From living legends to rising youngsters to non-stop goal machines. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is often defined by incredible individual performances, and we shouldn't expect this summer to be any different. The 48-team World Cup will feature plenty of stars, and many more will emerge. But these are 10 players who we expect to take top billing. 2026 FIFA World Cup: How To Watch The World Cup will run from June 11July 19, 2026. Spread across three countries, the tournament will culminate with the final on July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. All 104 tournament matches will air live across FOX (70) and FS1 (34) with every match streaming live and on-demand within both the FOX One and the FOX Sports apps. A record 40 matches, more than one-third of the tournament, will air in prime time across FOX (21) and FS1 (19). [WHEN AND WHERE: Full Schedule for 2026 FIFA World Cup]Lamine Yamal, Forward, SpainAge: 18Club: Barcelona Out of all the stars that will light up soccers grandest stage this summer, perhaps theres no more intriguing or exciting player than the 18-year-old Spanish winger. Its Yamals first World Cup (of many more to come) and he has a chance to score a lot of goals and help La Roja win it all. Laken Litman Cristiano Ronaldo, Striker, PortugalAge: 41Club: Al-Nassr FC This has to be Ronaldos last World Cup, right? We thought maybe the 2022 tournament in Qatar would be, but then he walked off the field in tears following Portugals quarterfinal loss to Morocco. So here we are: the 41-year-old superstar forward has already won everything he possibly can in this sport, except a World Cup trophy, and thats his goal this summer. Litman Kylian Mbapp, Striker, FranceAge: 27Club: Real Madrid Mbapp scored a hat trick in the 2022 World Cup final and France still lost to Leo Messi and Argentina in the most epic finish. Mbapp already has a World Cup trophy, winning it all in 2018, butLes Bleus captain is hungry and motivated for another. Litman Ousmane Dembl, Forward, FranceAge: 28Club: Paris Saint-Germain 2025 was a big year for Dembl. The 28-year-old forward won a Champions League title with PSG and then took home theBallon dOr as the worlds best player. While he has a World Cup trophy on his resume (2018), like Mbappe, he wants another after coming so close four years ago in Qatar. Litman Erling Haaland, Striker, NorwayAge: 25Club: Manchester City Despite his goal-scoring prowess and overall domination in the Premier League, weve never seen Haaland in an environment like the one hell be in this summer. The 2026 World Cup will not only be Haalands debut World Cup, but his first-ever major tournament. How far hell take Norway will be one of the more interesting storylines to follow. Litman Lionel Messi, Forward, ArgentinaAge: 38Club: Inter Miami CF The GOAT hasnt yet confirmed that hell lead Argentinas World Cup title defense in the country he now plays his club soccer, but lets be real: Although hell turn 39 three days before the Albiclelestes group stage finale against Jordan in Arlington, Texas, Messi will be there. Barring serious injury, theres no way the living legend wont try to repeat as champs something no team has done since Peles Brazil in 1962. Doug McIntyre Harry Kane, Striker, EnglandAge: 32Club: Bayern Munich Englands all-time top scorer led the 2018 World Cup in goals despite Englands semifinal elimination to Croatia. In 2022, the Three Lions captain missed a late penalty kick in the quarterfinals against France, ensuring that the country that invented the sports long World Cup drought would continue for at least another four years. Can Kane, now 32, finally help Englands men win their first major title since 1966 this summer? McIntyre Christian Pulisic, Forward/Winger, USAAge: 27Club: AC Milan Already considered the most gifted attacking player the U.S. has ever produced, Pulisics legacy will depend largely on how he performs at this World Cup on home soil this summer. At 27, the AC Milan star is just now entering his prime. He already has one tournament under his belt; in 2022, Pulisic scored the goal that beat Iran and sent the Americans to the round of 16. If the Americans are to last a little longer this summer, Puisic must lead the way. McIntyre Vincius Jnior, Forward, BrazilAge: 25Club: Real Madrid With Neymar Jr. having just come back from injury and no lock to make Brazil coach Carlo Ancelottis squad, the polarizing Real Madrid star will be the face of theSeleoat this World Cup. Vini is more than capable of manning the role; the pacy winger remains one of the most electrifying forwards on Earth. McIntyre Alphonso Davies, Fullback/Winger, CanadaAge: 25Club: Bayern Munich Still just 25, the best player in Canadian history will lead the co-hosts effort this summer. Davies is a legit star. The Vancouver Whitecaps product made FIFAs year-ending Best XI as a teenager in 2020. Hes won the Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup and five Bundesliga titles, and he scoredLes Rouges first ever World Cup goal at Qatar 2022. Hell be looking for another first in Toronto and Vancouver this summer: Canadas maiden World Cup win. McIntyre

Real Madrid later said the forward has been diagnosed with a knee sprain in the French capital and will follow a "conservative" treatment plan.

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NEW DELHI: Sanju Samsons immense talent has never been in doubt, but a difficult bilateral series against New Zealand prompted the team management to give him a break ahead of the T20 World Cup, head coach Gautam Gambhir said after the Kerala batter guided India into the semi-finals with a sensational knock.Samson struck an unbeaten 97 under pressure, anchoring a challenging 196-run chase against the West Indies on Sunday night."Obviously, he had a tough series against New Zealand. So sometimes it's important to give him (Samson) a break as well, because you want to get the guy off that pressure situation as well," head coach Gambhir said at the post-match press conference.After being pushed down the order during the Asia Cup a move that affected his rhythm Samson was given a full series against New Zealand. However, a string of low scores 10, 6, 0, 24, 6 led to mounting criticism.He did not feature in Indias tournament opener against the USA. An illness to Abhishek Sharma brought him back for the Namibia match, but he was dropped again thereafter.A personal tragedy involving Rinku Singh (the death of his father), coupled with the team managements desire to avoid an overload of left-handers at the top, resulted in Samsons return to the XI.Asked about his conversations with Samson during this stop-start phase, Gambhir said:"I have conversations with everyone and the most important thing is the guys who are part of this squad, are world class players and that's why they are representing the country. We always knew the talent that Sanju had. Three T20 hundreds, not many people have it, so we always knew that."And we always knew that whenever we need him in the World Cup game, he'll come and deliver for us."Gambhir felt the foundation for Samsons match-winning effort was laid during his brisk 24 off 15 balls against Zimbabwe, when he came in as a replacement for Rinku."Against Zimbabwe, he delivered for us. We got a start that we wanted in the first three overs. And today, again, from where he left against Zimbabwe, he showcased his talent. And this is what we expect from Sanju to do more consistently."One striking aspect of Samsons innings was the tempo. Scoring at a strike-rate of 194, he appeared composed rather than reckless a point Gambhir highlighted."I actually thought that he never accelerated the innings. It was just a very, very normal cricketing shots and I never saw any muscling the ball as well and that is the kind of talent he has."Samson relied heavily on classical ground strokes and sharp running between the wickets traits not always associated with his T20 approach."When you know that you are in control of the game and feeling good, you start hitting the ball really well in the nets."Though often criticised for inconsistency, Gambhir believes this innings could mark a turning point."I have always said that he is a world class player, he is a great talent and hopefully he can kick off from now and hopefully we can see a lot more innings like this from Sanju. It was all about backing him. Today was a day where he probably showed his true potential as well. And hopefully, this is a time for him to kick off and probably two more games to go, hopefully," the coach said optimistically.