2026 World Cup: 5 young players to watch, from Lamine Yamal to Lennart Karl

The FIFA World Cup brings together the greatest collection of talent from across the globe, and with a whopping 48 teams in this summer’s edition of the tournament, soccer fans will be spoiled for choice. While household veterans like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Guillermo Ochoa are set to feature, this year will also feature an exciting group of teenagers who have emerged as some of their nations’ most promising players.

With all squads now confirmed, here are the top five young players to keep an eye on during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

5. Ayyoub Bouaddi

After coming up through the LOSC Lille academy, 18-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi has become a mainstay in the Ligue 1 club’s midfield.

He debuted for the first team during a UEFA Conference League match in October 2023 at 16 years and 3 days old, becoming the youngest player to ever play in a European competition match and the youngest to make an official appearance for Lille. A few weeks later, he became the youngest player in Ligue 1.

Bouaddi has since taken on a particularly crucial role under former head coach Bruno Genesio by starting 37 of his 42 games across all competitions in the 2025-26 season, helping the club to a third-place finish in the league and securing qualification to next season’s UEFA Champions League.

Having been born in Senlis, France, Bouaddi was eligible to represent them internationally, and did so at various youth levels, including the U21 side. However, on May 15, 2026, it was officially announced that Bouaddi switched his national team allegiance to Morocco, allowing him to be named in the Atlas Lions’ 26-man roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Morocco was one of the biggest surprises of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, making a run all the way to the semifinals before falling 2-0 to France. After winning the African Cup of Nations in 2025, they are once again expected to be a formidable force in this summer’s tournament. Morocco kicks off its group stage campaign against Brazil (Jun 13, 6 pm EST – MetLife Stadium, Rutherford, NJ) before taking on Scotland (Jun 19, 6 pm EST – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA) and Haiti (Jun 24, 6 pm EST – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA).

4. Gilberto Mora

The son of a professional coach and former footballer, Gilberto Mora has emerged as one of Mexico’s most exciting young prospects.

After rising through Club Tijuana’s academy, Mora made his LIGA MX debut aged 15, providing an assist in a 3-1 win over Santos Laguna on August 19, 2024. With that, he simultaneously became the club’s youngest-ever debutant, the third youngest in LIGA MX history and the youngest player to provide an assist. A few weeks later, he scored his first professional goal in a 2-1 win over Leon, becoming the youngest player to score in the Mexican first division. Since then, Mora has been a key part of the Xolos setup, racking up 10 goals and two assists in 53 appearances across all competitions.

Mora made his senior national team debut in a 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the quarterfinals of Gold Cup 2025, becoming the youngest player to ever debut for Mexico, before helping El Tri go on to lift the trophy.

Though he’s had sporadic participation in subsequent friendlies, he featured in Mexico’s wins over Ghana (2-0) and Australia (1-0) this month and was included in Javier Aguirre’s final 26-man roster. Mora could break yet another record if he sees the field in this summer’s tournament and becomes the youngest player to appear in a World Cup game for Mexico.

All eyes will be on the historic Estadio Banorte when El Tri kicks the competition off on Jun 11 against South Africa (3 pm EST) before continuing its group stage journey against South Korea (Jun 18, 9 pm EST – Akron Stadium, Zapopan, Mexico) and Czechia (Jun 24, 9 pm EST – Estadio Banorte, Mexico City, Mexico).

3. Lennart Karl

When Germany won the 2014 World Cup, Lennart Karl was just six years old. Now, he’ll be on the squad hoping to bring home the nation’s fifth title in the competition.

After three years at Bayern Munich’s academy, Karl has become a key part of the Bavarian club’s squad, featuring in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League. He helped the club conquer the domestic treble (Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Franz Beckenbauer Supercup) in the 2025-26 season.

At 17 years and 242 days old, Karl made headlines in a 4-0 win over Club Brugge by becoming Bayern’s youngest goalscorer in the Champions League, breaking Jamal Musiala’s record (17 years, 363 days). With subsequent goals in a 3-1 loss to Arsenal and a 3-1 win over Sporting CP, Karl became the youngest player to score in three consecutive UCL matches.

With his participation in Die Mannschaft’s recent 4-0 friendly win over Finland, Karl grabbed his third cap and his first assist for the senior national team.

Headed into his first World Cup, the 18-year-old prodigy will look to help Germany progress from the group stage for the first time since the 2014 title. To do so, the national team will need strong performances against Curacao (Jun 14, 1 pm EST – NRG Stadium, Houston, TX), Ivory Coast (Jun 20, 4 pm EST – BMO Field, Toronto, Canada) and Ecuador (Jun 25, 4 pm EST – MetLife Stadium, Rutherford, NJ).

2. Endrick

At the beginning of the year, Endrick’s chances of being considered for Brazil’s World Cup roster were in grave doubt. He had played just 99 minutes for Real Madrid before being sent on loan to Olympique Lyon at the turn of the New Year. The move has helped the 19-year-old find his form, racking up eight goals and eight assists in 21 appearances for the French club.

Endrick has represented his country on 15 occasions, including six World Cup Qualifying matches and four appearances in the 2024 Copa America. This will be his first World Cup.

Seeing as he’s had limited prominence with the Seleção in the past year, he’s unlikely to have a starting role, but he could feature as a rotation option.

Brazil kicks off its World Cup campaign on Jun 13 against Morocco at MetLife Stadium in Rutherford, New Jersey (6 pm EST) before wrapping up its group stage slate by facing Haiti (Jun 19, 8:30 pm EST – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA) and Scotland (Jun 24, 6 pm EST – Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL).

1. Lamine Yamal

Let’s face it, you knew he was gonna top this list.

From the moment he debuted with FC Barcelona at just 15 years old, it was clear Lamine Yamal was destined to be a star. Three years later, he’s the most valuable player in the world (estimated $250m per Transfermarkt) and has become the heir to Lionel Messi’s No. 10 shirt at the Blaugrana.

Just shy of his 19th birthday, to say Yamal’s credentials are impressive is an understatement:

LaLiga Champion: 2023, 2025, 2026
Copa del Rey: 2025
Spanish Super Cup: 2025, 2026
UEFA European Champion: 2024

Yamal finished the 2025-26 season with 24 goals and 18 assists in 48 appearances across all competitions, helping Hansi Flick’s side repeat as Spanish champions.

Although a hamstring injury seems likely to keep him out of Spain’s first two group stage matches against Cape Verde (Jun 15, 12 pm EST) and Saudi Arabia (Jun 21, 12 pm EST) – both to be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta – the outlook is optimistic for him to make his World Cup debut against Uruguay (Jun 26, 8 pm EST – Akron Stadium, Zapopan, Mexico) and help La Roja through the knockout phase.

The La Masia product will look to become just the ninth player to win the tournament before turning 20 and the first to win the World Cup and the Euros (2024) before then.

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