The squad list of 48 teams participating in the 2026 World Cup has just been announced by FIFA. 1,248 players will participate in 104 matches in the US, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. This tournament is a turning point for global football, opening up opportunities for more countries, players and fans than ever before.
The newly announced list also emphasizes the scale and long-term attractiveness of the tournament, with 357 players who have participated in at least one previous World Cup, and 891 people who will experience this playground for the first time.
The generational gap is also very noteworthy, with more than 25 years of difference between the oldest player (Craig Gordon of Scotland, 43 years and 162 days) and the youngest player (Gilberto Mora of Mexico, 17 years and 240 days). The tournament has a total of 22 players under 20 years old and 7 players from 40 years old and over. In addition, there are 22 players who have won the World Cup to participate in the upcoming tournament.
Along with the return of veteran stars at the world's leading football tournament, this tournament also brings a wave of new outstanding players and nations. Cabo Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan will experience the FIFA World Cup for the first time, showing that the expanded format is making the tournament more accurately reflecting global football.
World Cup 2026 also marks the 6th time that Ronaldo (Portugal), Lionel Messi (Argentina) and Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico) have participated in the biggest tournament on the planet.
The list of players for the 2026 World Cup also reflects the global nature of modern football, with the participation of 449 different clubs from 71 countries (14 from the AFC region, 6 from CAF, 7 from CONCACAF, 8 from CONMEBOL, 1 from OFC and 35 from UEFA).
The squad list also shows differences in the use of players. Qatar and Saudi Arabia mostly use domestic players. Meanwhile, the teams of Cabo Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast, Curaçao, Senegal and Uruguay, with the entire squad selected from foreign tournaments.
Carlos Queiroz (Portuguese) will lead the team to participate in the fifth consecutive World Cup. Previously, he led Portugal in 2010 and Iran in 2014, 2018 and 2022. This year, he will coach the Ghana national team. He is the second coach to participate in five consecutive tournaments, after Bora Milutinović (1986-2002).
The tallest player participating in this year's World Cup is Austrian goalkeeper Bigele with a height of 2.05m. On the other hand, the shortest player is midfielder Iannis of Panama with a height of 1.6m.
According to the regulations of the 2026 World Cup, teams have the right to substitute players if there are any injuries or other incidents within 24 hours before their first match starts.
