From dark horses to underdogs and players likely preparing their farewell social media speeches after the 2026 World Cup is done and dusted, we must take a look into the future, because football simply never stops. The world perhaps isn’t ready to say goodbye to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, but they will have to anyway. And this isn’t to say that next year’s edition will be anything other than melancholic, because we will experience some unbelievable moments of magic, as the stage is almost set.
The 2025/2026 season will be key for most players, as they will inevitably want to prove their worth to make it to the squad; Manchester United’s forward Joshua Zirkzee is seemingly looking for a loan move as his game time under Ruben Amorim has reduced, and this is consequent ahead of a World Cup year. The Dutch national team is packed with talent all playing amongst the Top 5 leagues, and for players such as Joshua Zirkzee, it is simply non-negotiable to be getting important minutes week in, week out. Zirkzee is just one of many who need to be playing regular football, as the sport is simply just getting more and more competitive, others will look to shine, whether that’s domestically or in European competitions for most.
With UEFA also introducing the new Champions League format last season, the new campaign that has kicked off just a few weeks ago will prove to be undeniable as each club progresses through the table, and players performing for their clubs will carry an unbelievable amount of momentum to North America would they win it in Hungary in May 2026, just a mere couple of days before the biggest sporting tournament in the world takes place. High-profile players simply must perform before the World Cup kicks off on the 11th of June 2026, because all eyes will be on them. From players likely to lace their boots one final time, to rising stars wanting to prove a point, we take a look at players more than capable of setting the stage on fire:
Florian Wirtz:
The 22-year-old German has perhaps found life a little bit difficult in the Premier League so far, 7 matches in the Premier League, 2 matches in the Champions with nothing to show for it just yet. Football fans have been rather quick to jump on his case, scrutinising the player’s every move, but Liverpool head coach Arne Slot will be aware of how Florian Wirtz is performing, and he won’t be worried one bit, because the talent is there, and some players do take longer to adapt to the physicality of English football, especially those coming from Germany. Slot has a huge squad and will perhaps need to tweak a thing or two before Wirtz finds it more comfortable, in a system where Liverpool always play with so much pace and positivity.
Wirtz’s season will be crucial after the Christmas period, and this is where we believe he will be performing at the highest level he possibly can. Germany should in theory automatically qualify for the World Cup after they beat Northern Ireland 1-0 last Monday although their spot isn’t guaranteed just yet, Slovakia are on the same amount of points with just two games left to play, whilst Northern Ireland are three points behind. Julian Nagelsmann knows he has one of the best talented and creative players in the world and he might just be the one player to light the place up in North America next year, perhaps in a similar sense as James Rodriguez in Brazil during the 2014 World Cup
Jude Bellingham:
Jude Bellingham perhaps has a lot of pressure on his shoulders, arguably one of England’s most talented players is, too, scrutinised like Florian Wirtz: his every move, touches, attitude, workrate and overall play are studied like a holy book from those who watch the sport. Bellingham was able to save England in the 2024 EUROS with his late and dramatic last-minute overhead kick to knock Slovakia out and qualify for the quarter-finals. That night, Jude Bellingham not only became a clutch player, but he proved to be indispensable in the England squad… and naturally this added a lot of extra pressure, especially after he signed for the club of his dreams in Real Madrid, and outperformed most players on the planet the season he signed.
Under Thomas Tuchel, Jude Bellingham has played a total of four games, and whilst he is now fully back from his shoulder injury, the England boss did not include him in the squad during the International break. The Englishman initially suffered from a dislocated shoulder in November 2023, and despite the pain, continued playing all the way through until the pain became too much. This shouldn’t go unnoticed, as it shows Bellingham’s resilience and mentality to go above and beyond for his teammates, club and country.
There’s no doubt Jude Bellingham will be on the plane that travels to North America next summer, and if he’s given the trust to perform where he performs better by Thomas Tuchel, there’s no doubt in our minds that Bellingham will be the player to lift England to a second World Cup trophy, 60 years after they last won it.
Vinicius Junior:
At Sports-Hop Media, we have spoken about Vinicius Junior being the potential mastermind behind Brazil’s resurgence to glory; after all, no one has won more World Cups than the Seleção. We strongly believe that under Carlo Ancelotti, Brazil could cause issues to just about every squad on the planet. For more information about why we believe Vinicius Junior will be the key to unlocking Brazil’s sixth World Cup, read our article here:
Erling Haaland:
Ryan Giggs, George Best, George Weah, Eric Cantona, Abedi Pelé, Alfredo Di Stéfano, those players all share something in common: they have never played in the World Cup. Despite being amongst the most talented players to have ever set foot on a football pitch, some players have simply never been able to play in a World Cup (injury issues, timing, nationality, internal politics and many other factors) to prove that they belonged; 25-year-old Erling Haaland will finally be able to demonstrate why he’s one of a kind, and to do it in the biggest tournament in the world will simply mean he’s above many forwards who came before him. Norway has qualified for the World Cup before, three times in fact, the first time in 1938, then again in 1994 and the last time they played in the World Cup was in 1998, when France defeated Brazil in the final.
