38 days to go: Perennial Matthaus sets record

Germany’s debut appearance at the FIFA Confederations Cup 1999 in Mexico was largely forgettable, apart from Lothar Matthaus’s goal at the age of 38 years and 129 days, which still makes him the oldest person to have scored at the Tournament of Champions.

In the group stage, Germany lost to Brazil (4-0) and USA (2-0) and could only manage to defeat New Zealand (2-0). Die Mannschaft’s evergreen skipper got the second goal in that encounter, showing all his class in the process: he started the attack when he won the ball in midfield before finishing it off when he dummied the goalkeeper and slotted home into an empty net.

This proved to be Matthaus’s last goal for his country, but the outstanding midfielder still managed to add another record to his vast collection. To this day, Matthaus has the highest number of caps for his national team at 150.