The World Cup kicks off Thursday, and the cast is already set: genuine icons, polarizing egomaniacs, and at least one player whose ban was quietly buried by the man who runs the sport. Here's who to watch — and why.
The Heroes
Lionel Messi (Argentina) turns 39 during this tournament. That alone tells you everything about the stakes. This is almost certainly his last World Cup, played on home soil in the country he adopted when he joined Inter Miami in 2023. He won the GOAT debate in Qatar in 2022 — soccer writer Paul Tenorio put it bluntly: "any debate was put to bed" — and now he gets one final shot at a Hollywood ending on familiar ground. Argentina's odds to repeat are built almost entirely around whether Messi can still carry a team at 39. The smart money says don't bet against him.
Christian Pulisic (USA) isn't officially the USMNT captain — that's Tyler Adams — but "Captain America" doesn't need a armband to lead. Manager Mauricio Pochettino called him "the most important player" in the squad, and there's no serious argument otherwise. The 27-year-old from Pennsylvania won the Champions League with Chelsea, now stars for AC Milan, and remains America's best chance at a deep run. How far USA go is essentially a function of how well Pulisic performs.
Kylian Mbappé (France) has already played in two World Cup Finals at 27 — winning in 2018, then scoring a hat-trick in 2022 and still losing to Argentina. He needs five more goals to become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup Finals history. That's not background noise. That's a genuine record in play, and it gives every Mbappé performance an extra layer of consequence.
Alphonso Davies (Canada) was born in a refugee camp in Ghana to Liberian parents fleeing civil war, eventually found his way to Vancouver, made his MLS debut at 15, and won the Champions League with Bayern Munich. His story is legitimately extraordinary — not because of where he ended up, but because of the distance traveled to get there. "The journey," he said recently, "has been long."
Lamine Yamal (Spain) is 18 and already Spain's most dangerous weapon. A hamstring injury late in La Liga threatened his place in the squad, but coach Luis de la Fuente included him anyway, calling him "a genius." Even at 90% fitness, he's a problem for any defense. This tournament could be the moment he stops being a prodigy and starts being something else entirely.
The Villains
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) is 41 and still here — partly because no Portuguese coach has had the nerve to drop him, and partly because FIFA boss Gianni Infantino stepped in personally to quash a three-match suspension Ronaldo received for violent conduct against Ireland in November 2025. A standard ban would have ruled him out of Portugal's opener against the Democratic Republic of Congo on June 17. Instead, the rules bent. Expect the histrionics to follow.
Emiliano Martínez (Argentina) saved the crucial penalty in the 2022 Final to win Argentina the World Cup. He's also one of the most insufferable players in the game. He fakes injuries, wastes time, abuses opponents, and turns penalty shootouts into a one-man psychological operation — pretending to hand the ball to takers before throwing it elsewhere, mouthing off directly to their faces. Infuriating to play against. Brilliant to have on your side. Argentina's odds in shootouts are directly tied to his chaos.
Antonio Rüdiger (Germany) is one of the most dependable center-backs in the world and an absolute menace to be around. He was caught on camera apparently mocking Japan forward Takuma Asano during Germany's shock 2022 group-stage defeat — the clip went viral for all the wrong reasons. Whether he's at Real Madrid or on international duty, Rüdiger plays like he's personally offended by the opposition's existence. That's useful. It's also exhausting.
Erling Haaland (Norway) eats liver and heart, follows obsessive physical routines, scores with robotic efficiency, and then taunts opponents on social media afterward. The 25-year-old Manchester City striker has built an aura that goes beyond football — part athlete, part carefully engineered provocation. Even his "meditation" goal celebration reads less like zen and more like a slow wind-up. Norway's tournament chances live and die with him, which means the rest of the world gets to watch him antagonize everyone on the way.
Merih Demiral (Turkey) was banned for two matches at Euro 2024 after making a "wolf salute" — a gesture associated with the far-right Grey Wolves movement — during Turkey's win over Austria. It triggered a diplomatic incident between the two countries. He remains both a quality defender and a genuine liability. Turkey's World Cup run will probably involve both versions of him.