But Norway aren’t out of the woods just yet, they are in pole position to finish top of their group, but Italy are creeping in just behind, and with two more games left to play, they just need to beat Estonia before facing Italy on the 16th of November to claim the top spot and an automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Would Norway manage to secure this spot, they would become automatic dark horses as their squad is filled with talent.
But the biggest talent of them all is Erling Haaland, who is simply a scoring machine. He has scored 94 goals in 104 Premier League games, which is simply ridiculous. The Norwegian powerhouse has found it easier than anyone else to adapt to English football, he who imposes his game with so much ease. He’s one of football’s most dangerous players, and must not be underestimated would Norway qualify. The only concern for Norway would be the lack of experience which could cause them to fall short in the latter stages of the tournament, but we are not there yet. The simple thought of Haaland potentially being in the World Cup has to be scary for most defenders potentially coming up against him. He has shown time and time again that he can do it in the Premier League, that he was able to do it in the FA Cup, before doing in the Champions League, will it be any different in the World Cup? The answer is simple: it will all depend on his teammates.
Lamine Yamal:
We mentioned the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will both create a void when they are gone from the game – they could still be the shiniest stars in next year’s World Cup, the world works in mysterious ways – but we must not ignore the fact that the sport is filled with talents left, right and centre, and the biggest of them all is right there in front of us: Lamine Yamal. There aren’t too many players in today’s game who could replicate Lionel Messi’s game to the letter, but then again, not every player was blessed by the Argentinian when they were just babies – Lamine Yamal was -. In a world where football is full of enormous talents but the sport is oversaturated with matches (Raphael Varane complained a couple of seasons ago that there were too many games and player’s healths were not taking into consideration), it’s actually quite difficult to pinpoint exactly who works extraordinarily hard, who has the IT factor, and who has both. Only two players have the IT factor today, and they go by the names of Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal.
Lamine Yamal made his professional debut at the age of 15 years old and 9 months against Real Betis in April 2023 and the rest is still yet to be written, he became the youngest player ever to appear for FC Barcelona in LaLiga; became the youngest player to start for FC Barcelona in the 21st century at the age of 16 years old and 1 month. He became the youngest LaLiga player with an assist at 16 years and 45 days; became the youngest LaLiga goalscorer ever when FC Barcelona faced Granada in October 2023, whilst he was only 16 years and 83 days old.
For Spain, he became the youngest players and goalscorer in the history of the national team at the age of 16 years and 57 days, and later became the youngest player ever to appear at a European Championships, the youngest player to ever score in the tournament, and helped his side win the tournament and became the youngest player to ever do so, all doing so when he had just turned 17.
And that’s not even all of it. This goes to show that Lamine Yamal, beyond all the numerous records he has already broken, is one of a kind and a player who could feature in no less than six World Cups in his career, something no one has ever done: well at least until Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo both step foot onto the pitch next year. Lamine Yamal could feature in the 2046 World Cup, alongside future stars we don’t even know yet.
Just one glance at Lamine Yamal with a football to his feet is all you need to know about why he can bring glory to Spain next year, they who have a formidable and balanced squad, with a mix of experience and youth. Lamine Yamal will not need to be asked twice: he will be in North America, displaying his talent and flair to the entire world.
Kylian Mbappe:
But someone else will have something to say about all of that, and he goes by the name of Kylian Mbappe: France’s biggest talent since Zinédine Zidane. Mbappe also broke record after record, and was once setting the world on fire when he was Yamal’s age. He became the youngest French player at a World Cup and the youngest French player to score at a World Cup when he was only 19 years old. Perhaps the most impressive stat lies in the fact that Kylian Mbappe is only the second youngest player to score in a World Cup final after the legendary Pélé and Mbappe is the first player to score a hattrick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst did it for England in 1966.
The world has known about Kylian Mbappe for almost a decade now, which is mindblowing in itself; the Frenchman doesn’t turn 27 until December and should arguably and in theory, be in the prime of his career. France were so close to winning back to back World Cups after they had won it in 2018, but Argentina shattered their dreams when they defeated France on penalties. Kylian Mbappe arguably played the best game that anyone has ever played in the history of the sport when he scored the hattrick, lifting his country on his back when they needed him the most. It is perhaps the best individual performance we have ever seen in football history.
Mbappe’s talent is undeniable, when he was 18/19, his lightning speed and finishing impressed everybody, and he immediately became a star, signing for PSG for a fee of 180 millions euros. This alone is proof that he wasn’t meant to be just like every other footballer competing for a spot, he was the one making things happen. Whether for Monaco in the Champions League, for PSG in Ligue 1, or for Real Madrid now on the world stage, he will have more pressure than anyone else to deliver for his home country next year, but we believe he’s more than capable of doing so. Why? Because he was (and still might be) the most talented player to have reached the stage when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were regressing. From a talented pool of players, to imposing figures such as Erling Haaland, and undeniable prodigies like Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe, we cannot emphasize enough that the 2026 World Cup will be the biggest we will ever see.