World Cup Group D: Players To Watch | OneFootball

Tonight marks the start of Group D at the 2026 World Cup. Co-hosts USA will face Paraguay in the opening match before Australia and Türkiye play each other tomorrow night. Lots of fans will be watching these nations play for the first time, so here’s one player per team to keep an eye on this summer. As a rule, none of the players that I picked as key players or the potential breakout star in my profiles of each country will be chosen in this exercise. This is about giving some love to underappreciated players that will make a big impact. Let’s get into it.

USA: Ricardo Pepi

Monaco striker Folarin Balogun will lead the line for the USMNT, but they have an equally capable option off the bench. Ricardo Pepi scores goals for fun whenever he’s on the pitch for PSV Eindhoven in the Eredivisie. When he signed for the Dutch giants, Pepi was the backup to Luuk de Jong and struggled to break into the starting lineup. Despite this, he scored 17 goals in all competitions in 2024/25 to help PSV win the league and make the knockouts of the Champions League. This past season Pepi was entrusted with the starting spot but battled with some injuries. He still managed to lead the team in goals with 19 and found the back of the net 1.02 times per 90 minutes.

Pepi has also been good for the USMNT. He’s tallied 13 goals and 5 assists in 37 caps. El Tren has particularly shown up in the Nations League. He scored four times in four games as the USA won the trophy in 2022/23 including a goal against rivals Mexico in the semifinal. Although they had a poor showing in 2024/25, Pepi still managed to score twice against Jamaica. He offers a different profile to Balogun, with Balo bringing the ability to stretch the defense and the FC Dallas product having a more physical style. Pepi’s holdup play was excellent in both friendlies for the USMNT this summer. He was involved in both first half goals against Senegal and got the assist on the second one. Look for Pepi to be one of the first names off the bench for Mauricio Pochettino as he poses a real threat to tired defenses.

Paraguay: Diego Gómez

Most of the attention goes to Julio Enciso and Miguel Almirón, but Paraguay have another standout player in the midfield. Diego Gómez has been a huge part of their success this cycle and will be important if they want to make a run this World Cup. Gómez came up through the Libertad academy in Paraguay and played two seasons for their first team. His impressive performances in the league and Copa Libertadores earned Gómez a move to Inter Miami during the same transfer window as Lionel Messi. The young midfielder broke out in MLS in 2024, scoring six goals and providing six assists in all competitions for the Herons. Similarly to fellow Libertad product Enciso, Gómez then transferred to Premier League club Brighton. He enjoyed a productive second season on the south coast this year, scoring 10 goals for the Seagulls.

Gómez was a mainstay for Paraguay as they qualified for the World Cup. He started 12 of the 13 matches he appeared in. The highlight was a huge home win over world champions Argentina, where Gómez got the game-winning assist and was named Man of the Match on most rating apps. The Brighton man is a versatile midfielder. He primarily plays right wing for his club and has played there for his country as well, but he’s also capable of deputizing in a more central midfield role. He scored Paraguay’s only goal in their recent win over Greece as a central midfielder. With star man Enciso battling injuries, look for Gómez to step up for Paraguay.

Türkiye: Barış Alper Yılmaz

This Turkish team has so many great players going forward. Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız are legitimate wonderkids on the global stage, Can Uzun isn’t far behind, and Kerem Aktürkoğlu is a proven striker/winger. One name that doesn’t get talked about as much is Barış Alper Yılmaz. The 26 year old has been a standout for Galatasaray for the last three years and is coming off the best season of his career. Yılmaz scored 12 goals and provided 14 assists in all competitions for the Turkish giants. They won the Süper Lig for the fourth year in a row and made it to the round of 16 of the Champions League.

Kenan Yıldız is Türkiye’s first choice left winger but he’s dealing with injury problems. The Juventus star will likely miss the opening match against Australia and could be out for longer than that. In his place, Yılmaz has really thrived. He scored in both of Türkiye’s friendlies this summer and is a reliable option as a starter or as a super sub. Yılmaz scored off the bench against North Macedonia and was rewarded with a start against Venezuela, in which he also found the scoresheet. He has played on the right for Türkiye in the past and if he continues his red-hot form, expect him to earn that spot. For the time being, he’ll step up at left wing and help the Turks against Australia.

Australia: Nestory Irankunda

Australia are not a very attacking team. Their tactics are built around defensive solidity and being very difficult to break down. Nestory Irankunda is one of the few players the Socceroos can rely on in the attack and he’ll need to have a breakout tournament if they are to accomplish anything in the World Cup. Irankunda started his career with Adelaide United and burst onto the scene as an 18 year old. He scored eight goals and registered six assists for the A-League club in 2023/24. That stellar season earned him a move to Bavarian giants Bayern Munich, where he primarily played for their second team. Irankunda joined Championship side Watford in search of regular game time last summer and had a decent campaign in England.

Nestory headlines a new generation of Australian footballers alongside the likes of Mohamed Touré and Lucas Herrington. He’s a breath of fresh air to watch in an otherwise relatively dull national team. Irankunda’s lightning quick pace and dribbling flair are perfect in transition for an Australia team that look to attack on the counter. He scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Canada back in October and added a brace against Curaçao in March. Manager Tony Popović will hope that this success against CONCACAF nations carries into their match against the USA. Now 20 years old, this is Irankunda’s first major tournament for Australia and his directness on the wing will be entertaining to watch.

Group D Profiles

If you want to take a closer look at each team in Group D, click on the name of the national team below to be directed to a profile article for any of them.

USAParaguayTürkiyeAustralia