The 2026 World Cup will be the largest tournament for international squads in history. Eight years ago, when Mexico, the United States, and Canada were chosen as hosts of the World Cup, it was projected that it would be the first edition featuring 48 squads. The expansion of the tournament was officially confirmed, and with the official rosters of all the participating squads locked in, a total of 1,248 soccer players are officially registered to participate.
According to the official FIFA regulations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the rosters of the participants must feature between 23 and 26 players. This exact requirement coincides with the Qatar 2022 World Cup. FIFA expanded the squad lists in the previous tournament in order to accommodate the growing saturation of matches across global soccer.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed competitions in the two previous years and significantly increased the overall playing-minute workload, also significantly influenced this decision. FIFA received an overwhelmingly favorable response to this specific change and ultimately decided to maintain the expanded roster format for the 2026 tournament.
A crucial fact for the teams
Before locking in the official squad list, the teams had to submit a preliminary list, which also serves as their provisional roster of 35 to 55 players. As an important fact, any player suffering “serious injury or illness” before the tournament begins may be replaced by another player from the provisional roster, all the way up to 24 hours before their first World Cup match.
Lionel Messi of Argentina kisses the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Winners’ Trophy.
Teams are allowed to have up to nine players on the roster for training purposes until the start of the tournament, but those nine players may not participate in World Cup competition. Furthermore, as an absolute mandatory requirement for the squads, at least three of the 26 selected players must be goalkeepers.
The clubs that contribute the most players to the World Cup
With the Premier League being the tournament that contributes the most players to the 2026 World Cup, it is only natural that Manchester City are the club that released the most soccer players to the squads playing in the World Cup, as they boast 19 players.
Behind the English outfit, several prominent international clubs follow closely in terms of representation, with their respective numbers clearly demonstrating the massive European influence on the tournament:
- Bayern Munich: 17
- Arsenal: 16
- Paris Saint-Germain: 15
- Barcelona: 14
Which league has the most selected players
The English leagues confirm their sheer dominance by contributing 203 players to the World Cup across three distinct divisions. The Premier League is the individual competition that contributes the most soccer players to the 2026 World Cup, with 163 selected players, while the Championship, the second division, will have 35 representatives at the World Cup.
Unsurprisingly, the leagues that contribute the most players are the top five biggest leagues in Europe. In total, 86 different leagues contribute players for the World Cup, spanning across 71 different countries, with the top five leagues contributing the following numbers:
- Premier League: 163
- Bundesliga: 100
- LaLiga: 81
- Ligue 1: 79
- Serie A: 66
