Rising stars revealed: the five youngest players at the 2026 World Cup, including three from major football clubs.
On 4 June 2026 GMT+7, the five youngest players at the 2026 World Cup were announced after all 48 nations qualified for the finals, scheduled from 11 June to 19 July, revealed their final squads of 26 players.
The most notable among these five young talents is Lennart Karl, the 18-year-old prodigy from Bayern Munich, selected for Germany’s national team. He established himself firmly with Bayern's first team this season, helping the club win both the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal.
However, Lennart Karl ranks only third among the youngest players in the 2026 World Cup. The youngest is Gilberto Mora, a 17-year-old playmaker from Tijuana, a Mexican club and one of the host nations. This youngster has already earned seven caps with Mexico’s senior national team.
The all-time youngest player record still belongs to Norman Whiteside, the former Manchester United prodigy, who played for Northern Ireland at the 1982 World Cup in Spain at just 17 years and 41 days old.
1. Gilberto Mora (Mexico / Tijuana) – 17 years, 240 days
2. Hugo Sochurek (Czech Republic / Sparta Prague) – 18 years, 4 days
3. Lennart Karl (Germany / Bayern Munich) – 18 years, 109 days
4. Ibrahim Mbaye (Senegal / Paris Saint-Germain) – 18 years, 138 days
5. Hamza Abdelkarim (Egypt / Barcelona) – 18 years, 161 days
