National Team Captains World Cup 2026

2026 FIFA World Cup Captains

See a listing of 2026 FIFA World Cup captains for each of the competing teams at World Cup 2026. Who do tournament managers pick to don the armband and lead the team? Is it the goalkeeper or holding midfielder who can see everything in front of him or her? Or the most most charismatic player - a Ronaldo or Messi legend and icon? We run our eye on the captains of the 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Team	Captain	Club	Age	Goals
Algeria	Riyad Mahrez	Al-Ahli	35	38
Argentina	Lionel Messi	Miami	38	116
Australia	Mathew Ryan	Levante	33	0
Austria	Marko Arnautović	Red Star Belgrade	36	47
Belgium	Youri Tielemans	Aston Villa	28	12
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Edin Džeko	Schalke 04	40	73
Brazil	Marquinhos	PSG	31	7
Canada	Alphonso Davies	Bayern Munich	25	15
Cape Verde	Ryan Mendes	Iğdır	36	22
Colombia	James Rodríguez	Minnesota United	34	31
Croatia	Luka Modrić	AC Milan	40	28
Curacao	Leandro Bacuna	Iğdır	34	16
Czech Republic	Tomáš Souček *	West Ham Utd	31	17
DR Congo	Chancel Mbemba	Lille	31	7
Ecuador	Enner Valencia	Pachuca	36	48
Egypt	Mohamed Salah	Liverpool	33	67
England	Harry Kane	Bayern Munich	32	78
France	Kylian Mbappé	Real Madrid	27	56
Germany	Joshua Kimmich	Bayern Munich	31	10
Ghana	Jordan Ayew	Leicester City	34	34
Haiti	Johny Placide	Bastia	38	0
Iran	Alireza Jahanbakhsh	Dender EH	32	17
Iraq	Jalal Hassan	Al-Zawraa	34	0
Ivory Coast	Franck Kessié	Al-Ahli	29	15
Japan	Wataru Endo*	Liverpool	33	4
Jordan	Ihsan Haddad	Al-Hussein	32	2
Korea Republic	Son Heung-min	Los Angeles FC	33	54
Mexico	Edson Alvarez	Fenerbahçe	28	7
Morocco	Achraf Hakimi	PSG	27	11
Netherlands	Virgil van Dijk	Liverpool	34	12
New Zealand	Chris Wood	Nottingham Forest	34	45
Norway	Martin Ødegaard	Arsenal	27	4
Panama	Anibal Godoy	San Diego FC	36	4
Paraguay	Gustavo Gomez	Palmeiras	32	4
Portugal	Cristiano Ronaldo	Al-Nassr	41	143
Qatar	Hassan Al-Haydos	Al-Sadd	35	41
Saudi Arabia	Salem Al-Dawsari	Al-Hilal	34	26
Scotland	Andy Robertson	Liverpool	32	4
Senegal	Kalidou Koulibaly	Al-Hilal	34	2
South Africa	Ronwen Williams	Mamelodi Sundowns	34	0
Spain	Rodri	Manchester City	29	4
Sweden	Victor Lindelöf	Aston Villa	31	3
Switzerland	Granit Xhaka	Sunderland	33	16
Tunisia	Ellyes Skhiri	Eintracht Frankfurt	30	4
Turkey	Hakan Çalhanoğlu	Inter Milan	32	22
Uruguay	José María Giménez	Atletico Madrid	31	8
USA	Christian Pulisic	AC Milan	27	32
Uzbekistan	Eldor Shomurodov	Istanbul Başakşehir	30	44

Switzerland v Algeria. — Captains Riyad Mahrez (ALG) and Granit Xhaka (SUI)

Fun Facts

Algeria/Riyad Mahrez: Mahrez was part of the Leicester City side that won the Premiership in 2016 before moving to Manchester City.

Argentina/Lionel Messi: Messi enjoyed his golden years at Camp Nou with Barcelona scoring 672 goals in all competitions.

Australia/Mathew Ryan: Goalkeeper Ryan made 121 appearances for Brighton from 2017 to 2021.

Austria/Marko Arnautović: Arnautović began his senior career in Holland with Twente and has also played for West Ham United (2017-2019).

Belgium/Youri Tielemans: Midfielder Tielemans left Leicester City for Villa Park in 2023.

Bosnia/Edin Džeko: In his time in England, Edin Džeko scored 50 goals for Manchester City between 2011 and 2016.

Brazil/Marquinhos: The former Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro has donned the armband on several occasions. He is set to leave Manchester United at the end of the season.

Canada/Alphonso Davies: born a Liberian refugee in Ghana Davies moved to Canada aged 5.

Cape Verde/Ryan Mendes: Mendes was on loan at Notts Forest between 2015 and 2016.

Colombia/James Rodríguez: Rodríguez played for Colombia at both the 2014 and 2018 World Cups. He now plies his trade with Minnesota United in the MLS.

Croatia/Luka Modric: After a highly successful career with Real Madrid, Modric now plays at the San Siro in Serie-A with AC Milan.

Curacao/Leandro Bacuna: Midfielder or right back Bacuna has spent much of his career in the UK with spells at Villa, Reading, Cardiff and Watford. He now plays in Turkey with Iğdır.

Czech Republic/Tomáš Souček: The West Ham defender has a healthy 17 goals and counting for his country. *Souček recently lost the captain's armband to Wolves defender Ladislav Krečí, six years his junior, after being criticised for ignoring fans.

DR Congo/Chancel Mbemba: The centre-back made over 50 appearances for Newcastle United between 2015 to 2018 scoring once.

Ecuador/Enner Valencia: Striker Valencia spent 2014-2017 at West Ham United.

