Messi! Mbappé! Ronaldo? The 10 World Cup Stars Who'll Define The Tournament

From living legends to rising youngsters to non-stop goal machines. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is often defined by incredible individual performances, and we shouldn't expect this summer to be any different. 

The 48-team World Cup will feature plenty of stars, and many more will emerge. But these are 10 players who we expect to take top billing.

The World Cup will run from June 11–July 19, 2026. Spread across three countries, the tournament will culminate with the final on July 19 at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. All 104 tournament matches will air live across FOX (70) and FS1 (34) with every match streaming live and on-demand within both the FOX One and the FOX Sports apps. A record 40 matches, more than one-third of the tournament, will air in prime time across FOX (21) and FS1 (19).

[WHEN AND WHERE: Full Schedule for 2026 FIFA World Cup]

Lamine Yamal, Forward, Spain
Age: 18
Club: Barcelona

(Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)

Out of all the stars that will light up soccer’s grandest stage this summer, perhaps there’s no more intriguing or exciting player than the 18-year-old Spanish winger. It’s Yamal’s first World Cup (of many more to come) and he has a chance to score a lot of goals and help La Roja win it all. — Laken Litman

Cristiano Ronaldo, Striker, Portugal
Age: 41
Club: Al-Nassr FC

(Photo by Mikolaj Barbanell/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

This has to be Ronaldo’s last World Cup, right? We thought maybe the 2022 tournament in Qatar would be, but then he walked off the field in tears following Portugal’s quarterfinal loss to Morocco. So here we are: the 41-year-old superstar forward has already won everything he possibly can in this sport, except a World Cup trophy, and that’s