FIFA World Cup 2026: What Premier League fans should look out for

As the FIFA World Cup kicks off, Premier League fans will see plenty of familiar faces – and a few unfamiliar ones – as the tournament unfolds across the USA, Mexico and Canada over the next five weeks.

Here’s everything Premier League fans should look out for during the summer’s festival of football:

World Cup key dates

Group stage: 11 June to 27 June
Round of 32: 28 June to 3 July 
Round of 16: 4 July to 7 July 
Quarter-finals: 9 July to 11 July
Semi-finals: 14 July to 15 July
Third-place play-off (‘Bronze final’): 18 July
Final: 19 July

Premier League players participating

The Premier League will have more representatives than any other league in the world and they will undoubtedly be some of the stars of the tournament.

As expected, England have the most Premier League stars, with 22 of the 26-man squad featuring – including recent Premier League winners Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Declan Rice and Noni Madueke at Arsenal, and Manchester City players James Trafford, Marc Guehi, Nico O’Reilly, John Stones, who they pipped to the title.

The Netherlands have the next most, with an impressive 15. Among them are Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch, previous Premier League winners at Liverpool, and Tijjani Reijnders, who helped Man City lift the FA Cup and EFL Cup last season.

Belgium and Senegal each have eight Premier League representatives. Spain, Norway, France and Portugal all have seven.

Following a standout season for Man City, Rayan Cherki will play in his first World Cup for France.

Team-mate Erling Haaland, who wasn’t born the last time Norway qualified, will spearhead his country’s attack.

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes, the EA SPORTS Player of the Season who broke the assists record, will aim to win it with Portugal.  

Man City with most representatives

Every Premier League club from the 2025/26 and 2026/27 seasons – including relegated and promoted sides – has at least one player taking part.

Man City lead the way, with an extraordinary 19 squad players involved across 12 countries, including Abdukodir Khusanov – the first Uzbek to appear in the Premier League – representing World Cup debutants Uzbekistan, and four England players.

Arsenal follow with 15 representatives, four of whom are in the England squad.

Trailing them, Man Utd have 13, while Crystal Palace and Sunderland each have 12 players represented.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have 11. Newly-promoted Coventry City, Hull City and Ipswich Town each have two.

Team-mate clashes

The World Cup always throws up the exciting prospect of Premier League team-mates, who train and play alongside each other all season, facing each other on the biggest stage.

Group L is likely to produce the most clashes, particularly in England’s fixtures.

The Man City contingent – which includes Trafford, though as backup goalkeeper he is unlikely to play – can face Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic in their opening match against Croatia, then January arrival Antoine Semenyo when England meet Ghana. 

England v Croatia – Wednesday 17 June, kick-off 21:00 BST
England v Ghana – Tuesday 23 June, kick-off 21:00 BST 

In Group E, Arsenal’s Kai Havertz, representing Germany, could come up against club colleague Piero Hincapie of Ecuador.

Ecuador v Germany – Thursday 25 June, kick-off 21:00 BST 

Group L and E

Tottenham Hotspur captain Cristian Romero and new signing Marcos Senesi could find themselves on the opposite side of the pitch to club team-mate Kevin Danso when Argentina face Austria in Group J.

Argentina v Austria – Monday 22 June, kick-off 18:00 BST

And while not club colleagues, Group I will pit Norway against France, meaning striker Haaland and centre-back William Saliba are likely to rekindle their club rivalry of recent years.

Norway v France – Friday June 26, kick-off 20:00 BST

Group J and I

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