The 2026 FIFA World Cup could be the last hurrah for some of the best players of a generation, with more 40-year-old outfield players potentially lining up at this tournament than possibly at any other in history. So, the Footy Prime Crew put a simple question to each other: which ageing star do you want to see have one final defining moment on the biggest stage?

The answers ranged from a 40-year-old Bosnian warrior to a Croatian legend playing through a broken face, to England’s relentless goal machine. Oh, and one of our own co-hosts got nominated along the way.

Craig’s Pick: Edin Džeko at 40, Still a Nightmare for Defenders

Craiger went off-script straight away. The names on the table, Messi, Ronaldo, Lewandowski, Neymar, Modrić, Kane, none of them were his answer.

“None of those. None of your suggestions.”

His pick was Džeko, and he made the case with a career overview that covered a lot of ground.

A Bundesliga title with Wolfsburg. A central role in Manchester City’s first-ever Premier League title. Years as the focal point of Bosnia’s attack through World Cup qualifying campaigns, “super effective against the Welsh national team” even if he didn’t find the net against Italy. He was described as “massively effective” in his late move to Germany, which tells its own story about where his game is at.

What happens next for Džeko at club level after the World Cup is an open question, but at the tournament itself, Craiger expects him to be a genuine problem for opposing defenses.

“Even at the age of 40, I think he’s going to be representing his country very well and I think he’s still got something left in him in the tank.” Set pieces, physicality, and his reading of the game are all things teams will need a specific plan for.

He has always been slightly under the radar relative to his output, never quite the box-office marquee name, but someone who “just got it done wherever he played.” Manchester City. Roma. Inter Milan. Now back in Germany at 40. The career map is extraordinary.

“Unfortunately, hopefully he’s not Canada’s nightmare.”

Dubs’ Pick: Luka Modrić, Croatia’s Ageless Conductor

Dubs had Modrić in mind even before Craig finished making his case for Džeko.

The injury concern is real, breathing matters as an athlete, and a complex facial fracture is not nothing, but Dubs’ view is clear: “I’m not really worried about Modric and his influence in the way that he impacts this World Cup, not just for Croatia, but he’s going to be an outstanding player amongst stars in 48 teams.”

Part of what makes Modrić so compelling to watch is the gap between how he looks and what he does. On first glance, nothing about him suggests he should be causing elite players problems. He is not imposing, does not look powerful, does not look like he has an enormous engine. But he has all of those things, plus technical ability and football intelligence that remain elite at 40.

“The same way that Messi has figured out how to age into a different kind of brilliance, Modrić does the same thing.”

Dubs highlighted his defensive work as underrated, the timing on tackles, the positioning when his team is out of possession. Alongside the more celebrated qualities, the ability to find pockets between the lines, escape pressure, and dictate tempo on his own terms.

Croatia’s group puts them alongside England, Ghana, and Panama, which gives them a realistic path through. And they have been hearing the too-old argument for the better part of a decade. They keep performing anyway. Dubs’ read is that this World Cup will be no different, and that Modrić will be right at the centre of it.

Jimmy’s Pick: Harry Kane and England’s Shot at History

Jimmy’s pick was Kane, and the reasoning was both about the player and about the team around him.

“England’s just crying out for some achievement,” and with Kane in this kind of form at Bayern Munich, the question is whether the players alongside him at the tournament can give him the service he needs to make the difference. Can he be the differencemaker that actually gets England somewhere at this World Cup?

The crew acknowledged that 32 is not quite the same story as the 40-year-olds being discussed elsewhere in the segment, but the longevity conversation is still relevant.

Kane’s style (positional, intelligent, not reliant on pace) is built to last deep into the 30s.

“He’s so clever. Maybe he’ll be around in four years time.” England, without obvious successors at the top of their attack, might well need him to be. A goal-a-game player in a major European league, heading into a home-continent World Cup. That is the storyline Jimmy is watching.

Wonger’s Surprise Pick

Wonger had a slightly different nomination, one that landed with a big laugh from the group.

His pick for the old guard making a comeback at the World Cup: Craig Forrest, Footy Prime co-host and former Canadian international goalkeeper, who will be calling colour commentary across seven games on the international feed.

“This is your comeback. This is a pass or fail. There’s a lot of pressure on you.” Craiger, to his credit, admitted he had not really thought about the pressure until that moment. Thanks, Wonger.