World Cup stories: Five players you didn't know who could appear at this summer's tournament

This summer, 48 teams will head to the biggest World Cup of all time, each boasting a squad of 26 of the best players from their nation. 

The tournament will be filled with headline acts from the game, young stars looking to make a name for themselves, and some veterans who will have their last dance in the World Cup sun. 

But like in every tournament, there are also names you won't realise will be of the festivities this summer until they rock up during the group stages.

So, before the eyebrow raising begins, here are five names you might not be aware could play a part at the tournament in 55 days' time. 

• Read next I 56 days - From Waka Waka to Ricky Martin, ranking the official World Cup songs

DAZN/FIFA

Aaron Wan-Bissaka (DR Congo)

Didn't he already play for England, I hear you cry? And yes, you'd be sort of right. Having represented the Three Lions at U21 level, the defender did get a senior call-up in 2020 but failed to actually make it on to the pitch during a time when England could have played a whole team of top-quality right-backs. 

Having been largely ignored since that call-up, Wan-Bissaka decided to instead switch allegiance to DR Congo in 2025 and has since won nine caps for the Africans and was part of the side that won their play-off to reach the 2026 finals.

Getty

Abdukodir Khusanov (Uzbekistan) 

There'll be plenty of Manchester City players representing their countries at the tournament, but you'd be forgiven for overlooking Khusanov, even though he'll be one of the most well-known names in the Uzbekistan side. 

The centre-half has seen his minutes dwindle at The Eithad since the arrival of Marc Guehi, but he'll be a key man for the World Cup debutants as the only member of the squad playing in one of Europe's elite leagues. 

The 22-year-old will have to use all of his top-level experience to help his nation navigate a group that includes Portugal, Colombia and DR Congo. 

Getty

Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde (Haiti) 

The French-born midfielder moved to Wolves in 2023 and has racked up nearly 100 appearances for the club. He is one of the very few to have come out of this season’s relegation scrap with some credit.

Having played for France at various youth levels, including the Under-21s, he decided to switch and to play for Haiti in 2025 and has since won 8 caps for the nation.

In doing so, it made Bellegarde the first international from the country to play in the Premier League.

Getty

Lyle Foster (South Africa)

Leading the line for Bafana Bafana this summer will be Burnley striker Lyle Foster, who is one of just a handful of the South African squad to play their football
outside their homeland.

Foster has been part of two different promotion-winning squads in his time with the Clarets and scored three times in the Premier League this season. 

An international since 2018, the forward has scored 10 goals in 30 appearances for his country. 

Getty

Carney Chukwuemeka (Austria) 

A graduate from the Aston Villa academy, Chukwuemeka gained Premier League experience both at Villa and later after a move to Chelsea, when the Blues were hoovering up the best young talent from anywhere they could find them. 

The forward gained England recognition and represented the Three Lions at a series of youth levels, but having been born in Vienna, he switched allegiances to his birthland in March and made his debut for the Austrian national team in last month's friendlies.

Now at Borussia Dortmund, he's finally getting the regular first-team football he failed to find whilst in England. 

Getty

Watch World Cup archive, highlights and documentaries for FREE on DAZN

DAZN is the home of FIFA+, a vast library of football on-demand content including World Cup archive, iconic documentaries, player profiles, live matches and both full match replays and highlights.

Watch it all for FREE on DAZN on smart TVs, phones, tablets, streaming devices, games consoles and web browsers.