The 2026 FIFA World Cup is just eight days away and the excitement is evident for the football enthusiasts. For the first time in the history of the tournament, games will be hosted across three countries (Canada, Mexico and United States) and that itself adds to the anticipation.
Expansion of the tournament from 36 to 48 teams means there will be more matches and more players, representing a watershed moment for the global game, opening the door to more nations, players and their fans than ever before.
In this article, we bring your the interesting facts and figures/numbers you need to know ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup
As earlier mentioned, 1,248 players will feature at the tournament. Of these, 891 will be appearing for the first time while 357 have played at least in one of the previous editions.
Scotland’s Craig Sinclair Gordon is the oldest player at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, aged 43 years and 163 days. On the other hand, Mexico’s Gilberto Mora at 17 years and 240 days old will be the youngest player.
The expansion of the tournament to accomadate 48 Nations has given a chance to many countries. Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan are set to experience the FIFA World Cup for the first time, highlighting how the expanded format is making the competition more representative of the global game.
Three players namely; Argentina’s Lionel Messi, Portuguese talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and Mexico’s goalkeeping icon Guillermo Ochoa are set for record-breaking sixth FIFA World Cup campaigns.
A total of 449 clubs from 71 countries will be represented at the World Cup (14 from the AFC region, 6 from CAF, 7 from Concacaf, 8 from CONMEBOL, one from the OFC, and 35 from UEFA).
Man City from the English Premier League will have the most number of players at the tournament (16).
Qatar and Saudi Arabia have 25 of their 26 players featuring in their respective domestic Leagues while on the contrary, Cape Verde, DR Congo, Ivory Coast, Curacao, Senegal and Uruguay have none in their final squads.
Ghana’s head coach Carlos Queiroz will be making his fifth appearance at the World Cup. He has previously managed Portugal (2010) and Iran (2014,2018 and 2022). He is only the second coach to appear at five straight tournaments, after Bora Milutinović (1986–2002).
