Manchester City lead global club representation at the 2026 World Cup

Manchester City boast 19 players at the 2026 World Cup, the highest tally from any club worldwide.

City's World Cup players Manchester City will be represented by 19 footballers who last featured for the club in a competitive match at the 2026 World Cup across North America. Among these players, four have been included in England's 26-man squad. Goalkeeper James Trafford joins defenders Marc Guehi, Nico O'Reilly, and John Stones in Thomas Tuchel's selection. Manchester City captain Bernardo Silva is also heading to the tournament, though he will leave the club during the summer transfer window. ## Portuguese trio in City's ranks Silva is part of a trio of current Manchester City players who will compete for Portugal at the World Cup. The other two are defender Ruben Dias and midfielder Matheus Nunes, both integral to Fernando Santos' squad. Their inclusion adds to Manchester City's strong representation across multiple national teams at the tournament. ## Dutch and Croatian connections Two Manchester City players have been called up by the Netherlands for the tournament. Tijjani Reijnders and Nathan Ake will wear the Dutch colors in North America. Croatia's squad also features two ex-Manchester City players: Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol. These selections highlight the club's global influence in football. ## Additional City players in squads The list of Manchester City footballers at the World Cup extends further with Erling Haaland (Norway), Omar Marmoush (Egypt), Rayan Cherki (France), Jeremy Doku (Belgium), Rodri (Spain), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria), Antoine Semenyo (Ghana), and Abdukodir Khusanov (Uzbekistan). This widespread representation underscores the club's role as a major feeder for international football. ## City tops global club rankings Manchester City's contribution of 19 players marks the highest number from any single club in world football. This surpasses all other teams globally and sets a new benchmark for club representation at a World Cup. The expansion of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams has contributed to this record-breaking tally. ## Top clubs by player count Seventeen clubs will have ten or more players at the 2026 World Cup who last played club football for them. Five of these clubs are from England. Arsenal shares the joint-third spot with Paris Saint-Germain, each having 17 players at the tournament. Bayern Munich leads the German contingent with 18 players, while Barcelona rounds out the top five with 15. ## Barcelona's past dominance Barcelona held the record for the most represented club at the previous World Cup in Qatar with 17 players. Manchester City and Bayern Munich were joint-second with 16 players each. Four years earlier in Russia, Manchester City led with 16 players, followed by Real Madrid with 15 and Barcelona with 14. ## Barcelona's historic high Barcelona's 17 players at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar set a new benchmark for club representation at a single tournament. Manchester City has now surpassed that record with 19 players at the 2026 edition. The increase in team numbers and tournament size has driven these unprecedented figures.