A record that nobody had anticipated — but one that feels entirely fitting — was written into football history at the FIFA World Cup 2026. Tyler Bindon and his mother Jenny Bindon became the first mother-and-son pair to each have appeared at a FIFA World Cup and a FIFA Women's World Cup, respectively.

The moment that made history

The milestone arrived when Tyler came off the bench in the 92nd minute of New Zealand's 2-2 draw with IR Iran at the Los Angeles Stadium in California, replacing Marko Stamenić. Jenny watched from the stands. In that instant, the Bindons claimed a place in the record books that no family had occupied before.

The occasion drew inevitable comparisons to other famous footballing dynasties. Paolo Maldini followed his father Cesare for Italy, and Kasper Schmeichel stepped into goal for Denmark decades after his father Peter. Bobby and Jack Charlton both wore England shirts at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Yet no mother and son had ever shared the distinction across the two World Cup tournaments — until now.

Raised by the Football Ferns

Jenny was New Zealand's first-choice goalkeeper at the FIFA Women's World Cup China 2007 and the FIFA Women's World Cup Germany 2011, as well as multiple Olympic Games campaigns. From the moment Tyler was born, he travelled with her.