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CINCINNATI, OHIO - MAY 13: Lionel Messi #10 of Inter Miami CF celebrates after winning the MLS match between FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami CF at TQL Stadium on May 13, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is here, and while Major League Soccer (MLS) is currently on a break from its season due to the tournament being mainly held in the United States, players on a majority of teams in the league are instead playing for their countries in the most famous tournament in the world.

While the MLS is behind other top leagues like the English Premier League, German Bundesliga, Spanish LaLiga, French Ligue 1, Italian Serie A, Saudi Pro League, and Turkish Süper Lig in terms of overall representation, they have a large number of players competing in the 2026 World Cup.

Here is a list, broken up into each country, of the MLS players in the World Cup and the club teams they represent.

MLS Players In The World Cup

According to the official MLS website, there are 45 players from the league playing in the World Cup. That number was previously a bit lower, but after a few top teams had players suffer injuries, new players have been brought up instead, meaning the number of total MLS players in the World Cup might be different depending on the source.

Here’s the list, starting in with the United States men’s national team, then going in alphabetical order by country:

United States:

Max Arfsten: Columbus Crew

Sebastian Berhalter: Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Chris Brady: Chicago Fire FC

Matt Freese: New York City FC

Tim Ream: Charlotte FC

Miles Robinson: FC Cincinnati

Cristian Roldan: Seattle Sounders FC

Matt Turner: New England Revolution

More on Team USA: Club Teams For Every Player On the USMNT World Cup Roster

Argentina:

Lionel Messi: Inter Miami CF

Rodrigo De Paul: Inter Miami CF

Australia: 

Lucas Herrington: Colorado Rapids

Aiden O’Neill: New York City FC

Kai Trewin: New York City FC

Canada: 

Mathieu Choinière: LAFC

Maxime Crépeau: Orlando City

Stephen Eustáquio: LAFC

Richie Laryea: Toronto FC

Jayden Nelson: Austin FC

Jonathan Osorio: Toronto FC

Jacob Shaffelburg: LAFC

Dayne St. Clair: Inter Miami CF

Joel Waterman: Chicago Fire FC

Cape Verde: 

CJ Dos Santos: San Diego FC

Steven Moreira: Columbus Crew

Colombia:

New Zealand:

Michael Boxall: Minnesota United FC

Finn Surman: Portland Timbers

Panama:

Aníbal Godoy: San Diego FC

Carlos Harvey: Minnesota United FC

Paraguay:

Miguel Almirón: Atlanta United

Andrés Cubas: Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Matías Galarza: Atlanta United

Braian Ojeda: Orlando City

South Africa: 

Olwethu Makhanya: Philadelphia Union

Mbekezeli Mbokazi: Chicago Fire FC

South Korea: 

Son Heung-Min: LAFC

Sweden:

Herman Johansson: FC Dallas

Tunisia:

Rayan Elloumi: Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Uruguay:

Juan Manuel Sanabria: Real Salt Lake

Those are all the 45 MLS players in the World Cup for the 2026 iteration of the tournament. It is the most amount ever sent for the World Cup by the MLS.

Stat Breakdown Of Major League Soccer Players

In somewhat surprising fashion, the United States World Cup team does not feature the most MLS players, as that title goes to Canada, which has nine players from six Major League Soccer teams.

After them is the USMNT, which has eight players currently in the MLS.

Those two at the top of the list make sense, as those are the only two countries that play host to MLS teams.

Following Canada and the USMNT, the number of MLS players for the next few teams drops off a bit. Paraguay has four players, Haiti and Australia have three players, Argentina has two, highlighted by Messi of Inter Miami, while Cape Verde, Croatia, New Zealand, Panama, and South Africa also each have two MLS players.

The rest of the World Cup teams represented on the list, Colombia, South Korea, Sweden, Tunisia, Uruguay, and Iraq, each have one MLS player on their respective squads.

As for the MLS teams themselves, here’s the breakdown of the sides with the most MLS players in the World Cup:

LAFC leads the way with four players, while eight teams have three players (Inter Miami, New York City FC, Orlando City SC, Toronto FC, Chicago Fire FC, FC Dallas, Minnesota United FC, Vancouver Whitecaps FC), four teams with two players (Atlanta United, Columbus Crew, Philadelphia Union, San Diego FC) and the remaining MLS teams represented each with one player in the World Cup (Chicago Fire FC, Charlotte FC, FC Cincinnati, Seattle Sounders FC, New England Revolution, Colorado Rapids, Austin FC, San Diego FC, Minnesota United FC, Portland Timbers, Philadelphia Union, Nashville SC, Real Salt Lake).

With 22 of the 30 MLS teams with a player in the World Cup, only eight teams in the league are not represented in the biggest stage of the sport.

Now that you know the MLS players in the World Cup, keep an eye out for them as the tournament continues.