World Cup will have more than 250 players defending countries where they were not born
The 2026 World Cup will also be marked by an increasingly common feature in international football: players who will defend countries different from those where they were born. Whether due to family heritage, historical colonization, migratory flows or naturalization processes, dozens of teams will arrive at the tournament with athletes who exchanged their country of birth for the nation they chose to represent.
The most emblematic case is that of Curaçao. Of the 26 called up for the World Cup, only Tahith Chong was born in the Caribbean. The other 25 players were born in the Netherlands, reflecting the historical connection between the two countries. The team, which will be the smallest nation in terms of population and territorial extension present at the World Cup, easily leads the ranking.
At the other end of the table are eight teams that will travel to the World Cup only with athletes born in their own territory: Brazil, South Africa, Czechia, Colombia, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Austria and Panama.
Among the cases involving Brazilians, three players will defend other teams in the World Cup: Matheus Nunes (Portugal), Lucas Mendes (Qatar) and Maurício (Paraguay).
In total, 258 players born outside the country they will represent will be at the 2026 World Cup, considering the lists released.
Players who will defend teams different from their countries of birth
Curaçao (25)
- Eloy Room (Netherlands)
- Tyrick Bodak (Netherlands)
- Trevor Dornbusch (Netherlands)
- Shurandy Sambo (Netherlands)
- Jurien Gaari (Netherlands)
- Roshon Van Eijma (Netherlands)
- Sherel Floranus (Netherlands)
- Armando Obispo (Netherlands)
- Joshua Brenet (Netherlands)
- Riechedly Bazoer (Netherlands)
- Deveron Fonville (Netherlands)
- Godfried Roemeratoe (Netherlands)
- Juninho Bacuna (Netherlands)
- Livano Comenencia (Netherlands)
- Leandro Bacuna (Netherlands)
- Tyrese Noslin (Netherlands)
- Ar'Jany Martha (Netherlands)
- Kevin Felida (Netherlands)
- Jurgen Locadia (Netherlands)
- Jeremy Antonisse (Netherlands)
- Sontje Hansen (Netherlands)
- Kenji Gorré (Netherlands)
- Jearl Margaritha (Netherlands)
- Brandley Kuwas (Netherlands)
- Gervane Kastaneer (Netherlands)
Democratic Republic of the Congo (20)
- Lionel Mpasi (France)
- Arthur Masuaku (France)
- Gédéon Kalulu (France)
- Dylan Batubinsika (France)
- Steve Kapuadi (France)
- Samuel Moutoussamy (France)
- Gael Kakuta (France)
- Cédric Bakambu (France)
- Yoane Wissa (France)
- Nathanael Mbuku (France)
- Simon Banza (France)
- Matthieu Epolo (Belgium)
- Joris Kayembe (Belgium
- Noah Sadiki (Belgium)
- Ngal'ayel Mukau (Belgium)
- Théo Bongonda (Belgium)
- Aaron Wan-Bissaka (England)
- Aaron Tshibola (England)
- Timothy Fayulu (Switzerland)
- Charles Pickel (Switzerland)
Morocco (19)
- Issa Diop (France)
- Redouane Halhal (France)
- Neil El Aynaoui (France)
- Samir El Mourabet (France)
- Ayyoub Bouaddi (France)
- Gessime Yassine (France)
- Munir Mohamedi (Spain)
- Achraf Hakimi (Spain)
- Chadi Riyadh (Spain)
- Ismael Saibari (Spain)
- Brahim Díaz (Spain)
- Ayoube Amaimouni (Spain)
- Zakaria El Ouahdi (Belgium)
- Bilal El Khannouss (Belgium)
- Chemsdine Talbi (Belgium)
- Noussair Mazraoui (Netherlands)
- Anass Salah-Eddine (Netherlands)
- Sofyan Amrabat (Netherlands)
- Yassine Bounou (Canada)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (17)
- Dženis Burnić (Germany)
- Kerim Alajbegović (Germany)
- Sead Kolašinac (Germany)
- Ermedin Demirović (Germany)
- Amar Dedić (Austria)
- Ermin Mahmić (Austria)
- Osman Hadžikić (Austria)
- Armin Gigović (Sweden)
- Benjamin Tahirović (Sweden)
- Dennis Hadžikadunić (Sweden)
- Samed Baždar (Serbia)
- Jovo Lukić (Serbia)
- Ivan Bašić (Croatia)
- Amir Hadžiahmetović (Denmark)
- Tarik Muharemović (Slovenia)
- Haris Tabaković (Switzerland)
- Esmir Bajraktarević (United States)
Algeria (16)
- Luca Zidane (France)
- Melvin Mastil (France)
- Aïssa Mandi (France)
- Rayan Aït-Nouri (France)
- Jaouen Hadjam (France)
- Samir Chergui (France)
- Nabil Bentaleb (France)
- Farès Chaïbi (France)
- Houssem Aouar (France)
- Riyad Mahrez (France)
- Amine Gouiri (France)
- Anis Hadj Moussa (France)
- Farès Ghedjemis (France)
- Rafik Belghali (Belgium)
- Ibrahim Maza (Germany)
- Ramiz Zerrouki (Netherlands)
Haiti (16)
- Johny Placide (France)
- Alexandre Pierre (France)
- Martin Expérience (France)
- Jean-Kévin Duverne (France)
- Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (France)
- Dominique Simon (France)
- Duckens Nazon (France)
- Ruben Providence (France)
- Josué Casimir (France)
- Yassin Fortuné (France)
- Wilson Isidor (France)
- Lenny Joseph (France)
- Duke Lacroix (United States)
- Derric
k Etienne Jr.
