5 young players to watch at the 2026 World Cup
Which of these could be football's next big star?
The World Cup 2026 promises to be full of elite talents, and it will notably surely be the last major international tournament for legendary duo Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Still, we have a new generation of stars coming through, and we’ve picked out five names to watch out for this summer, aside from the obvious ones like Lamine Yamal (still only 18, and playing his second tournament with Spain), and others like Kenan Yildiz and Nico Paz - read on for five exciting prospects you might not have heard of yet…
Yan Diomande, 19, Ivory Coast
The young Ivorian winger making waves in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig this season looks like one to watch at the World Cup for sure. Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain will be among the clubs keeping a close eye on his performances, and one imagines there’ll soon be other top clubs joining the race for his signature if he can take his club form with him to this tournament.
Assan Ouedraogo, 20, Germany
Germany’s large pool of talent will likely make them one of the World Cup favourites again this year with Irish betting sites and others, and wouldn’t be quite the fairytale if Assan Ouedraogo ended up making a name for himself after he was only called up to replace the injured Lennart Karl? The 20-year-old midfielder is another top talent on the books at Leipzig, and if he can flourish in this Germany side then we’ll surely see his stock continue to rise in the transfer market.
Luka Vuskovic, 19, Croatia
Already one of Europe’s best young centre-backs, Luka Vuskovic is a rare young gem in this Croatia side full of veterans like Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, and Mateo Kovacic. It will be interesting to see how he gets on back at Tottenham next season after his loan spell at Hamburg, but first we’ll see what kind of impact he can make on the international stage with Croatia.
Ayyoub Bouaddi, 18, Morocco
After representing France at youth level, Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi will instead be representing Morocco at senior international level. The talented 18-year-old is a superbly technical and elegant playmaker in the middle of the park, and it seems inevitable that there’ll be even more buzz about him in a few weeks’ time if he can have a positive impact for Morocco, who were one of the stories of the last World Cup with that impressive run to the semi-finals.
Kerim Alajbegovic, 18, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Yet another talent making a name for himself on the Red Bull production line, Kerim Alajbegovic scored 13 goals for RB Salzburg in the season just gone, and is now sure to be a player ready to explode at the very highest level. The teenager is likely to be a key player for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and it will be intriguing to see if he can help the unfancied European nation cause a bit of an upset.