Issue 414 of the CIES Football Observatory Weekly Post ranks 126 associations worldwide according to the average age of their senior men’s national team line-ups fielded in the last year. The maximum was recorded for Kuwait (29.76 years), while the minimum was observed for Bahamas (22.82 years). In Europe, the values range from 29.40 years for Belgium to 25.07 years for Turkey.
The three lowest values among last FIFA World Cup participants were measured for the USA (24.74 years), Ecuador (25.78 years) and Ghana (25.97 years). All three selections have a bright future ahead. Overall, the share of minutes of players aged 21 or under is 10.2%, compared to 32.7% for 22-25 year olds, 31.5% for 26-29 year olds and 25.6% for 30 year olds or over. At the other end of the scale, behind Belgium are South Korea (29.01) and Costa Rica (28.55). The highest percentage of minutes played by footballers aged 30 or over of any nation surveyed was recorded for Kuwait (61.4%).
In terms of the share of minutes played by players aged 21 or younger, the top three European nations are Georgia (30.6%), Liechtenstein and Iceland. At the other end of the scale are Kazakhstan (0.7%), Montenegro and Greece. Overall, the share of minutes of players aged 21 or under is 10.2%, compared to 32.7% for 22-25 year olds, 31.5% for 26-29 year olds and 25.6% for 30 year olds or over.
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