South Africa coach Hugo Broos became the oldest coach to manage a World Cup match when his team opened the 2026 World Cup against Mexico on Thursday.
He held that record for mere hours.
The 74-year-old Belgian broke a record that had stood for 16 years when Greece’s Otto Rehhagel became the oldest manager in tournament history in 2010 at the age of 71. Before Rehhagel, Paraguay‘s Cesare Maldini was the oldest World Cup manager — he was 70 at the 2002 World Cup.
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At this year’s World Cup, the record will be broken three times in a matter of days.
Just five hours after South Africa’s match against Mexico ended, Czechia took on South Korea. The Czechs are managed by Miroslav Koubek. He’s also 74. And he’s just older than Broos.
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Broos was born April 10, 1952, and turned 74 earlier this year. Koubek turns 75 in September. He was appointed Czechia’s manager in December of 2025 after a long club managerial career following his playing career as a goalkeeper.
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Koubek will end up holding onto the record longer than Broos. But only for a matter of days before Curaçao takes the field.
On Sunday, 78-year-old Dick Advocaat will set the record again when his team plays Germany. The Dutch coach almost missed out on the tournament entirely, too.
Advocaat, who was appointed Curaçao’s coach in 2024, officially qualified for the World Cup in November of 2025. However, Advocaat stepped down in February as his daughter was dealing with a health issue.
Assistant coach Fred Rutten took over, but as Advocaat’s daughter’s health improved, players wanted Advocaat to return. A team sponsor even threatened to pull its funding if Rutten stayed as the head coach. Advocaat returned to the team in May.
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Becoming the oldest coach in World Cup history is a fitting record for a coach for whom “well-traveled” is an understatement. Advocaat has been a manager since 1980 and has coached the Netherlands men’s team on three different occasions after holding the women’s national team job in 1987.
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He’s also coached all over the world, with stints at Rangers, Borussia Monchengladbach, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Sunderland and Feyenoord, among many other club stops. Additionally, Curaçao is the eighth — yes, the eighth — country Advocaat has coached behind the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Belgium, Russia, Serbia and a stint as Iraq’s coach in 2021.
