2026 World Cup: Top 5 leagues most represented at the tournament

Special Reports Today at 17:25

Imed Ben Amara

News Editor

13.06.26 18:00 World Cup

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1,248 players have been selected to play in the 2026 World Cup, the first edition featuring 48 national teams. Among them, 166 come from the Premier League.

The English top flight is the most represented league at this World Cup, thanks to clubs like Manchester City (19 players), Arsenal (16), Manchester United (13), Crystal Palace (13), and Liverpool (11).

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Second place goes to the Bundesliga, with 101 players—18 from Bayern Munich and 11 from Borussia Dortmund. La Liga is third with 82 players: 14 from FC Barcelona and 12 from Atlético Madrid. Real Madrid is sending 10 players, none of whom are Spanish.

Serie A ranks fifth, just behind France, and suffers from the absence of the Squadra Azzurra, eliminated by Bosnia and Herzegovina in the playoffs.

Here are the 10 most represented leagues:

1- Premier League: 166 players

2- Bundesliga: 101

3- La Liga: 82

4- Ligue 1: 81

5- Serie A: 66

Distribution of African players by league

The two leagues with the biggest contingent of African players at the 2026 World Cup are the Premier League and France's Ligue 1.

Each of these leagues features 25 African players. OGC Nice stands out as the club with the most representation, sending 7 players: Algerian Hichem Boudaoui, Egyptian Mohamed Abdelmonem, Tunisian Ali Abdi, Senegalese Yehvann Diouf and Antoine Mendy, and Ivorians Evann Guessand and Elye Wahi.

Here’s the full list of African World Cup players competing in the 2025-2026 Premier League:

• Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia - Burnley)

• Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo - West Ham United)

• Alex Tuanzebe (DR Congo - Burnley)

• Noah Sadiki (DR Congo - Sunderland)

• Yoane Wissa (DR Congo - Newcastle United)

• Ibrahim Sangaré (Ivory Coast - Nottingham Forest)

• Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast - Manchester United)

• Evann Guessand (Ivory Coast - Crystal Palace)

• Mamadou Sarr (Senegal - Chelsea)

• El Hadji Malick Diouf (Senegal - West Ham United)

• Idrissa Gana Gueye (Senegal - Everton)

• Habib Diarra (Senegal - Sunderland)

• Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal - Tottenham Hotspur)

• Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal - Everton)

• Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal - Crystal Palace)

• Nicolas Jackson (Senegal - Chelsea)

• Mohamed Salah (Egypt - Liverpool)

• Omar Marmoush (Egypt - Manchester City)

• Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco - Manchester United)

• Chadi Riad (Morocco - Crystal Palace)

• Issa Diop (Morocco - Fulham)

• Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco - Sunderland)

• Lyle Foster (South Africa - Burnley)

• Rayan Aït-Nouri (Algeria - Manchester City)

• Antoine Semenyo (Ghana - Manchester City)

The list of African World Cup players competing in Ligue 1 for 2025-2026:

• Montassar Talbi (Tunisia - FC Lorient)

• Ali Abdi (Tunisia - OGC Nice)

• Lionel Mpasi (DR Congo - Le Havre)

• Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo - Lille OSC)

• Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo - RC Lens)

• Ngal'ayel Mukau (DR Congo - Lille OSC)

• Guéla Doué (Ivory Coast - RC Strasbourg)

• Evann Guessand (Ivory Coast - OGC Nice)

• Elye Wahi (Ivory Coast - OGC Nice)

• Mory Diaw (Senegal - Le Havre)

• Yehvann Diouf (Senegal – OGC Nice)

• Moussa Niakhaté (Senegal - Lyon)

• Antoine Mendy (Senegal - OGC Nice)

• Bamba Dieng (Senegal - Lorient)

• Mohamed Abdelmonem (Egypt – OGC Nice)

• Samir El Mourabet (Morocco - Strasbourg)

• Ayyoub Bouaddi (Morocco - Lille)

• Gessime Yassine (Morocco - Strasbourg)

• Hicham Boudaoui (Algeria – OGC Nice)

• Amine Gouiri (Algeria - Marseille)

• Aïssa Mandi (Algeria - Lille)

• Gideon Mensah (Ghana - Auxerre)

• Marvin Senaya (Ghana - Auxerre)

• Alidu Seidu (Ghana - Rennes)

• Elisha Owusu (Ghana - Auxerre)

Note that there are 12 African World Cup players in the Bundesliga for 2025-2026:

• Ellyes Skhiri (Tunisia - Eintracht Frankfurt)

• Rani Khedira (Tunisia - Union Berlin)

• Ismael Gharbi (Tunisia - Augsburg)

• Yan Diomandé (Ivory Coast - RB Leipzig)

• Bazoumana Touré (Ivory Coast - TSG Hoffenheim)

• Barra Sapoko Ndiaye (Senegal - Bayern Munich)

• Bilal El Khannouss (Morocco - Stuttgart)

• Ramy Bensebaini (Algeria - Borussia Dortmund)

• Farès Chaïbi (Algeria - Eintracht Frankfurt)

• Ibrahim Maza (Algeria - Bayer Leverkusen)

• Mohamed Amoura (Algeria - Wolfsburg)

• Jonas Adjetey (Ghana - VfL Wolfsburg)

And 9 in La Liga for 2025-2026:

• Logan Costa (Cape Verde - Villarreal)

• Nicolas Pépé (Ivory Coast - Villarreal)

• Pape Gueye (Senegal - Villarreal)

• Cédric Bakambu (DR Congo - Real Betis)

• Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco - Girona)

• Abde Ezzalzouli (Morocco - Real Betis)

• Brahim Diaz (Morocco - Real Madrid)

• Iñaki Williams (Ghana - Athletic Club)

• Thomas Partey (Ghana - Villarreal)

Finally, Serie A in Italy for 2025-2026 is represented by 7 players:

• Evan Ndicka (Ivory Coast - AS Roma)

• Odilon Kossounou (Ivory Coast - Atalanta)

• Ange-Yoan Bonny (Ivory Coast - Inter Milan)

• Rafik Belghali (Algeria - Hellas Verona)

• Farès Ghedjemis (Algeria - Frosinone)

• Assane Diao (Senegal - Como)

• Neil El Aynaoui (Morocco - AS Roma)

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