We’re closing in on the start of the 2026 World Cup.
The tournament will be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, with a whopping 48 teams making the journey. Argentina are the defending champions, having beaten France in the 2022 final.
Four of the 48 teams will be making their tournament debuts, with Uzbekistan, Jordan, Cape Verde and Curacao all set to turn out for the first time.
With 48 teams and 26-man squads, there will be 1,248 players ready to take the pitch across the three countries. So there will be more than enough stars and stories to watch out for. Some are obvious, others might not be as well known. We’ve selected the pick of the bunch.
Neymar (Brazil)
Now, this is an obvious one. A lot of eyes will be on Neymar this summer, but not out of expectation. More out of curiousity too see if the Brazilian still has it. Neymar actually goes into the World Cup injured and is unlikely to start, having not opened a match for Brazil since 2023. Injuries have plagued Neymar’s career since that 2-0 defeat to Uruguay in World Cup qualifying, in which he did his ACL.
In a bid to regain his spot in Brazil’s squad, Neymar returned to boyhood club Santos in 2025 but the injuries have followed him. Now 34, Neymar has played eight Brazilian Serie A games for Santos in 2026, missing 10. He’s scored four goals and provided two assists during that time, averaging 0.78 direct goal involvements per 90 minutes. Neymar has averaged 2.23 chances created per 90 and 4.07 take-ons attempted — but he has only completed 1.05 per 90. Can he roll back the years one final time?
Ricardo Pepi (USA)
When looking at this United States team, many will focus on Captain America — Christian Pulisic. But Ricardo Pepi could be their main key to success. The 23-year-old led the line for the United States in their first pre-tournament friendly and while he didn’t score, he’s expected to be Mauricio Pochettino’s starting striker. Pepi scored 16 goals for PSV in the Eredivisie in 2025-26, the third-most in the division. But those 16 goals came in just 1,415 minutes — over 1,000 fewer than the two players above him.
Pepi’s goals averaged out to 1.02 per 90, from 3.88 shots with 2.04 hitting the target. The American was, more importantly, PSV’s top scorer as they romped to the Eredivisie title, finishing 19 points clear of any other side. For his national team, Pepi has 13 goals in 36 caps and is the second-highest scorer in the USA squad — behind only Pulisic. That’s despite only turning 23 in January. A strong tournament for Pepi could see him replace Pulisic as the star man for the Stars and Stripes.
Leandro Bacuna (Curacao)
One of the best things about the World Cup is seeing a throwback name or two. And Leandro Bacuna is definitely that for English fans. It’s only been three years since he left Watford, but seven years have passed since his last Premier League appearance for Cardiff City against Manchester United. Despite being born in the Netherlands and playing for the Oranje at youth level, Bacuna pledged his international allegiances to Curacao — having also previously represented Netherlands Antilles at Under-20.
He hasn’t looked back, with 71 caps under his belt, and Bacuna will lead Curacao out at the World Cup as captain. Turning 35 in August, Bacuna is now playing his club football in Turkey’s second division, joining Igdir FK in January from Bandirmaspor (also of the Turkish second-tier). He’s still performing at a decent level with nine goals and four assists across the campaign having played in a variety of positions across the midfield and defence. Curacao players will be looking to Bacuna for inspiration.
Ayase Ueda (Japan)
One of the two players to score more goals than Pepi in the Eredivisie in 2025-26 was Ayase Ueda. And Japan will be hoping he can take his scoring form into the World Cup. The Japanese forward scored 35.71% of Feyenoord’s league goals in 2025-26, netting 25 across 31 matches. He ranked second in the Eredivisie for his 102 shots, but came out on top with 46 on target. Ueda is fantastic in the air too, scoring nine of his 25 league goals in 2025-26 from headers.
Ueda has a good record for Japan too. The 27-year-old has scored 16 goals in 39 caps for Samurai Blue including eight in 11 World Cup qualifiers. Ueda was a member of Japan’s squad at the 2022 World Cup but was restricted to just 45 minutes, starting and struggling in Japan’s eventual defeat to Costa Rica — coming off at half-time. But Ueda does appear to be Japan’s first-choice striker now, and he comes into the World Cup in decent form.
Ferran Torres (Spain)
It doesn’t look like Spain will have an out-and-out centre-forward for the World Cup this summer, with Ferran Torres one of those expected to share responsibilities. He’s not a bad option for La Roja to have, both on the season he’s had and his general return at international level. Torres has scored 23 goals in 55 games for Spain, the second-most of any player in their World Cup squad. He sits one behind Mikel Oyarzabal, with whom he’s likely to share the striking responsibilities. But Torres’ return is decent considering he hasn’t really had a set place in Spain’s starting lineup, instead being used across the attacking line.
