You already know about the superstars who could light up the 2026 Fifa World Cup, but what about the next wave of talent?
A record 1,248 players can feature in the USA, Canada and Mexico and, while there are few total unknowns, 891 of them are at their first World Cup, including plenty of unfamiliar faces looking to announce themselves on the global stage.
Here, BBC Sport’s TV and radio World Cup commentators pick out 20 players from outside the Premier League and Scottish Premiership who are worth watching out for this summer.
1. Yan Diomande (Ivory Coast)
Age: 19 Position: Winger Club: RB Leipzig
Steve Wilson: One of the most sought-after signatures of the summer will be RB Leipzig’s teenage winger though the German club are naturally unwilling to see him go.
The winner of the Bundesliga rookie of the season award, Diomande only joined from Spanish side Leganes in July 2025 for a bargain 20m euros (£17.2m) and promptly registered 21 goal contributions (12 goals and nine assists) in 33 league appearances to help Leipzig qualify for the Champions League.
Diomande spent three years living in Florida after moving to the United States aged 15 so he should feel at home for the next few weeks.
He missed Ivory Coast’s March friendlies against South Korea and Scotland with a shoulder injury but started last week’s shock World Cup warm-up win over France and looks certain to keep his place once the tournament kicks off.
2. Gilberto Mora (Mexico)
Age: 17 Position: Midfielder Club: Tijuana
Radio 5 Live football correspondent John Murray: The youngest of all the players at this World Cup is a 17-year-old attacking midfielder who was described as a wonderkid at last summer’s Gold Cup, when he became Mexico’s youngest senior player aged 16.
Not only that, coach Javier Aguirre then picked him in the team to start the final that Mexico won by beating Mauricio Pochettino’s United States 2-1 in Houston.
Steve Wilson: Mexico’s young sensation is the youngest goalscorer in Liga MX history, getting off the mark for Tijuana in August 2024 when he was still 15.
He is the player on whom many home hopes will be pinned when they kick off the World Cup against South Africa in the Azteca – if he can find a starting berth in Aguirre’s side.
Spanish-born Alvaro Fidalgo’s decision in February to represent Mexico rather than wait for a Spanish call-up, which would be unlikely to come, may mean that Mora has to begin the tournament on the bench.
3. Johan Manzambi (Switzerland)
Age: 20 Position: Midfielder Club: SC Freiburg
Steve Bower: Switzerland have a record of getting to finals and giving young players the stage to make a name for themselves – at past tournaments it was Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye. Now it could be Manzambi’s turn.
Some people will have seen him play a big part in the Freiburg side that went all the way to the Europa League final.
Manzambi can play in various positions in midfield and is pretty good in the final third too. He carries the ball really well and I know the Swiss fans have got big hopes for him – Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka has done an interview praising him as well.
Vicki Sparks: The youngest player in Switzerland’s squad, Manzambi has impressed for Freiburg this season. In the words of Swiss coach Murat Yakin, “he has this incredible hunger to score goals that I have rarely seen”.
Steve Wilson: Manzambi was named Uefa’s Europa League revelation of the season as his club side reached the first European final in their history.
His seven goals from midfield last season included a wonder-strike against Braga in the semi-final which put Freiburg in front for the first time in the tie. His 33 attempts at goal across the whole European campaign were 11 more than any of his team-mates managed.
Geneva born and bred, Manzambi has been used in central midfield or as a number 10 and sometimes as a right-sided forward by Yakin, for whom Manzambi scored his first international goal in a 4-0 win over the United States in Nashville last summer.
Ian Dennis: It’s only a matter of time before Manzambi’s head is turned by a bigger club in Germany or one from the Premier League.
He caught my eye in Istanbul when I thought he was Freiburg’s best player in their Europa Final League defeat by Aston Villa.
He can operate in an attacking midfield role or play deeper. He made his senior Swiss debut last June and has featured in all of their 11 internationals since. Definitely one to watch.
4. Ricardo Pepi (United States)
Age: 23 Position: Striker Club: PSV Eindhoven
Jonathan Pearce: The pressure will be immense for the joint hosts to clear their group and go far. I doubt they’ll achieve that but they could have a shining star in PSV Eindhoven striker Ricardo Pepi.
He banged in 19 goals, including six in his last five games, as PSV won last season’s Dutch title. Pepi also has 13 goals in 35 internationals but only played 36 minutes for the US between November 2024 and April this year, which seems strange.
He was back in the starting line-up for the win over Senegal at the end of May, providing an assist in a 3-2 friendly win, and also came on against Germany last week.
The US need someone to come up with goals for them and Ricardo could pep up home hopes.
5. Nico Paz (Argentina)
Age: 21 Position: Midfielder Club: Como
Steve Bower: Paz played a big part in Italian side Como’s magnificent success story under Cesc Fabregas last season and he’s also massive back home in Argentina.
Because he’s left-footed and because he’s a number 10, the Messi comparisons started a while back. I wouldn’t go down that line because he has got a long, long way to go but his favourite position is just behind the striker and he can drift out to the left as well.