(United States)
- Josué Duverger (Canada)
- Keeto Thermoncy (Switzerland)
Tunisia (15)
- Montassar Talbi (France)
- Dylan Bronn (France)
- Yan Valery (France)
- Ellyes Skhiri (France)
- Hannibal Mejbri (England)
- Ismael Gharbi (Spain)
- Elias Achouri (France)
- Rani Khedira (Germany)
- Elias Saad (Germany)
- Rayan Elloumi (Canada)
- Anis Ben Slimane (Denmark)
- Omar Rekik (Netherlands)
- Sebastian Tounekti (Norway)
- Adem Arous (Saudi Arabia)
- Moutaz Neffati (Sweden)
Cape Verde (14)
- Sidny Lopes Cabral (Netherlands)
- Jamiro Monteiro (Netherlands)
- Deroy Duarte (Netherlands)
- Laros Duarte (Netherlands)
- Garry Rodrigues (Netherlands)
- Dailon Livramento (Netherlands)
- Logan Costa (France)
- Steven Moreira (France)
- Willy Semedo (France)
- Wagner Pina (Portugal)
- Telmo Arcanjo (Portugal)
- Hélio Varela (Portugal)
- Roberto Lopes (Ireland)
- CJ dos Santos (United States)
Qatar (14)
- Salah Zakaria (Egypt)
- Ahmed Fathy (Egypt)
- Ahmed Alaaeldin (Egypt)
- Meshaal Barsham (Sudan)
- Assim Madibo (Sudan)
- Almoez Ali (Sudan)
- Boualem Khoukhi (Algeria)
- Edmilson Junior (Belgium)
- Lucas Mendes (Brazil)
- Karim Boudiaf (France)
- Mohammed Muntari (Ghana)
- Pedro Miguel (Portugal)
- Issa Laaye (Senegal)
- Yusuf Abdurisag (Somalia)
Senegal (12)
- Édouard Mendy (France)
- Mory Diaw (France)
- Yehvann Diouf (France)
- Kalidou Koulibaly (France)
- Moussa Niakhaté (France)
- Mamadou Sarr (France)
- Antoine Mendy (France)
- Pape Gueye (France)
- Iliman Ndiaye (France)
- Ibrahim Mbaye (France)
- Nicolas Jackson (Gambia)
- Ismail Jakobs (Germany)
Türkiye (10)
- Salih Özcan (Germany)
- Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Germany)
- Kaan Ayhan (Germany)
- Kenan Yildiz (Germany)
- Can Uzun (Germany)
- Ferdi Kadıoğlu (Netherlands)
- Orkun Kökçü (Netherlands)
- Oğuz Aydın (Netherlands)
- Mert Müldür (Austria)
- Deniz Gül (Sweden)
Ivory Coast (9)
- Yahia Fofana (France)
- Evan Ndicka (France)
- Guéla Doué (France)
- Seko Fofana (France)
- Nicolas Pépé (France)
- Evann Guessand (France)
- Elye Wahi (France)
- Ange-Yoan Bonny (France)
- Alban Lafont (Burkina Faso)
Iraq (9)
- Hussein Ali (Sweden)
- Amir Al-Ammari (Sweden)
- Kevin Yakob (Sweden)
- Ahmed Qasem (Sweden)
- Merchas Doski (Germany)
- Youssef Amyn (Germany)
- Frans Putros (Denmark)
- Zidane Iqbal (England)
- Marko Farji (Norway)
Australia (8)
- Harry Souttar (Scotland)
- Cameron Burgess (Scotland)
- Milos Degenek (Croatia)
- Paul Okon-Engstler (Belgium)
- Mohamed Touré (Guinea)
- Alessandro Circati (Italy)
- Awer Mabil (Kenya)
- Nestory Irankunda (Tanzania)
Ghana (8)
- Jerome Opoku (England)
- Antoine Semenyo (England)
- Brandon Thomas-Asante (England)
- Marvin Senaya (France)