Egypt/Mohamed Salah: A Liverpool legend Mo Salah will be leaving the Anfield club at the end of the season.

England/Harry Kane: Kane has enjoyed an incredible start to his career with Bayern in the Bundesliga already approaching 100 goals for the club after his move from Spurs.

France/Kylian Mbappé: The Real Madrid striker is close to becoming France's all-time leading goal scorer. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Mbappé became the youngest French player to score at a World Cup tournament, as well as only the second teenager, after Brazil's Pelé, to score in a World Cup final.

Germany/Joshua Kimmich: Kimmich began his career with RB Leipzig before his move to the Allianz Arena in 2015.

Ghana/Jordan Ayew: Ayew has spent the majority of his career in the UK with Aston Villa, Swansea City, Crystal Palace and now Leicester City. He was part of the Ghana squad at both the 2014 and 2022 World Cups.

Haiti/Johny Placide: Keeper Placide plays for Ligue 2 Bastia in France.

Iran/Alireza Jahanbakhsh: Winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh plays his football in Belgium with Dender EH.

Iraq/Jalal Hassan: Keeper Jalal Hassan has a 100 caps and counting.

Scotland v Ivory Coast. — Scotland v Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast/Franck Kessié: Midfielder Kessié presently plays in Saudi Arabia after spells in Italy with Atalanta and Milan and a year with Barcelona in Spain.

Japan national team. — Japan beat both Scotland and England in pre-tournament friendly internationals

*Japan/Wataru Endo: The Liverpool utility player had spells in both Belgium and Germany before moving to Anfield in 2023. Following Endo's withdrawal from the Japan squad due to injury and subsequent retirement from international football, he was replaced as Japan's captain by Ajax defender Ko Itakura.

Jordan/Ihsan Haddad: Haddad made his debut in 2013 and is approaching 100 caps.

Korea Republic/Son Heung-min: The former Spurs legend is now in the MLS with Los Angeles FC.

Mexico/Edson Alvarez: Alvarez plays with Fenerbahçe in Turkey on loan from West Ham United.

Morocco/Achraf Hakimi: Madrid-born, PSG right back Achraf Hakimi is considered one of the best in the world in his position and was named African Player of the Year in 2025.

Netherlands/Virgil van Dijk: The tall, Liverpool defender was a star performer at both Celtic and Southampton before his move to Anfield in 2018.

New Zealand/Chris Wood: The lanky striker has spent the majority of his senior career in England with several clubs including among them WBA, Leicester City, Leeds, Burnley, Newcastle and now Forest.

Norway/Martin Ødegaard: The well-traveled midfielder began his career with Strømsgodset in Norway before moves to Real Madrid and Arsenal.

Panama/Anibal Godoy: The defensive midfielder was part of Panama's 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Paraguay/Gustavo Gomez: The centre back has played in Paraguay, Argentina, Italy and now Brazil.

Portugal/Cristiano Ronaldo: CR7 says the 2026 tournament will be his last World Cup. The legend from Madeira is his country's most-capped player and Portugal's highest scorer. He has played for some of the world's top clubs including Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. Wow!

Qatar/Hassan Al-Haydos: The Doha-born striker is a one-club man and has spent his entire career with Al-Sadd in the Qatar Stars League.

Saudi Arabia/Salem Al-Dawsari: The Jeddah-born left winger captains both Al-Hilal and his country.

Scotland Qualify For World Cup 2026 (c) Soccerphile Ltd. — Scotland Qualify For World Cup 2026

Scotland/Andy Robertson: The combative, Liverpool left back began his career with Queen's Park in Glasgow before moves to Dundee United and Hull City. Robertson was part of Scotland's squad at Euro 2024.

Senegal/Kalidou Koulibaly: The powerful, Metz-born defender now plays in Saudi Arabia after a career that has taken in clubs in France, Belgium, Italy and Chelsea in England.

South Africa/Ronwen Williams: Keeper Williams has spent his entire career in South Africa with SuperSport United and Mamelodi Sundowns.

Spain/Rodri: Alvaro Morata captained Spain to Euro 2024 triumph and his successor is still up in the air to a degree.

Sweden/Victor Lindelöf: The defender spent 8 years at Old Trafford before moving to Villa in 2025 where he has not been a regular starter to date.

Switzerland/Granit Xhaka: Born in Basel, the midfielder is back in the Premier League with Sunderland after 7 years at The Emirates with Arsenal before leaving for a spell in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen.

Tunisia/Ellyes Skhiri: The defensive midfielder was born in France has played in both France and Germany.

Turkey/Hakan Çalhanoğlu: Midfielder Çalhanoğlu currently plays for Inter after spells at three clubs (Karlsruher SC, Hamburg, Leverkusen) in Germany, the country of his birth.

Uruguay/José María Giménez: The rugged centre back has played at three World Cups already for Uruguay, 2014, 2018 and 2022.

USA/Christian Pulisic: Pulisic plays in Italy with AC Milan after spells at Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea. He was part of the USA squad at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Uzbekistan/Eldor Shomurodovo: The forward plays in Turkey for Istanbul Başakşehir on loan from parent club Roma.

Previous World Cups

World Cup Korea/Japan 2002 - relive all the best from a great tournament.
World Cup Germany 2006 - all the action from one of the best World Cups ever.
World Cup South Africa 2010 - the first ever World Cup tournament in Africa.
World Cup Brazil 2014 - Germany triumph in South America.
World Cup Russia 2018 - France win their second World Cup.
World Cup Qatar 2022 - Argentina triumph in Qatar.

Look forward to all the action from the qualifying rounds, full results and team profiles on the competing nations, player profiles and World Cup stats.

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