Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup beginning on Thursday, we’ve identified eight young players who could be breakthrough stars if given the opportunity.
The big kick-off is almost upon us. The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins on Thursday as the biggest iteration in the tournament’s history prepares to dominate news cycles and conversations across the globe.
Every tournament brings with it breakthrough stars who announce themselves to the mainstream, and ahead of Thursday’s opening game between Mexico and South Africa at the Azteca, we’ve had a go and predicting who might cause a stir.
Here are our eight breakthrough contenders…
Gilberto MoraMexico
The youngest player at the 2026 World Cup, there are few under-21 talents who’ll have more attention on them this summer than Mexico‘s Yan Diomande in this list, but for most people who don’t watch German football, the 2026 World Cup will likely bring the first opportunity to see him in action.
He’s already been one of the most talked-about players in the world this summer from a transfer perspective, and unless a team ties him up quickly, interest could mount during the tournament.
Diomande’s rise has been meteoric. He only played a few games in La Liga for Leganés before RB Leipzig made a move for him last summer, and he enjoyed a debut season to remember in the Bundesliga.
Among teenagers in the big five European leagues, only Lamine Yamal recorded more goal involvements in 2025-26 (27) than his 20.
Key factors behind that output were attributes like explosive acceleration, brilliant control and supreme confidence – ranking behind only Yamal (265) and Vinícius Júnior (218) for dribbles in the top five leagues (213) highlights his self-belief.
The Ivory Coast squad is brimming with quality, and Diomande will be among their most important players.
Ayyoub BouaddiMorocco
Morocco aren’t short of talented young players, but arguably chief among them in their 2026 World Cup squad is Keisuke Goto could stand out simply for that.
The 21-year-old goes into the tournament on the back of a promising season in the Belgian Pro League, recording 18 goal involvements (11 goals, 7 assists) for Sint-Truidense on loan from Anderlecht.
Goto more than played his part in STVV finishing the season third, 10 points clear of his parent club (more on that relationship shortly…), with his ability to find good positions in attack allowing him to maximise arguably underwhelming service on the whole.
For instance, his 62 shots for the season was fairly modest, but no player to attempt more than 12 bettered his 0.22 xG average per attempt, highlighting his positional quality.
There are still some doubts about his finishing, but he is young and has time on his side. Either way, the promise is there.
Don’t expect him to start for Japan this summer, but his strengths align nicely with the way Hajime Moriyasu’s side played in qualifying; their 225 open-play crosses was second only to Qatar in the AFC qualifying section, and their 12 headed goals was four more than anyone else.
Goto should be a decent alternative to Ayase Ueda or Koki Ogawa, and he may be desperate to impress for a potential move away from Anderlecht, where he is not a particularly popular figure after rather elaborate celebrations when he scored against and beat them in April.
Mohamed TouréAustralia
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