- Elisha Owusu (France)
- Jordan Ayew (France)
- Derrick Luckassen (Netherlands)
- Iñaki Williams (Spain)
Croatia (8)
- Josip Stanišić (Germany)
- Marin Pongračić (Germany)
- Mario Pašalić (Germany)
- Mateo Kovačić (Austria)
- Luka Sučić (Austria)
- Josip Šutalo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Petar Sučić (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Martin Baturina (Switzerland)
New Zealand (8)
- Tommy Smith (England)
- Joe Bell (England)
- Matthew Garbett (England)
- Lachlan Bayliss (Australia)
- Nando Pijnaker (Netherlands)
- Callan Elliot (Scotland)
- Alex Rufer (Switzerland)
- Finn Surman (Wales)
Scotland (7)
- Angus Gunn (England)
- Scott McTominay (England)
- Ché Adams (England)
- George Hirst (England)
- Tyler Fletcher (England)
- Lyndon Dykes (Australia)
- Kieran Tierney (Isle of Man)
Canada (7)
- Owen Goodman (England)
- Luc de Fougerolles (England)
- Alfie Jones (England)
- Alphonso Davies (Ghana)
- Ismaël Koné (Ivory Coast)
- Tani Oluwaseyi (Nigeria)
- Jonathan David (United States)
- Antonee Robinson (England)
- Giovanni Reyna (England)
- Sebastian Berhalter (England)
- Malik Tillman (Germany)
- Alejandro Zendejas (Mexico)
- Sergiño Dest (Netherlands)
Mexico (5)
- Brian Gutiérrez (United States)
- Obed Vargas (United States)
- Santiago Giménez (Argentina)
- Julián Quiñones (Colombia)
- Álvaro Fidalgo (Spain)
Paraguay (5)
- Juan José Cáceres (Argentina)
- Kaku (Argentina)
- Andrés Cubas (Argentina)
- Maurício (Brazil)
- Gastón Olveira (Uruguay)
France (3)
- Michael Olise (England)
- Marcus Thuram (Italy)
- Brice Samba (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Ecuador (3)
- Hernán Galíndez (Argentina)
- John Yeboah (Germany)
- Jeremy Arévalo (Spain)
Jordan (3)
- Ali Al-Azaizeh (Germany)
- Mohammad Abu Hashish (Iraq)
- Mo Abualnadi (United States)
Switzerland (3)
- Breel Embolo (Cameroon)
- Yvon Mvogo (Cameroon)
- Marvin Keller (England)
Argentina (2)
- Giuliano Simeone (Italy)
- Nico Paz (Spain)
Iran (2)
- Dennis Eckert (Germany)
- Saman Ghoddos (Sweden)
Uruguay (2)
- Fernando Muslera (Argentina)
- Rodrigo Zalazar (Spain)
Norway (2)
- Thelo Aasgaard (England)
- Erling Haaland (England)
Portugal (2)
- Matheus Nunes (Brazil)
- Diogo Costa (Switzerland)
England (1)
- Marc Guéhi (Ivory Coast)
South Korea (1)
- Jens Castrop (Germany)
Germany (1)
- Waldemar Anton (Uzbekistan)
Spain (1)
- Aymeric Laporte (France)
Uzbekistan (1)
- Utkir Yusupov (Kazakhstan)
Belgium (1)
- Amadou Onana (Senegal)
Japan (1)
- Zion Suzuki (United States)
Netherlands (1)
- Guus Til (Zambia)
Egypt (1)
- Haissem Hassan (France)
85% of Brazilians are not excited for the World Cup, says survey
Source: CNN