The young players who could light up the 2026 World Cup

Every World Cup hands a few young players the stage that turns them from prospects into household names. The expanded 2026 tournament, with 48 teams and more matches than ever, gives that chance to a deeper pool of talent than usual. Here are five of the youngsters most likely to make people sit up over the next few weeks.

Lamine Yamal, Spain

There is nothing left to discover about Yamal, and that is the point. At 18 he is already the player Spain build around, the one defenders double up on and still cannot stop. He arrives at this World Cup as a favourite for the tournament’s young player award and, for many, as a genuine contender for the best player of any age. If Spain go deep, he is the reason most people will expect it.

Warren Zaïre-Emery, France

Few 20-year-olds run a midfield the way Zaïre-Emery does. He has grown up fast at Paris Saint-Germain, collecting trophies before most players his age have settled into a first team, and he plays with a calm that makes him look older than he is. France are stacked with attacking names, but the balance of their side may rest on the young man doing the quiet work in front of the defence.

Kenan Yıldız, Turkey

Turkey have not always made it to this stage, and they arrive with a forward capable of lighting it up. Yıldız has become Juventus’s creative reference point, comfortable drifting in from the left or playing as a number ten, with the close control to wriggle out of tight spaces. He was named Serie A’s best under-23 player last season, and for a nation that loves a flair player, he is the one the country will pin its hopes on.

Luka Vušković, Croatia

Defenders rarely get the wonderkid billing, but Vušković has forced his way into it. The 19-year-old centre-back spent the season on loan at Hamburg, where his composure on the ball earned him a place in the Bundesliga’s team of the season and made him the division’s highest-scoring defender. Croatia have leaned on experienced heads at recent tournaments, so a teenager pushing into that group says plenty about how good he already looks.

Pau Cubarsí, Spain

Spain could field two of the best young players in the world, and Cubarsí is the other one. At 19 he already plays like a defender with a decade behind him, stepping out from the back with the ball and rarely looking flustered. In a Spain side built on keeping possession and inviting pressure, a centre-back that calm under the ball is worth as much as any attacker.

A tournament for the young

None of this is a guarantee. Young players can freeze on the biggest stage as easily as they can seize it, and a single tournament rarely defines a career on its own. But the names above carry the kind of talent that travels, and a World Cup spread across three countries gives them more room than ever to show it. By the time the final is played in July, at least one of them should have a summer to remember.

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