He gets goals, creates goals, presses well and he has really come on under Fabregas’ coaching this season.
He is in the Argentina squad but how Lionel Scaloni uses him, we will have to wait and see. It may be as an impact player or as part of any rotation. But he is the type who, if he he gets an opportunity, is likely to grab it.
Steve Wilson: The son of Argentine international defender Pablo Paz – who was part of their 1998 World Cup squad. Unlike his father, Nico is a winger or number 10.
Paz has broken through at Como under the guidance of Fabregas although, when Real Madrid sold him in 2024, they wisely inserted a buy-back clause that extends into 2027.
Paz completed more dribbles than any other player in Serie A this season, providing 13 goals and eight assists. He also scored his first international goal in March, against Mauritania, one of an eclectic mix of opponents for Scaloni’s side in friendlies played this year.
6. Gessime Yassine (Morocco)
Age: 20 Position: Right-winger Club: Strasbourg
Liam McLeod: Moroccan wildcard Yassine was on Barcelona’s radar before he swapped French second-tier side Dunkerque for big-spending Strasbourg, who paid around 7m euros (£6m) to take him to Ligue 1 in January.
He helped his nation win the Under-20 World Cup under new Morocco head coach Mohammed Ouhabi, who replaced Walid Regragui after the latter surprisingly departed after the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in January.
Gessime has featured in all their recent friendlies since, making his debut against Ecuador in March as he attempts to break into a side that reached the semi-finals in Qatar.
Ian Dennis: After shining at the Under-20 World Cup last October, Yassine will now hope for a chance on the biggest stage of all.
He is a left-footed right-winger who has excellent close control and loves to dribble.
Yassine signed a four-and-a-half-year deal at Strasbourg in January so is surely on the radar of their partner club Chelsea but has already been linked with Barcelona. He is very highly rated.
7. Lucas Herrington (Australia)
Age: 18 Position: Centre-back Club: Colorado Rapids
John Murray: This young Australian central defender was recommended to me by a friend who knows the game well there.
He is from Brisbane and only moved to the US in January for a club-record fee, and has done well enough in Major League Soccer to win a place in the Australian World Cup squad.
8. Kerim Alajbegovic (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Age: 18 Position: Winger Club: Red Bull Salzburg
Vicki Sparks: Alajbegovic had such an impressive campaign at Salzburg that his former club, Bayer Leverkusen, have exercised their buy-back clause after just one season.
Despite his young age, he has already proved that he can hold his nerve on the big stage, scoring the winning penalty in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s play-off semi-final against Wales. He also scored in the shootout victory over Italy in the final.
Billed as the new poster boy for Bosnian football, the German-born winger has often been used as a substitute at international level, including both play-off ties, but started both friendlies before the World Cup.
9. Can Uzun (Turkey)
Age: 20 Position: Midfielder Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Steve Wilson: A German-born attacking midfielder who has delighted fans of Eintracht Frankfurt since joining from Nuremburg two years ago.
He scored five goals and provided three assists in Frankfurt’s first five Bundesliga games of last season, only for hamstring injuries to limit his involvement through the winter.
A playmaker for his club, he is yet to nail down that position for his country with manager Vincenzo Montella likely to see him as an option from the bench should anything befall Orkun Kokcu or Kenan Yildiz.
10. Armando Gonzalez (Mexico)
Age: 23 Position: Striker Club: Chivas deGuadalajara
John Murray: Gonzalez, who scored 25 goals for Guadalajara last season, won his first cap for Mexico in November and scored his first international goal in February.
They say he has something of Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez about him and he will doubtless have learned from the former Manchester United and West Ham striker who returned to Guadalajara to end his playing career just as Gonzalez was maturing.
Jonathan Pearce: The goalscoring hopes for the joint-hosts would appear to rest heavily on the shoulders of Fulham’s Raul Jimenez but they also have a brilliant prospect for the future in Gonzalez.
His goals for Guadalajara in their run to the title play-off round semi-final of Liga MX saw him break through to the national side.
He’s only netted once for Mexico in his first seven games – against Iceland – but there’s more to come from him. Watch out for him as a super sub.
11. Ayyoub Bouaddi (Morocco)
Age: 18 Position: Midfielder Club: Lille
Steve Bower: I saw Bouaddi play for France Under-21s but he was not called up for France’s senior side and last month he said he was going to play for Morocco.
I know they are delighted about that and they think it quite a coup. He has been like a new signing, with his first appearances coming in their warm-up games but he is new to the top level.
Bouaddi made his debut for Lille in the Conference League three days after turning 16 and has played Champions League and Europa League football too, so he has a lot of experience and maturity already.
He is a holding midfield player, who will operate as a deep-lying number six in a double pivot, and I think he will make a big difference in that area of the pitch and get the team playing.
12. Houssem Aouar (Algeria)
Age: 27 Position: Midfielder Club: Al-Ittihad
Jonathan Pearce: I fancy Algeria could repeat the thrills Morrocco gave us four years ago so I’ve picked a trio of their players to look out for.
