lehmann was on course to bow out of international football on a high in 2008, only to be denied a winners' medal by Spain. It was scant consolation that he established a record that night as the oldest player to have appeared in a EURO final.

Oldest scorer in a final

Bernd Hölzenbein (30 years and 103 days)

The only player over 30 to have scored in a EURO final, Holzenbein met a Rainer Bonhof header in the 89th minute in Belgrade to even the scores for West Germany at 2-2 in the 1976 decider, the world and European champions having trailed 2-0 to Czechoslovakia. Antonín Panenka had the final word as Czechoslovakia won the final on penalties.