7 huge stars fighting to make the World Cup this summer: Maguire, Neymar… | OneFootball

The 2026 World Cup is less than four months away. At this stage, most seasoned internationals will have a pretty good idea of whether they’ll make the plane.

But there are always some late surprises, and some individuals will be extra motivated to give their national team managers something to think about before finalising their squads.

We’ve identified seven big-name players who could conceivably make the World Cup if they perform well in the coming months.

Harry Maguire

One of the icons of the unforgettable Gareth Southgate era, ol’ Slabhead has become something of an afterthought after the Three Lions have moved onto new pastures.

The experienced defender has only made one international appearance in the last couple of years – a comfortable 2-0 victory away to the Republic of Ireland, under Lee Carsley, back in September 2024.

He’s yet to receive a call-up under current boss Thomas Tuchel. At one point, it looked as though his chances of making this summer’s World Cup squad were dead in the water.

But Maguire has timed his resurgence well. He’s played an integral role in Manchester United’s uptick under Michael Carrick.

Tuchel has admitted publicly that Maguire, along with his Red Devils team-mates Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo, is “back in the picture” – no surprise given the uncertainty and injuries plaguing England in the centre of defence.

Watch this space.

Federico Chiesa

*insert gigantic caveat here*

Italy, of course, have to navigate two tricky play-off games before we can start putting them in the same conversation as the World Cup. That’s far from certain, given their failure to qualify for the last two.

Amid the Azzurri’s barren World Cup run, Chiesa shone during their triumph at Euro 2020. He’s shown flashes of recapturing that form during the odd cameo at Liverpool, but Arne Slot doesn’t appear to trust him to start games, and now he’s in international limbo.

If fit and firing, he could be a difference-maker for Italy’s World Cup hopes. But he hasn’t played for his country since their shock elimination to Switzerland at Euro 2024.

Neymar

Brazil’s all-time top goalscorer is yet to make an appearance for the Selecao under Carlo Ancelotti.

The Italian has always left the door open for the superstar forward to return to the fold.

“He has to be 100%,” he told Esporte Record when asked about Neymar late last year.

“I think he’s a great talent. He’s had the bad luck of having injuries. He couldn’t be in good physical condition because of the injuries he’s had.”

More of this sort of thing from Neymar and he might just get the World Cup last dance he’s been dreaming of.

Lionel Messi

This isn’t a race in the traditional sense.

Lionel Scaloni would call up Messi even if he were down to one leg, which ought to be the case given all he’s given to the cause and the starring role he played at the last World Cup.

But we still don’t know if Argentina’s legendary captain will be there. Messi has stated numerous times that he’ll only accept a call-up if he feels in a good physical state and can still offer something. Turning 39 in the summer, that’s far from guaranteed.

That factor adds an extra element of interest to Inter Miami’s outings in the coming weeks and months. They didn’t get off to a good start in their campaign to retain their MLS title.

Mateus Mane

Call this one your wildcard.

With Wolves’ relegation fate all but sealed, teenage winger Mane has really caught the eye in their relatively low-stakes encounters.

He was born in Portugal but has lived in England for the past 10 years and holds citizenship for both nations, although he opted to represent the Three Lions at Under-18 level.

There’s a chance that Mane could make the World Cup, although given Thomas Tuchel’s stacked options it’s unlikely to be England. The Portuguese FA are reportedly working on getting him to declare.

Lennart Karl

“For me, the only thing that matters is giving my all at Bayern – only then can I hope for a call-up,” Karl recently told Kicker.

“Anyone who doesn’t hope for something like that has no place in football.”

The teenage sensation was garnering comparisons to Lionel Messi when he first started breaking through earlier in the season.

At that stage, he appeared a shoo-in but his progress has stalled a bit and the latest reports from Germany suggest he’s not in Julian Nagelsmann’s plans.

Karl is surely destined to represent Germany at senior level, but the World Cup looks like it might just come too soon.

Paul Pogba

To be honest, at this point, it looks almost impossible for Pogba. But never say never.

One of Les Bleus’ most outstanding players from their 2018 World Cup triumph, the midfielder is now off the radar.

He did make a long-awaited return following his controversial doping ban, but fitness issues and recurring injuries have hampered his minutes at Monaco considerably.

“That will depend on him. I have no doubt that he wants it and that it’s a goal in his mind,” Didier Deschamps said back in October.

“He has steps to take, and the next one, after these long weeks of separate training, will be when he puts on the Monaco shirt and steps onto the pitch.

“I hope it happens as soon as possible and that everything goes well for him. Then we’ll see.”

Deschamps has his favourites and has been happy to make surprise recalls, having taken N’Golo Kante to Euro 2024 and capped him as recently as November.

Pogba has a chance for a sensational, against-all-odds return – but he better get a move on.