The World Cup’s expansion to 48 teams, along with the increases in squad sizes from 23 to 26 for the past two World Cups, means more players than ever will take part in the 2026 tournament.
This naturally results in plenty of new and emerging players to look out for, and maybe even some unheard of players, which can be unusual in a game where every league around the world now has some form of coverage.
To narrow it down, the list below only includes players 21 or under, and avoids some of the more obvious names like Desire Doue and Lamine Yamal.
Gilberto Mora – Mexico
Age: 17
Club: Club Tijuana (Mexico)
Position Attacking Midfielder
2025/26 Apps / Goals: 20 / 6
The strength of Mexico’s domestic league, or at least the decent pay on offer in it, is evident in the fact that around half of their squad still play their football in Liga MX.
It could also be said that there is a lack of star power in the team beyond the Raul Jimenez and Guillermo Ochoa, who are aged 35 and 40, respectively.
Midfielder Gilberto Mora could be about to change that. He is one of two promising young midfielders in the Mexico team, along with the US-born Obed Vargas.
At 17 years old, Mora is the youngest player at the tournament. He is also Mexico’s youngest-ever player and his substitute appearance in the tournament opener made him the sixth-youngest player to feature in the men’s World Cup.
Despite his youth, he already has a standout tournament win under his belt, putting in a notable performance in Mexico’s Gold Cup final win against the USA.
He’s in the mould of those Pep Guardiola-coached, Barcelona-style midfielders. Mora is comfortable taking the ball in any situation and progressing it via a turn, short burst of speed or a pass with either foot.
What he lacks in physicality at his age, he makes up for in technique and awareness, meaning Mexico manager Javier Aguirre should have no hesitation in including him in the lineup for important games if needed.
Johan Manzambi – Switzerland
Age: 20
Club: Freiburg
Position Central Midfield
2025/26 Apps / Goals: 47 / 7
Manzambi plays mostly as a central midfielder for his club, Freiburg, but is able to play further forward, offering his team positional flexibility should they need it.
He’s likely to play further forward for the Swiss, for whom he wears the No. 9 shirt, and he is decent in the air which helps here.
The Freiburg player is inventive on the ball and has a style that might make him popular in an international tournament, where games can often get bogged down.
Deniz Gul – Turkiye
Age: 21
Club: Turkiye
Position Striker
2025/26 Apps / Goals: 44 / 7
Though Kenan Yildiz will be the Turkiye player likely highlighted the most ahead of the tournament, he goes into it with a calf injury so he may not feature straight away.
This might give a chance, in a roundabout way, to Porto centre forward Deniz Gul, with Alper Yilmaz able to drop into Yildiz’s left wing spot.
Turkiye have a few wingers who can do a job up front, but Italian manager Vincenzo Montella could opt for the natural striker.
Gul started both of Turkiye’s World Cup warm-up games, and the tall, 6’4″ in forward, who can link up play and hold up the ball well in tight spaces, will hope to keep his starting spot for the group stage.
The 21-year-old is hardly a prolific goalscorer at club level, but he might serve as someone who provides a platform for those around him to get the goals.
The team does lack goals generally, though, so Montella will be hoping Gul can add this to his game.
The Porto man is one of several young Turkish players with the potential to make their mark in this tournament, as he and Yildiz are joined by Can Uzun and Real Madrid’s Arda Guler as Turkiye look to live up to their perennial dark horses tag.
Rayan – Brazil
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Tuesday, February 10, 2026: Bournemouth's Rayan Vitor Simplício Rocha celebrates after scoring his side's first and equalising goal during the FA Premier League match between Everton FC and Bournemouth AFC at Bramley-Moore Dock. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Age: 19
Club: Bournemouth
Position Right-Wing
2025/26 Apps / Goals: 16 / 7
Brazil selecting players from Bournemouth (and Brentford — Igor Thiago) might be considered a sign of how far they have fallen, but both of these players are positive additions to Carlo Ancelotti’s squad.
Rayan is a direct inside forward, always looking to create or score, and he already has an international goal to his name, having scored against Panama in a pre-World Cup friendly as he earned just his second cap.
The Bournemouth winger has already surprised many in the Premier League after arriving on the south coast from Vasco da Gama, and he could do the same at this World Cup should he get a chance to play.
He now joins fellow 19-year-old Endrick as a future star of the Brazil national team.
Lucas Herrington – Australia
Age: 18
Club: Colorado Rapids
Position Centre-Back
2025/26 Apps / Goals: 28 / 2
The 18-year-old Aussie went straight into the starting lineup with MLS side Colorado Rapids after joining from Brisbane Roar for the 2026 season.
Under the Rapids’ English head coach Matt Wells, Herrington has emerged as a key part of their possession game and is second in the league for passes completed, boasting a pass success rate of 94 percent.
His 6’4″ frame makes him useful defensively too, especially in the air, although there is still room for improvement as is the case for any young defender, but the raw materials are there.
Having initially aimed merely for a place in the squad, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him start for Australia at the World Cup, such has been his progress and adaptation to senior football.
Ayyoub Bouaddi – Morocco
Age: 18
Club: Lille
Position Central Midfield
2025/26 Apps / Assists: 42 / 1
Ayyoub Bouaddi has the potential to be the standout player in any game he plays. His skill and technique in midfield, coupled with his height, mean the spotlight regularly lands on him.
Somehow both rangy and tricky in midfield, he is secure in possession but not overly safe with his passing as he looks to progress the ball and spread the play, including via a tendency to hit forward passes with the outside of his right boot.
He also has the ability to dribble past opponents in tight spaces and recover the ball when needed.
Bouaddi lacks international experience relative to some of the other young players mentioned, but despite having only three caps for Morocco, he’s capable of making a difference in this already strong team.
Nico Paz – Argentina
Age: 21
Club: Como
Position Attacking Midfielder
2025/26 Apps / Goals: 40 / 13
Where will the next generation of potential future Argentinian World Cup winners come from? Spain, apparently.
Paz was born in Tenerife (his father is Argentine) and started his career as a youth player with Real Madrid before moving to Italian side Como, where he has impressed under the coaching of Cesc Fabregas.
Another 6ft plus player to add to this list, the 21-year-old operates as an attacking playmaker with all the passing and vision to play like a traditional No. 10. B
But on top of this, he also has the ability to carry the ball forward himself and was one of the most effective dribblers in Serie A last season.
It is no surprise Real Madrid want him back, especially with a buy-back clause of a measly €9 million.
Yan Diomande – Ivory Coast
Age: 19
Club: RB Leipzig
Position Right-Wing
2025/26 Apps / Goals: 36 / 13
A little-known fact about the 19-year-old attacker who has drawn genuine interest from Liverpool this summer is that he spent his formative years as a footballer playing in the United States.
Between the ages of 15 and 17, Yan Diomande trained at the private DMA sports academy in Florida, also turning out for their affiliated United Premier Soccer League team, AS Frenzi, scoring two goals in a Championship-winning match against Sporting Wichita in 2023.
A couple of Yan Diomande goals for AS Frenzi in the UPSL National Championship vs Sporting Wichita in August 2023
— James Nalton (@jdnalton.bsky.social) 2026-06-06T12:27:26.684Z
This means he will be used to the climate and the culture of US soccer, as the Ivory Coast play two of their group games in Philadelphia and another in Toronto, Canada.
Even in that game against Wichita, a 16-year-old Diomande showed the skills that made him stand out and saw him end up playing at the top level by the age of 19.
Such have been his exploits at club level, RB Leipzig are reportedly demanding £112m in the market!