With final 26-man squads locked in, a handful of late injury replacements and fitness doubts — from Yamal to Messi — are shaping how the contenders line up for the opener.
Final squads are in. Teams submitted their 26-man lists to FIFA by June 1, ten days before the opener, and the official announcements followed (Goal). But the days since have brought the usual late drama — injury withdrawals, fitness doubts and a few nervous coaches.
Here is where the key fitness stories stand as the tournament begins.
Under FIFA's rules, a listed player can be swapped only for serious injury or illness, up to 24 hours before a team's first match, with the replacement drawn from the original 55-man preliminary list (Goal). Several teams have already used it:
(Per the live squad tracker on Wikipedia.)
The highest-profile fitness story belongs to Spain. Lamine Yamal injured his left hamstring converting a penalty for Barcelona on April 22, and coach Luis de la Fuente expects him fit for the opener against Cape Verde on June 15 — without guaranteeing a start (ESPN).
"If nothing changes, he could be ready to play on June 15," de la Fuente said. "Maybe a few minutes, maybe just practice." We follow the day-by-day picture in our dedicated Yamal tracker.
!If nothing changes, he could be ready to play on June 15. Maybe a few minutes, maybe just practice.
Argentina named Lionel Messi in their squad with Scaloni calming injury fears, acknowledging the captain has carried muscle fatigue and a minor left-hamstring strain but describing early reports as "not that bad" (NBC). Defender Cristian Romero was also included despite a knee-ligament issue.
France lost 2-1 to Ivory Coast in a final warm-up, but with several PSG players rested after the Champions League final, Deschamps framed it as preparation rather than alarm (Al Jazeera). We unpack what it means in our France analysis.
No tournament starts with every star at 100 percent, and 2026 is no exception. The headline names are, for now, expected to feature — but expect managed minutes and late calls across the opening round.
Set your picks before kick-off on the predictions page, and follow opening weekend in our matchday-one guide.
Kickoff XI is an independent publication and is not affiliated with FIFA.
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