Aouar is the first of those and I’ve watched him closely since he came through as a teenager at Lyon.
A gifted midfield playmaker who scored 15 goals this season for Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League, he has rediscovered the form that made him one of Europe’s hottest properties a few years ago.
13. Alessandro Circati (Australia)
Age: 22 Position: Centre-back Club: Parma
Vicki Sparks: Circati has been a regular in the heart of Parma’s defence in Serie A this season, as he builds up to his first major tournament.
The former Italy youth international, who moved to Australia as a one-year-old, became the Socceroos’ youngest captain since 1981 when he took the armband against New Zealand last September, and is set to be a key part of their backline.
14. Ali Jasim (Iraq)
Age: 22 Position: Left-winger Club: Como (loaned toAl-Najma in 2025-26)
Steve Wilson: Jasim was the top-scorer at the Under-23 Asian Cup in early 2024, catching the eye of Como who decided to take a gamble on a player who had already left his native Iraq once for an unsuccessful shot at playing in Turkey.
Como took a look and quickly loaned him to the Netherlands and then to Saudi Arabia, where he seems to have settled with Al-Najma.
Iraq’s Australian coach Graham Arnold has consistently selected him over the past 12 months and Jasim is one who may catch the eye in a side given the daunting task of taking on Norway, France and Senegal in Group I.
15. Mohamed Amoura (Algeria)
Age: 26 Position: Striker or winger Club: Wolfsburg
Jonathan Pearce: My second Algerian player, Amoura scored 10 goals in their last six qualifiers and although he suffered relegation with Wolfsburg this season, his international form has been better than his club displays.
He will lead the Fennecs’ attack this summer and can also play wide left
16. Luis Suarez (Colombia)
Age: 28 Position: Striker Club: Sporting
Liam McLeod: He may not produce the same headlines as his Uruguayan namesake but the Sporting striker has ripped it up in Portugal this season, scoring an incredible 38 goals in his first season at the club.
He had big boots to fill as well after Viktor Gyokeres departed for Arsenal with the Colombian his direct replacement.
Suarez also set up another nine goals in an impressive maiden season after arriving in Lisbon from Almeria in the Spanish second tier. Now he looks to take this World Cup by storm.
17. Brian Gutierrez (Mexico)
Age: 22 Position: Midfielder Club: Chivas deGuadalajara
Jonathan Pearce: Born in Illinois, this attacking midfielder actually played twice for the US in 2025 before switching allegiance to the country of his parents last November.
Gutierrez moved from Chicago Fire to Guadalajara in January and helped them reach the title play-off round semi-final of Liga MX.
He has played a role in seven of Mexico’s eight games in 2026, operating as a bright spark in a 4-1-4-1 formation, and could get the home crowd really excited.
18. Bazoumana Toure (Ivory Coast)
Age: 20 Position: Left-winger Club: Hoffenheim
Steve Wilson: In a World Cup with more than its fair share of late-30 or even 40-somethings, thank goodness for Ivory Coast. Not only do they have Yan Diomande but also Bazoumana Toure.
The left-winger joined Hoffenheim from Swedish side Hammarby in January of 2025 and fairly soon after the phrase ‘Bazoumania’ was coined.
In 30 league games this season, he has provided 12 assists for Hoffenheim and also scored twice in three substitute appearances at last winter’s Afcon, leading to calls for national coach Emerse Fae to find a place for him in their starting XI.
That won’t be easy with Diamonde and Amad Diallo in possession of the places on the flanks.
19. Ibrahim Maza (Algeria)
Age: 20 Position: Midfielder Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Jonathan Pearce: My final Algerian pick. Maza is only 20 but really shone at Bayer Leverkusen this season and scored a couple for his country at the Afcon at the turn of the year.
The young Berliner is a gifted attacking midfielder who can also play up top. There is far more to come from him
Steve Bower: I have watched Maza this season for Leverkusen and can see why he is getting a lot of plaudits.
He is a technician who likes to get on the ball in those areas between midfield and defence and, already in Algeria, they are making comparisons between him and Riyad Mahrez, who has obviously been the poster boy of their national team for a long time.
Maza has played over 40 times for his club this season and has 15 international caps so has plenty of experience for his age
If he gets the opportunity, he could be a player that makes a bigger, more global name for himself if Algeria are successful at this tournament.
20. Luka Vuskovic (Croatia)
Age: 19 Position: Centre-back Club: Tottenham (loaned to Hamburg 2025-26)
Steve Wilson: Tottenham have not been renowned for making many great decisions in the transfer market in recent years but when they signed Luka Vuskovic from Hajduk Split in the summer of 2025, they were ahead of the curve.
In fact, it was a deal that had been agreed 18 months earlier. Then Vuskovic, who made his Hajduk debut at 16, spent a successful season on loan in Belgium with Westerlo and accelerated through the Croatian youth set-up to under-21 level.
He spent last season on loan at Hamburg not only forging a reputation as a commanding central defensive presence but also popping up with six goals.
He will return to Spurs after the World Cup expecting to play.
CREDIT:- BBCSPORTS
