Belgium
Belgium have included Romelu Lukaku in their World Cup selection even though head coach Rudi Garcia has described him as lacking match sharpness. The 33-year-old Napoli forward has played only seven brief substitute outings totalling 69 minutes in the 2025-26 campaign and has spent the last two months in Belgium recovering from a hamstring problem. He remains the nation’s record scorer with 89 goals in 124 international matches, his most recent appearance coming against Wales last June. Garcia has said Lukaku is recovered but not yet fully fit, though he still views him as the squad’s leading striker. Matias Fernandez-Pardo has been added as attacking cover after switching international eligibility, while Lois Openda was omitted and Zeno Debast was selected despite a training injury.
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Senne Lammens (Manchester United), Mike Penders (Racing Strasbourg).
Defenders: Timothy Castagne (Fulham), Zeno Debast (Sporting), Maxim de Cuyper (Brighton), Koni de Winter (AC Milan), Brandon Mechele (Club Brugge), Thomas Meunier (Lille), Nathan Ngoy (Lille), Joaquin Seys (Club Brugge), Arthur Theate (Eintracht Frankfurt).
Midfielders: Kevin de Bruyne (Napoli), Amadou Onana (Aston Villa), Nicolas Raskin (Rangers), Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), Hans Vanaken (Club Brugge), Axel Witsel (Girona).
Forwards: Charles de Ketelaere (Atalanta), Jeremy Doku (Manchester City), Matias Fernandez-Pardo (Lille), Romelu Lukaku (Napoli), Dodi Lukebakio (Benfica), Diego Moreira (Strasbourg), Alexis Saelemaekers (AC Milan), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal).
Egypt
Egypt have named Mohamed Salah as captain in their provisional 27-player World Cup group. The 33-year-old forward is preparing to leave Liverpool after nine seasons and has scored 67 times in 115 international appearances. He is joined by Manchester City winger Omar Marmoush and 18-year-old Barcelona Under-19 forward Hamza Abdelkarim, who is yet to be capped at senior level. Mostafa Mohamed has been left out, while one more player will be removed after a friendly against Russia in Cairo on 28 May to meet the 26-player limit. Egypt will also meet Brazil in Cleveland on 6 June.
Goalkeepers: Mohamed El Shenawy (Al Ahly), Mostafa Shobeir (Al Ahly), El Mahdi Soliman (Zamalek), Mohamed Alaa (El Gouna).
Defenders: Mohamed Hany (Al Ahly), Tarek Alaa (Zed), Hamdy Fathy (Al Wakrah), Rami Rabia (Al Ain), Yasser Ibrahim (Al Ahly), Hossam Abdelmaguid (Zamalek), Mohamed Abdelmonemn (Nice), Ahmed Fatouh (Zamalek), Karim Hafez (Pyramids).
Midfielders: Marwan Ateya (Al Ahly), Mohanad Lasheen (Pyramids), Nabil Emad (Al Najma), Mahmoud Saber (Zed), Ahmed Zizo (Al Ahly), Emam Ashour (Al Ahly), Mostafa Ziko (Pyramids), Mahmoud Trezeguet (Al Ahly), Ibrahim Adel (Nordsjaelland), Haissem Hassan (Real Ovideo).
Forwards: Omar Marmoush (Manchester City), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Aqtay Abdallah (Enppi), Hamza Abdelkarim (Barcelona).
Iran
Iran has left Sardar Azmoun out of their World Cup group amid reports linking his exclusion to actions considered disloyal by authorities. The striker, who plays in the United Arab Emirates, has 57 goals in 91 international appearances and was reported to have angered officials after posting a photo with UAE leader Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum during a period of regional tension. Head coach Amir Ghalenoei has again excluded him from a major tournament squad. Iran, who were considering relocation concerns involving their tournament base in Mexico, will compete in Group G games across venues in the United States. Key forwards Mehdi Taremi and Alireza Jahanbakhsh have been included in the final selection.
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand, Payam Niazmand, Hossein Hosseini
Defenders: Ehsan Hajsafi, Milad Mohammadi, Ali Nemati, Shojae Khalilzadeh, Hossein Kanaanizadegan, Danial Eiri, Ramin Rezaeian, Saleh Hardani
Midfielders: Saman Ghoddos (Kalba, UAE), Saeid Ezatolahi (Shahab al-Ahli, UAE), Mohammad Ghorbani (Al-Wahda, UAE), Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Amirmohammad Razzaghinia, Mohammad Mohebi (Rostov, Rus), Mehdi Torabi, Mehdi Ghayedi (Al-Nasr, UAE), Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Aria Yousefi
Forwards: Mehdi Taremi (Olympiakos, Gre), Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Ali Alipour, Shahriyar Moghanlou (Kalba, UAE), Dennis Eckert (Standard Liege, Bel)
New Zealand
New Zealand has selected both veteran defender Tommy Smith and striker Chris Wood for their World Cup squad. Smith, 36, currently with Braintree Town, last featured internationally in 2024, and his club was relegated from the National League this season. Wood, 34, who has recently returned from a long injury layoff and now leads the team, will captain the side. Both players were part of the squad at the 2010 World Cup, when New Zealand drew all three group matches against Italy, Slovakia, and Paraguay.
Goalkeepers: Max Crocombe (Millwall), Alex Paulsen (Lechia Gdansk, on loan from Bournemouth), Michael Woud (Auckland FC).
Defenders: Tim Payne (Wellington Phoenix), Francis de Vries (Auckland FC), Tyler Bindon (Nottingham Forest), Michael Boxall (Minnesota United), Liberato Cacace (Wrexham), