Updated May 20, 2026: 20 of the 48 nations have now confirmed squads. The latest running list of every announcement is maintained by ESPN's squad tracker; this post will continue to update as the remaining 28 teams report in ahead of the June 1 deadline.
The roster phase of the 2026 World Cup is well underway. National teams were required to submit provisional squads — between 35 and 55 players, including at least four goalkeepers — to FIFA by May 11. Final 26-player squads are due June 1 and will be officially announced on June 2. The tournament itself kicks off June 11.
How the two-stage process works
The provisional list is mostly an administrative instrument. It locks in the universe of players a manager can choose from and handles eligibility and registration paperwork; crucially, countries are not required to make these lists public, which is why the May 11 deadline passed without a flood of headlines. Some federations released theirs anyway — the Czech Republic and Mexico each published 55-man preliminary squads on May 12 — while others kept them internal.
The date that matters for fans is June 2. That is when the final 26-man squads become official, and a 26-player limit (up from the traditional 23) is itself a quiet acknowledgment of how demanding this tournament will be.
Why the squad math is different this year
This is the first 48-team World Cup, expanded from 32, and the structure changes what a squad has to survive. More teams means more matches, more travel across three host nations, and a deeper run required to lift the trophy. A 26-man squad with a mandated goalkeeper floor is built for attrition — managers are now picking for a marathon, not a sprint, and depth in the final third of the roster will decide more than it used to.
Confirmed final 26-man squads (as of May 20)
Fourteen federations have now released what ESPN classifies as final 26-man rosters. The headline calls so far:
- Brazil (May 18, Carlo Ancelotti) — Neymar made the cut; Joao Pedro, Antony, and Thiago Silva did not. Vinícius Júnior, Raphinha, and Endrick anchor the attack.
- Portugal (May 19, Roberto Martínez) — Cristiano Ronaldo is in. Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, and João Félix are with him.
- France (May 14, Didier Deschamps) — Mbappé leads, with Dembélé, Marcus Thuram, and Bradley Barcola as forward depth.
- Belgium (May 15, Rudi Garcia) — Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, and Leandro Trossard form the spine.
- Croatia (May 18, Zlatko Dalić) — Luka Modrić, Joško Gvardiol, and Mateo Kovačić return.
- Switzerland (May 19, Murat Yakin) — Granit Xhaka as captain, Manuel Akanji in defense.
- Scotland (May 19, Steve Clarke) — Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney, and Scott McTominay headline.
- Austria (May 18, Ralf Rangnick) — David Alaba and Marcel Sabitzer lead the core.
- Sweden (May 12, Graham Potter) — Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres up top.
- Japan (May 15, Hajime Moriyasu) — Takefusa Kubo, Wataru Endo, and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
- South Korea (May 16, Hong Myung-Bo) — Kim Min-Jae and Son Heung-Min lead a near-identical roster to the qualifying group.
- Ivory Coast (May 15, Emerse Faé) — Nicolas Pépé, Amad Diallo, and Yan Diomande.
- Bosnia & Herzegovina (May 11, Sergej Barbarez) — Edin Džeko returns alongside Sead Kolašinac.
- Tunisia (May 15, Sabri Lamouchi) — Ellyes Skhiri and Hannibal Mejbri anchor midfield.
- Curaçao, Cape Verde, Haiti, New Zealand (May 14, Chris Wood headlining), and Congo DR have also confirmed final 26-man lists.
Provisional squads released (still subject to final cuts)
- Argentina (May 11, Lionel Scaloni) — Messi, Julián Álvarez, and Alejandro Garnacho are in the provisional pool. Final 26 expected by June 1.
- Türkiye (May 18, Vincenzo Montella) — Arda Güler, Kenan Yıldız, and Hakan Çalhanoğlu.
- Colombia (May 14, Néstor Lorenzo) — Luis Díaz, James Rodríguez, and Jhon Córdoba.
- Iran (May 18) — Mehdi Taremi leads the European-based group.
- Jordan (May 18) — Mousa Al-Tamari as the headline European import.
- Uzbekistan (May 5, Fabio Cannavaro) — Abdukodir Khusanov of Manchester City represents the youth movement.
- Mexico, Czechia, Qatar, Paraguay — preliminary squads released between May 12 and 18, with final cuts pending.
Still awaiting announcement (as of May 20)
Eighteen federations have not yet released either their provisional or final squads publicly, including England (Thomas Tuchel), Spain (Luis de la Fuente), Germany (Julian Nagelsmann), Netherlands (Ronald Koeman), United States (Mauricio Pochettino), Uruguay (Marcelo Bielsa), Norway (Ståle Solbakken), Senegal (Pape Thiaw), Egypt (Hossam Hassan), Ghana (Carlos Queiroz), Morocco (Mohamed Ouahbi), Algeria (Vladimir Petkovic), Saudi Arabia (Georgios Donis), Iraq (Graham Arnold), Australia (Tony Popovic), Canada (Jesse Marsch), Ecuador (Sebastián Beccacece), Panama (Thomas Christiansen), and South Africa (Hugo Broos).
The tournament that ends with a first-ever halftime show on July 19 begins, for the players, with these lists — and the cuts that come with them. This post will continue to be updated as the remaining squads are announced.
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