The World Cup opens this week with matches starting Thursday, June 11 and the United States opening play on Friday, June 12.
The event, being held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, moves to South Florida on Monday, June 15 when Saudi Arabia and Uruguay meet at Hard Rock Stadium.
While the countries competing will be on center stage, it’s the stars of those teams who really will have the opportunity to shine – or fail – in the coming weeks.
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Here are 10 you should know and be watching:
Ousmane Dembele
Team: France
Position: Forward
You wouldn’t think that a guy who won the Ballon D’Or as the world player of the year would have much to prove. Dembele plays club soccer for Paris Saint-Germain, for whom he scored 35 goals a year ago to win the honor. Now 29, Dembele remains in top form, combining quickness and an ability to hurt opponents with either foot while leading PSG to major hardware including a second consecutive UEFA Champions League trophy. Now it’s up to him to match those accomplishments for his country. Dembele has made 57 appearances for France but has only seven goals and four assists. He has never scored in the Euros and in 16 matches for either World Cup qualification or the World Cup itself, he has one goal and two assists.
Lionel Messi
Team: Argentina
Position: Attacking midfield
The GOAT. With Messi turning 39 during the World Cup, this appears to be his final go-round in the famed stripes of Argentina. For years he endured a sometimes-rocky relationship with Argentine fans who thought he wasn’t as committed to the national team as he was to his club teams, especially Barcelona. That changed when he lifted the World Cup four years ago, the only thing missing in his career. He accepted overtures by David Beckham and Jorge Mas to sign with Inter Miami, with the result being more hardware as the Herons won the MLS Cup last season. But his final pre-tournament appearance for the club saw him come off early with a hamstring injury that had him train off on the side while his Argentine teammates worked nearby. Outside of the injury, the only remaining question, one supposes: Can he double it up for Argentina at this age? Would anybody bet against him?
Cristiano Ronaldo
Team: Portugal
Position: Forward
Wherever you see Messi, could Ronaldo be far behind? If Messi’s age of 39 catches your eye, just know that Ronaldo is 41, no longer playing for the Manchester Uniteds and Real Madrids of the world. He has spent four seasons with Al-Nassr of the Saudi League, where he’s nearly managing a goal per game (102 goals in 106 matches). Because Portugal is in Group K and Argentina in Group J, it’s possible Ronaldo and Messi could meet one more time on the big stage, but it would require both teams advancing deep into the knockout rounds.
Lamine Yamal
Team: Spain
Position: Midfield/forward
He won’t turn 19 until just before the World Cup final. Ancient, you might say, considering he had barely turned 16 when he made his senior international debut for Spain. Yamal missed the end of Barcelona’s season with a hamstring injury, but optimism is growing he won’t miss much of the group stage, if any. Spain’s first two matches are against Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia before the finale vs. Uruguay, followed by the knockout stage. If you didn’t know how young he was, you never would have guessed. Yamal plays with flair and fearlessness that belie his age, never afraid to make the most experienced defenders look foolish. Could he someday dethrone Messi as the GOAT?
Christian Pulisic
Team: United States
Position: Forward
Pulisic, whose family lives in Jupiter, is the USA’s active leader in scoring with 33 goals in 85 appearances. He had a goal and set up two others in the 2022 World Cup, but the heat will be on the Americans to advance deeper as hosts. Pulisic has the pedigree. He was on Chelsea’s Champions League-winning team in 2020-21. He joined AC Milan in 2023, producing 23 goals in this first two seasons in Serie A. This year, he had eight goals and four assists in 30 matches. But amid a streak of 18 matches without a goal, Pulisic was criticized by AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allergri, who said Pulisic is “very sensitive” at these times. That led Fox analyst Alexi Lalas to call it the “last thing” a player would want to be called, especially given that Pulisic “is going to be considered the best male American soccer player in history.” However Lalas added, “But he has not become the player that a lot of people envisioned.” Perhaps his recent goal and assist against Senegal signals the start of a hot streak.
Vinicius Junior
Team: Brazil
Position: Forward
The title of this exercise is to spotlight 10 players to watch in this World Cup, which doesn’t always mean the 10 best players. Case in point: Neymar is by far Brazil’s active leading scorer with 79 goals. Vini has scored just eight times in national-team colors, but he might be the one to watch. By the BBC’s count, he has made 20 accusations of racist abuse in eight seasons, including a recent incident that resulted in a match at Benfica being stopped for 10 minutes. Juventus’ Khephren Thuram said even he felt “attacked” by the incident, adding, “It could have been me.” Ex-Belgium winger Eden Hazard wondered if Vini might retire early because of the abuse. Hopefully if Vini becomes a focal point of this World Cup, it’ll be because of his play, not ugliness FIFA would like to eradicate from the game.
Jude Bellingham
Team: England
Position: Midfield
Bellingham will turn 23 during this World Cup, yet on a team that includes Harry Kane and Declan Rice, he’s the reigning British player of the year. Bellingham missed about six weeks of action with Real Madrid because of a hamstring injury. He finished the season with six goals and four assists. England knows what it has in both Kane and Rice, who could contend for the Ballon d’Or. If Bellingham can come alive, England could go far.
Gabriel
Team: Brazil
Position: Defender
Finally, some respect for the defenders. This was a close call because a case could be made for Gabriel Magalhaes or Frenchman William Saliba as the best defender in the world. And yes, they both play center back for the same club, Arsenal, which is why the Gunners had such a stellar defensive record in front of goalkeeper David Raya of Spain. It played a major role in Arsenal capturing its first English Premier League championship in 22 years. We sided with Gabriel because of what he also brings at the other end of the field (despite his missed penalty in the Champions League final shootout vs. PSG). He’s a dominant force in the air, so Arsenal was virtually unstoppable on corner kicks with Gabriel either directly heading them in or flicking them on to a teammate for a tap-in. No matter which penalty box he’s in, Gabriel is worth watching. (Saliba, too.)
Antoine Semenyo
Team: Ghana
Position: Forward
African teams add flair to any World Cup with a distinct style. Semenyo’s career has taken off in recent years, going from Bristol City to Bournemouth to Manchester City, where he splashed onto the scene with English Premier League player of the month honors. Having conquered England, is the world next?
Kylian Mbappe
Team: France
Position: Forward
If it’s World Cup time, it’s time to talk about Mbappe, the Real Madrid star who is coming off a muscle injury. He was 19 when he made his World Cup debut and joined Pelé as the only teenagers to score in a World Cup final. Four years later, there was no stopping him. He joined England’s Geoff Hurst as the only players to score a hat trick in a World Cup final en route to winning the Golden Boot with eight goals. In 2023, he made Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: World Cup 2026: 10 players everyone should know and watch
Reporting by Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hal Habib, Palm Beach Post | USA TODAY Network
