The 10 youngest players at the 2026 World Cup: Lamine Yamal doesn’t quite make the cut

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·9 juin 2026

The 10 youngest players at the 2026 World Cup: Lamine Yamal doesn’t quite make the cut

It takes something special to be deemed good enough to represent your country at a World Cup as a teenager.

With 48 national teams bringing 26-man squads, that takes us to a total of 1248 players at this summer’s freshly expanded tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Just 21 (1.6%) of all the players at this World Cup are younger than 20.

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We’ve scoured through every squad list and compiled the 10 youngest players at the 2026 World Cup:

10. Lucas Herrington (Australia)

September 5, 2007 (aged 18)

Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal is one of only 11 18-year-olds at the 2026 World Cup, but he doesn’t quite make it into the top 10 youngest players at the tournament.

Sneaking in at No.10 is centre-back Herrington, one of Australia’s most highly-rated exports. He joined MLS outfit Colorado Rapids from Brisbane Roar earlier this year. He also made his international debut in 2026.

He might be a bit green to go straight into Tony Popovic’s starting XI, but you imagine he’ll have a role to play somewhere. The considerably more experienced Swansea City defender Cameron Burgess appears more likely to take that left centre-back spot.

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9. Rayan Elloumi (Tunisia)

September 17, 2007 (aged 18)

Another MLS starlet who has only burst onto the scene recently. He hails from Alberta and represented Canada at youth level, but has taken up the call of his parents’ nation.

Back in September, he became the youngest goalscorer in Vancouver Whitecaps history – a game in which Thomas Muller scored a hat-trick on his 36th birthday. Some mentor, that.

8. Kerim Alajbegovic (Bosnia & Herzegovina)

September 21, 2007 (aged 18)

The Bosnian winger comes into the tournament off the back of an excellent breakthrough campaign at Red Bull Salzburg, which has already earned him a move to Bayer Leverkusen for next season.

Cologne-born Alajbegovic spent four years in Leverkusen’s youth system and they’ve acted swiftly to bring him back. He looks as though he has all the makings of a Bundesliga star, and was among Bosnia’s standout players in qualification – particularly when they edged past Wales and Italy in the play-offs.

Talk him up as one to watch if you want to sound like you know your stuff. A wide-open Group B with Canada, Switzerland and Qatar gives Bosnia’s rising star a platform to impress.

7. Ayyoub Bouaddi (Morocco)

October 2, 2007 (aged 18)

This top 10 is mostly full of relatively lesser-known names that represent outsiders, but here’s one you might know. Particularly if you keep an eye on the gossip columns.

Bouaddi has been talked up as one of the most gifted midfielders of his generation. The teenager produced an exceptional performance on his 17th birthday when Lille beat Real Madrid back in October 2024.

It’s surely a matter of time before he moves on from his boyhood club Lille, with PSG, Arsenal and Manchester United said to be among his suitors – and this summer might be the time if he steps up on the biggest stage of all.

He represented France from Under-16 right up until Under-21 level before causing a shock by declaring for Morocco last month. Huge.

6. Mladen Jurkas (Bosnia & Herzegovina)

October 7, 2007 (aged 18)

Former Austria youth international Osman Hadzikic earned his first call-up in Bosnia’s 26-man squad, but he was forced to withdraw due to injury.

Taking his place at the 11th hour is Jurkas, who has just enjoyed a breakthrough season with UEFA Conference League stalwarts Borac Banja Luka.

We don’t expect the young goalkeeper to play any minutes out in North America – St. Pauli’s Nikola Vasilj has it locked in – but just being there is a story in itself.

5. Bara Sapoko Ndiaye (Senegal)

December 31, 2007 (aged 18)

“He’s a young talent who provides a lot of pace as a midfielder,” says Vincent Kompany.

“Things are going well for him.”

Ndiaye made the odd cameo in Bayern’s Bundesliga title victory last term, on loan from Gambian outfit Gambinos Stars, and reports from Germany suggest he’s about to put pen to paper on a five-year deal with the Bavarian giants.

Pape Thiaw gave him his first call-up last month, and he recently made his Lions of Taranga debut with 90 minutes in their 3-2 friendly warm-up defeat to hosts USA.

He’s unlikely to start, but he offers something different as a wildcard option off the bench.

4. Hamza Abdelkarim (Egypt)

January 1, 2008 (aged 18)

The striker has next to no senior experience, and it was a bit of a surprise to see him make Hossam Hassan’s Pharaohs squad.

He made his debut to help see out their 1-0 warm-up friendly victory over Russia, while his club career has seen him go from Egyptian giants Al Ahly to Barcelona’s Juvenil youth side.

Abdelkarim has recently signed a deal with Nike, has been nicknamed “the Egyptian Haaland”, and is expected to join up with Hansi Flick’s La Liga champions for pre-season later this summer.

There must be something there, you’d imagine, but for now he’s a total unknown quantity. Let’s see.

3. Ibrahim Mbaye (Senegal)

January 24, 2008 (aged 18)

“I will never regret choosing to play for Senegal because it was a decision from the heart,” says Mbaye.

Like Bouaddi, Mbaye progressed steadily through the French national youth ranks before making the decision to represent the African motherland at senior level.

The PSG prospect was an unused substitute in their recent Champions League victory over Arsenal and has had to settle for cameos under Luis Enrique, but he only turned 18 earlier this year and clearly has a bright future.

A super-sub in Senegal’s run to AFCON glory earlier this year, you imagine Thiaw has a similar plan for Mbaye at the World Cup. Ace up his sleeve?

2. Hugo Sochurek (Czech Republic)

June 7, 2008 (aged 18)

The Czech midfielder celebrated his 18th birthday on the eve of the tournament kicking off. Sochurek made his debut in their warm-up 2-1 victory over Kosovo and was something of a surprise inclusion in Miroslav Koubek’s 26-man squad.

He’s only got a handful of games under his belt for Sparta Prague, but he’s evidently shown enough in his fledgling career to offer something a bit different from veterans like Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Darida.

1. Gilberto Mora (Mexico)

October 14, 2008 (aged 17)

Of the 1248 players that have been named in the 2026 World Cup squads, just one is under the age of 18: Mexican wonderkid Gilberto Mora.

The oldest footballer at this World Cup, Scotland’s Craig Gordon, was already seven years into his senior career and was playing in the Premier League for Sunderland by the time Mora was born in Tuxtla in 2008.

This is no Theo Walcott-esque token gesture. He will have a role to play. The playmaker looks a special talent; he’s already played 50 times for Tijuana, scoring eight goals, while he featured prominently in Mexico’s Gold Cup victory last summer.

Real Madrid are said to be scouting him. No pressure, kid.