LEGENDS

SUPERSTARS

KEY PLAYERS

RISING STARS

UNSUNG HEROES

The 2026 World Cup is here, and it’s bigger than ever before.

To help you follow the tournament, The Athletic has identified 200 players that we’re calling the Stars of Soccer. Some are household names — yes, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are here — but plenty are not. Our guide has players from all 48 nations, including six Americans and seven members of England’s team.

This list is not a collection of rankings. Instead, we’ve put these players into one of five categories: Legends, Superstars, Key players, Rising stars and Unsung heroes. You can sort or filter them however you’d like, including by country or professional club. Each link leads to a comprehensive profile, detailed charts breaking down a player’s most important characteristics and a name pronunciation guide.

Whether you just want to brush up on your favorite team or learn about an upcoming opponent, we have you covered.

LegendsSuperstarsKey playersRising starsUnsung heroes

Icons of soccer who will leave lasting legacies. In many cases, these are the greatest players their country has ever produced.

Lionel Messi Forward, Argentina David Alaba Defender, Austria Kevin De Bruyne Midfielder, Belgium Edin Dzeko Forward, Bosnia and Herzegovina James Rodriguez Forward, Colombia Luka Modric Midfielder, Croatia Mohamed Salah Forward, Egypt Harry Kane Forward, England Manuel Neuer Goalkeeper, Germany Guillermo Ochoa Goalkeeper, Mexico Virgil van Dijk Defender, Netherlands Cristiano Ronaldo Forward, Portugal Sadio Mane Forward, Senegal Son Heung-min Forward, South Korea

Outstanding players at the very top of the modern game. They have the ability to make a huge impact on the tournament.

Thibaut Courtois Goalkeeper, Belgium Vinicius Junior Forward, Brazil Alphonso Davies Defender, Canada Moises Caicedo Midfielder, Ecuador Jude Bellingham Midfielder, England Declan Rice Midfielder, England Bukayo Saka Forward, England Ousmane Dembele Forward, France Kylian Mbappe Forward, France Michael Olise Forward, France Jamal Musiala Midfielder, Germany Florian Wirtz Midfielder, Germany Achraf Hakimi Defender, Morocco Erling Haaland Forward, Norway Bruno Fernandes Midfielder, Portugal Nuno Mendes Defender, Portugal Vitinha Midfielder, Portugal Lamine Yamal Forward, Spain Christian Pulisic Forward, United States Federico Valverde Midfielder, Uruguay KEY PLAYERS Return to top

This group of players are highly skilled and play integral roles for their national teams — and their professional clubs, too.

Mohammed Amoura Forward, Algeria Riyad Mahrez Forward, Algeria Luca Zidane Goalkeeper, Algeria Emiliano Martinez Goalkeeper, Argentina Lautaro Martinez Forward, Argentina Cristian Romero Defender, Argentina Jackson Irvine Midfielder, Australia Marko Arnautovic Forward, Austria Romano Schmid Midfielder, Austria Jeremy Doku Forward, Belgium Charles De Ketelaere Midfielder, Belgium Romelu Lukaku Forward, Belgium Alisson Goalkeeper, Brazil Marquinhos Defender, Brazil Tajon Buchanan Midfielder, Canada Jonathan David Forward, Canada Sidny Lopes Cabral Defender, Cape Verde Ryan Mendes Midfielder, Cape Verde Luis Diaz Forward, Colombia Richard Rios Midfielder, Colombia Josko Gvardiol Defender, Croatia Juninho Bacuna Midfielder, Curacao Leandro Bacuna Midfielder, Curacao Sontje Hansen Midfielder, Curacao Patrik Schick Forward, Czech Republic Pavel Sulc Midfielder, Czech Republic Aaron Wan-Bissaka Defender, DR Congo Yoane Wissa Forward, DR Congo Willian Pacho Defender, Ecuador Enner Valencia Forward, Ecuador Hossam Abdelmaguid Defender, Egypt Omar Marmoush Forward, Egypt Jordan Pickford Goalkeeper, England William Saliba Defender, France Antonio Rudiger Defender, Germany Nico Schlotterbeck Defender, Germany Antoine Semenyo Forward, Ghana Kamaldeen Sulemana Forward, Ghana Jean-Ricner Bellegarde Midfielder, Haiti Wilson Isidor Forward, Haiti Duckens Nazon Forward, Haiti Alireza Beiranvand Goalkeeper, Iran Saeid Ezatolahi Midfielder, Iran Mehdi Taremi Forward, Iran Ali Al-Hamadi Forward, Iraq Aymen Hussein Forward, Iraq Amad Diallo Forward, Ivory Coast Ibrahim Sangare Midfielder, Ivory Coast Ritsu Doan Forward, Japan Takefusa Kubo Forward, Japan Ayase Ueda Forward, Japan Musa Al-Taamari Forward, Jordan Ihsan Haddad Defender, Jordan Edson Alvarez Midfielder, Mexico Alvaro Fidalgo Midfielder, Mexico Raul Jimenez Forward, Mexico Yassine Bounou Goalkeeper, Morocco Brahim Diaz Midfielder, Morocco Ayoub El Kaabi Forward, Morocco Cody Gakpo Forward, Netherlands Frenkie de Jong Midfielder, Netherlands Micky van de Ven Defender, Netherlands Liberato Cacace Defender, New Zealand Sarpreet Singh Midfielder, New Zealand Chris Wood Forward, New Zealand Jens Petter Hauge Midfielder, Norway Martin Odegaard Midfielder, Norway Julian Ryerson Defender, Norway Adalberto Carrasquilla Midfielder, Panama Ismael Diaz Forward, Panama Amir Murillo Defender, Panama Omar Alderete Defender, Paraguay Miguel Almiron Midfielder, Paraguay Diego Gomez Midfielder, Paraguay Rafael Leao Forward, Portugal Akram Afif Forward, Qatar Hassan Al-Haydos Forward, Qatar Saud Abdulhamid Defender, Saudi Arabia Salem Al-Dawsari Forward, Saudi Arabia John McGinn Midfielder, Scotland Scott McTominay Midfielder, Scotland Andrew Robertson Defender, Scotland Lamine Camara Midfielder, Senegal Nicolas Jackson Forward, Senegal Iliman Ndiaye Forward, Senegal Oswin Appollis Forward, South Africa Ronwen Williams Goalkeeper, South Africa Cho Gue-sung Forward, South Korea Lee Kang-in Midfielder, South Korea Kim Min-jae Defender, South Korea Nico Williams Forward, Spain Viktor Gyokeres Forward, Sweden Alexander Isak Forward, Sweden Breel Embolo Forward, Switzerland Granit Xhaka Midfielder, Switzerland Rani Khedira Midfielder, Tunisia Hannibal Mejbri Midfielder, Tunisia Ellyes Skhiri Midfielder, Tunisia Hakan Calhanoglu Midfielder, Turkey Tyler Adams Midfielder, United States Folarin Balogun Forward, United States Weston McKennie Midfielder, United States Chris Richards Defender, United States Antonee Robinson Defender, United States Ronald Araujo Defender, Uruguay Darwin Nunez Forward, Uruguay Abdukodir Khusanov Defender, Uzbekistan Eldor Shomurodov Forward, Uzbekistan RISING STARS Return to top

