Six young stars to look out for at the 2026 World Cup
- Published
The Fifa World Cup is the biggest tournament in men's international football, and the 2026 edition starts on Thursday 11 June across Canada, Mexico and the United States.
A record 48 nations and 1,248 players have been named in the final squads, so there will be lots of new faces as well as famous superstars.
Below are six young players to look out for - who could all have a big impact.
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Gilberto Mora (Mexico)
Age: 17 Position: Attacking midfield Squad Number: 19 Club: Tijuana
Mora was nicknamed 'The Mexican Pedri', 'The Mexican Pearl' and 'Crackito' (which translates to 'Little Maestro') by the Spanish press after he starred against Spain at last year's Under-20 World Cup. He has been linked with a move to Europe and is reportedly on the radar of Real Madrid and Manchester City
Gilberto Mora is definitely one to watch out for.
The Mexico midfielder is only 17 and he's the youngest player in the entire 2026 World Cup.
He made his senior Mexico debut at 16, becoming the country's youngest-ever men's international footballer.
He also set up an important goal in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup semi-final against Honduras.
Lamine Yamal (Spain)
Age: 18 Position: Winger/Forward Squad Number: 19 Club: Barcelona
Now here's one you might already have heard of.
The Spain and Barcelona star is only 18, but he's already one of the most famous players in the world.
At the age of 16 years and 57 days old, he became the youngest player and goalscorer for Spain.
Also he's already played for Spain at a big tournament - Euro 2024 - where he was the youngest player to feature in the tournament, aged 16 years and 338 days.
This is his first World Cup and with a Euro winners medal in his bag already, lots of people are wondering if he might add a World Cup winners one in a few weeks too.
Nico Paz (Argentina)
Age: 21 Position: Attacking midfielder Squad Number: 18 Club: Como
Paz has been known to copy Lionel Messi's iconic goal celebration by pointing to the sky with both hands after scoring (left) but during his recent run of finding the net in Serie A, he preferred to cover his face with his hands and use 'the mask' (right)
Nico Paz is a 21-year-old attacking midfielder for Argentina and Italian team, Como.
Showing he can both finish moves and set them up, Paz has scored 12 goals and made seven assists in the Italian Serie A league season.
That does not mean he will start every game for world champions Argentina, but he gives Argentina another strong if they need a goal.
Legendary player and Argentina's captain Lionel Messi said: "He has bags of quality and I hope he keeps improving... He has a great head on his shoulders and reads the game perfectly. I hope he continues on this path."
Endrick (Brazil)
Age: 19 Position: Forward Squad Number: 19 Club: Real Madrid
Endrick is already a huge world star at just 19
Brazil forward Endrick is still only 19, but he already plays for two of the most famous teams in world football: His country Brazil and Real Madrid in Spain.
And, he may still be one of the younger players in Brazil's squad, but he already has a habit of delivering in big moments.
In 2023 he became one of Brazil's youngest-ever players, then scored in a 1-0 win over England at Wembley in March 2024, and also scored against Spain later that month.
Yan Diomande (Ivory Coast)
Age: 19 Position: Winger Squad Number: 11 Club: RB Leipzig
Diomande has been linked with Liverpool, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain and Bayern Munich but Leipzig insist he is not for sale and reportedly value him at more than 130m euros (£112m)
Another teenager to look out for is Yan Diomande of Côte d'Ivoire, or Ivory Coast.
He is 19, plays on the wing, and is known for pace, dribbling and direct running.
He has had an excellent first season with RB Leipzig in Germany, making 22 goal contributions in his first 33 matches.
He also scored in each of his first two senior games for his country.
Pau Cubarsi (Spain)
Age: 19 Position: Defender Squad Number: 22 Club: Barcelona
Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi are the young stars of both club and country.
While much of the focus when it comes to young players playing for Spain will be on Lamine Yamal, his Barcelona and Spain team mate Pau Cubarsi could also be one to watch.
The 19-year-old defender has already made more than 135 appearances for Barcelona, which is a huge number for someone his age.
And if Spain do well, Cubarsi's calm passing and smart defending could be a big reason why.
