World Cup 2026: Which clubs and leagues are most represented?

With all 48 squads confirmed for the 2026 World Cup, we took a look at what they look like and how they compare to each other ahead of the tournament. Which clubs have the most players in their squads? How many people from each team play in the best leagues? Who are the oldest and youngest teams and players at these Championships? They haven't won the Premier League, but Manchester City's players are the most sought after internationally, with a record 19 of the club's players representing 12 different countries. Champions Germany, England, France and Spain are next in line for the number of players at the World Cup - Arsenal will supply 16 players to 10 different national teams. Serie A winners Inter Milan have just seven players at the tournament, mainly due to the absence of the Italians. If you look at the 20 clubs that made up the Premier League in the 2025-26 season, only the top three teams from this season have more players in the World Cup than the winners of this season's Conference League, i.e. Crystal Palace (12). It is astonishing that Sunderland have as many international representatives as Chelsea and Liverpool (11 each), given that their recruitment has been largely globetrotting and the club only gained promotion to the Championship last year. Brentford, Everton and Leeds sent only 4 players to the World Cup. When it comes to the top five leagues in Europe - Ligue 1, Serie A, Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga - the Spanish squad is entirely made up of players playing in these leagues. Al-Ahli's Ivan Toney and Galatasaray's Leroy Sane were called up to the England and Germany squads, while the French squad included both Theo Hernandez and N'Golo Kante, who play for Al-Hilal and Fenerbahce respectively. National teams such as Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium, despite their small size, have a large number of players playing at a high level, while from outside Europe, Argentina and Senegal have the most players in the best leagues. None of the players representing Curacao, Iran, Iraq or Qatar have played in Europe's top five leagues this season, although Iranian striker Ali Jasim is registered with Italian club Como but was loaned to Saudi Arabia's Al-Najma last season.  The oldest squad at the tournament is Panama, while Iran and Colombia are the only other countries whose average age of players is over 30. Carlo Ancelotti is counting on veterans Danilo, Casemiro and Neymar (all 34) to help Brazil win their first World Cup title since 2002, while Scotland has also called up elderly players, which is surprising as it is a country that has not played in the World Cup since 1998. By far the oldest player at the tournament is Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who will be 43 years and 162 days old when the tournament starts. Cristiano Ronaldo continues to amaze everyone considering he will be taking part in his sixth World Cup at the age of 41. Luka Modric and Edin Dzeko are the only other players who will be 40 or older given that they will take part in the World Cup. The youngest squad for the World Cup is the Ivory Coast squad, which includes promising strikers Yan Diomande (19 years old) and Bazoumana Toure (20 years old).years) who will certainly be kept an eye on by leading clubs in the coming years. Morocco (African champions) and Spain (European champions 2024) also have relatively young teams. These teams included many young players, including Lamine Yamal (18 years old) and Pau Cubarsi (19 years old) from the Spanish national team. The youngest player at the World Championships will be Mexican Gilberto Mora, who will be only 17 years and 240 days old when the tournament starts, as he turns 18 only in October. In turn, the 17-year-old Czech midfielder Hugo Sochurek turns 18 this Sunday, and the German "freak" Lennart Karl, who made his debut for Bayern Munich last season, is also 18 years old.