These are the tournament’s most exciting young talents; the world is at their feet and they are ready to take the next step on a global stage.

Nico Paz Forward, Argentina Jordan Bos Defender, Australia Nestory Irankunda Forward, Australia Mohamed Toure Forward, Australia Matias Fernandez-Pardo Forward, Belgium Kerim Alajbegovic Forward, Bosnia and Herzegovina Esmir Bajraktarevic Forward, Bosnia and Herzegovina Tarik Muharemovic Defender, Bosnia and Herzegovina Niko Sigur Midfielder, Canada Martin Baturina Midfielder, Croatia Luka Vuskovic Defender, Croatia Noah Sadiki Midfielder, DR Congo Kendry Paez Forward, Ecuador Elliot Anderson Midfielder, England Nico O’Reilly Defender, England Rayan Cherki Midfielder, France Desire Doue Forward, France Caleb Yirenkyi Midfielder, Ghana Ousmane Diomande Defender, Ivory Coast Yan Diomande Forward, Ivory Coast Bazoumana Toure Forward, Ivory Coast Gilberto Mora Midfielder, Mexico Obed Vargas Midfielder, Mexico Jorrel Hato Defender, Netherlands Finn Surman Defender, New Zealand Antonio Nusa Forward, Norway Julio Enciso Midfielder, Paraguay Ibrahim Mbaye Forward, Senegal Mamadou Sarr Defender, Senegal Mbekezeli Mbokazi Defender, South Africa Pau Cubarsi Defender, Spain Victor Munoz Forward, Spain Lucas Bergvall Midfielder, Sweden Johan Manzambi Midfielder, Switzerland Arda Guler Midfielder, Turkey Can Uzun Midfielder, Turkey Kenan Yildiz Forward, Turkey Abbosbek Fayzullaev Midfielder, Uzbekistan UNSUNG HEROES Return to top

They might not make headlines because they’re less flashy than players around them. But they deserve your attention — and some of the limelight.

Alexis Mac Allister Midfielder, Argentina Bruno Guimaraes Midfielder, Brazil Ismael Kone Midfielder, Canada Luis Suarez Forward, Colombia Kai Havertz Forward, Germany Azzedine Ounahi Midfielder, Morocco Tijjani Reijnders Midfielder, Netherlands Craig Gordon Goalkeeper, Scotland Pape Matar Sarr Midfielder, Senegal Mikel Oyarzabal Forward, Spain Martin Zubimendi Midfielder, Spain Manuel Akanji Defender, Switzerland Maxi Araujo Midfielder, Uruguay

Designed and produced by John Bradford, Mark Carey, Eamonn Dalton, Thom Harris, K.K. Rebecca Lai, Thomas Oide and Kelsea Petersen