For those who are just getting into the beautiful game ahead of the World Cup, these are the names you have to know. Even if you’ve never watched a match, you’ve probably heard of a few of them, like Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who scored twice in the finals in 2022 and converted the first penalty in the shootout, winning him his first World Cup title. One of Messi’s primary career rivals, Cristiano Ronaldo, is another star of the sport.
The Portuguese legend has played in five World Cup tournaments, but he’s yet to win, making 2026 likely his final chance. France’s Kylian Mbappé won in 2018 and, at the time, was the youngest player in French football history to score in the World Cup. Four years later, he came close to going back-to-back but came up short thanks to Messi and Argentina’s triumph. (He did have a hat trick in the final, though.) That said, younger players are starting to rise up the ranks, coming for these goated athletes and their hopes of winning at the highest level in 2026.