Torres usurped Robert Lewandowsi has Barcelona’s starting centre-forward in 2025-26 with a good record to help the Blaugrana win La Liga. He scored 16 league goals in 33 games, the fourth-most in La Liga. But he ranked third for goals from open play (14), with no penalties scored. Torres’ accuracy was his biggest strength, ranking fifth for shots on target (37) despite sitting 17th for shots (69) — with 53.62% accuracy. Even if he does play on the wing, Torres will be a danger man.
Michael Olise (France)
There weren’t many players better across Europe’s top five leagues than Michael Olise. The Bayern Munich winger was directly involved in 34 goals in the Bundesliga, scoring 15 and providing 19 assists. He was the only player in Europe’s top five leagues to both score and assist 15+ goals in 2025-26, while only Harry Kane (41) and Erling Haaland (35) were directly involved in more goals. There was very little opposition defences could do to stop Olise. He ranked third in the Bundesliga for shots (101), chances created (79) and take-ons completed (65), while leading for his 27 big chances created.
Now, Olise has only played 15 times for France having made his debut in 2024, with this being his first major tournament. France do have a plethora of attacking talent, and Didier Deschamps has to work out how to get the likes of Olise, Kylian Mbappe, Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembele, Rayan Cherki and Desire Doue into one team. Olise has to have one of those starting spots, though. It would be counterproductive for Deschamps to leave the Bayern man out.
Luis Suarez (Colombia)
No, former Liverpool and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez hasn’t changed international allegiance. But Sporting CP’s Luis Suarez will be hoping to make his mark for Colombia at the World Cup. He hasn’t had too much action for Colombia, with 11 caps since his debut in 2020. But he has scored five goals during that time, including one in a pre-World Cup friendly. Suarez recently came off the bench to net in Colombia’s 3-1 win over Costa Rica and will surely have made his case to start in the World Cup.
He’s already given himself a decent starting point based on his Primeira Liga campaign in 2025-26. The 28-year-old finished as the top scorer in the league with 28 goals, although they weren’t enough to lead Sporting CP to the title. Suarez also sat top of the charts for his big chances scored (18), shots (136) and shots on target (60). But Suarez isn’t just a goalscorer. He also ranked in the top 10 for his 47 chances created, 13 of which were big chances. They resulted in six assists, a pretty good return for a striker.
Ivan Perisic (Croatia)
Another throwback name, it may be a surprise to some that Ivan Perisic is still going. The Croatian turned 37 in February and this will no doubt be his final international tournament. But he’s not in the Croatia squad just because he’s Perisic. He’s earned his place. Perisic is currently plying his trade in the Eredivisie with PSV, recently completing his second season at the club. The veteran ended the 2025-26 campaign with 12 assists, ranking third in the Eredivisie. That’s despite sitting 15th for his 52 chances created, with 18 big chances created placing him fourth.
Of course, Perisic has the international experience too. He’s played over 150 times for Croatia including at three World Cups. Perisic scored three goals and provided one assist to help Croatia to their silver medal in 2018 and scored in the final. Four years later, he scored one and provided three assists as Croatia finished third in Qatar. Perisic won’t be at the World Cup to make numbers, he’ll surely be one of Croatia’s starters.
Musab Al-Juwayr (Saudi Arabia)
Saudi Arabia find themselves in an interesting group, when qualification as a third-placed side could genuinely happen. Musab Al-Juwayr will be hoping to fire them there. The 22-year-old was directly involved in 17 goals in 31 games for Al Qadsiah in the Saudi Pro League as they finished fourth. His 11 assists was the fourth-best record in the division, and he only finished two behind assist leader Joao Felix. Al-Juwayr also ranked third for his 85 chances created, 20 of which were big chances.
All of came from the middle of the pitch, and Al-Juwayr is a key passer of the ball. He ranked first for final third passes attempted and completed, as well as through-balls attempted. Al-Juwayr did start further forward for Saudi Arabia in their recent defeat to Ecuador, and has switched between a deeper role and more advanced position. He gives his side quality in all areas.
Ismael Saibari (Morocco)
We’re not going to apologise for having another PSV player. Ismael Saibari was another of their stars in the title-winning campaign, and he was amongst the goals. The 25-year-old scored 15 goals in the league, the fifth-most in the Eredivisie, combining well with Pepi. But Saibari also provided eight assists, placing him inside the top 10 in the division. His goals came at a very solid average of 0.63 per 90, from 3.82 shots per 90.
The attacking midfielder has a good goalscoring return for Morocco too, considering his position. Saibari has seven goals in 28 games, including three in six World Cup qualifying matches. He also netted in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cups of Nations as Morocco reached the final and were eventually awarded the trophy. Saibari is the perfect player to have behind Ayoub El Kaabi.
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