The 2026 World Cup in North America arrives with a record 48 teams and a wide mix of experience across national squads. At club level the concentration of resources in Europe’s top divisions is reflected in the make-up of tournament squads.

League representation, ranked by the number of players selected for the finals, is as follows:
1. Premier League (England) — 154
2. Bundesliga (Germany) — 94
3. Ligue 1 (France) — 78
4. La Liga (Spain) — 74
5. Serie A (Italy) — 66
6. Saudi Pro League (Saudi Arabia) — 47
7. Turkish Süper Lig (Türkiye) — 42
8. MLS (U.S./Canada) — 38
9. EFL Championship (England) — 37
10. Eredivisie (Netherlands) — 30

The Premier League has become a financial juggernaut and that economic pull is evident: the division will supply 154 players to the World Cup and the English pyramid as a whole provides 200 players. Tommy Smith, who played in the sixth-tier with Braintree Town last season, is among that total. Each of UEFA’s three club competition finals at the end of the 2025–26 season included an English representative, and almost half of the division will be competing on the continent next season.

Club-level figures underline the scale of England’s contribution. With 19, Manchester City have the most players flying out to North America, while Conference League winners Crystal Palace (12) have more representatives than Real Madrid. For the first time ever, a Spanish World Cup roster doesn’t feature a single Madrid player.

The Bundesliga’s 94 players were aided by Austria’s first World Cup qualification this century. Bayern Munich had 18 players heading to the tournament before Lennart Karl picked up an injury. Ligue 1 (78) and Serie A (66) complete the top five, with Serie A limited by Italy’s failure to qualify. The Saudi Pro League is the best-represented league outside Europe with 47 players; all but one member of the Saudi roster competes domestically and Al Hilal account for 11 representatives.

Forbes’ 2026 valuations list the 30 most valuable soccer clubs, with European heavyweights dominating and MLS making significant inroads. Eleven Premier League sides and seven Major League Soccer teams feature among the top 30.

At the summit Real Madrid lead the market at $9.5 billion, followed by Barcelona at $7.5 billion and Manchester United at $7.2 billion. Liverpool sit at $6.2 billion, Paris Saint-Germain at $5.8 billion and Bayern Munich at $5.7 billion. Manchester City and Arsenal are close together at $5.5 billion and $5.4 billion respectively, with City only $100 million ahead of Arsenal. Chelsea are valued at $4.2 billion and Tottenham Hotspur at $3 billion.

Further down the table Atlético Madrid are 11th at $2.95 billion, Juventus 12th at $2.4 billion, Borussia Dortmund 13th at $2.2 billion, AC Milan 14th at $1.85 billion and Inter 15th at $1.8 billion. The report notes Inter still trail AC Milan despite higher revenue, and Juventus remain ahead at $2.4 billion despite on-pitch struggles.

Aston Villa have recorded a striking 56% growth to $1.4 billion, boosted by Champions League qualification and the work of Unai Emery, making them England’s most valuable club outside the traditional Big Six. Newcastle United are 19th.

MLS representation includes Inter Miami ($1.35 billion), LAFC ($1.32 billion), LA Galaxy ($1.08 billion), Atlanta United ($1 billion) and New York City FC ($1.02 billion). Austin FC and Seattle Sounders enter the list but remain below the $1 billion mark at $855 million and $860 million respectively. The draft highlights that LA clubs and Inter Miami have all seen value increases.

Across Europe, Benfica ($960 million) and Roma ($940 million) occupy mid-table positions, while Stuttgart continue their resurgence at $880 million, now Germany’s third-most valuable club. Brighton & Hove Albion, Fulham and Everton rank 27th to 25th and sit just under the $1 billion threshold.

The 2026 rankings underline the financial gulf inside the top tier, while also showing MLS clubs closing the gap in value terms.

Since Howard Webb took charge of English referees in 2022 a Key Match Incidents panel has been meeting after each round to review officiating. BBC Sport were given access to the panel’s findings from the 2025/26 season, which record 25 VAR errors, seven more than last season.

The KMI log is clear that these incidents are those which met the “clear and obvious” threshold that Stockley Park should have identified. Working on the assumption that every penalty that should have been awarded would have been converted, the panel’s list changes how results would have stacked up. Arsenal benefit most: the Gunners won four points as a consequence of VAR errors. Manchester City’s points total was not altered in the panel’s reconstruction, though City were affected by individual incidents during the campaign.

Phil Foden was denied a clear penalty in a 2–1 defeat to Newcastle in November, an episode Pep Guardiola would later criticise. The KMI panel judged that complaint to be justified, but City also gained from a missed call in May when Bernardo Silva escaped giving away a penalty for going all WWE on Merlin Röhl.

Manchester United’s final tally includes two points that the panel says were won thanks to a favourable decision which allowed Bryan Mbeumo to handle the ball before Matheus Cunha found the net in a 3–2 win over Nottingham Forest at the end of the season.

Arne Slot spent much of the campaign vocal about perceived bias. “If there’s a VAR intervention or if there’s something that could be left or right [50-50] then the decision goes against us,” the Dutch boss moaned after Benjamin Šeško’s controversial strike for United was allowed in May. The KMI panel did not deem Šeško’s goal to meet the threshold of an error because no conclusive footage could be found.

Liverpool’s sole KMI-listed mistake came on the opening day when Marcos Senesi was not sent off for Bournemouth after handling the ball; Liverpool won that match 4–2. Three of Arsenal’s eight 1–0 wins were aided by VAR mistakes, including Viktor Gyökeres’s penalty against Everton at Hill Dickinson, where Everton should have had a spot kick for William Saliba’s swipe. David Moyes declined to elaborate after that game. “I’d like to,” Moyes shrugged, “but I’d probably be fined.” Fabian Hürzeler also protested after Brighton’s loss to Arsenal when Gabriel Martinelli escaped punishment for a tug on Mats Wieffer.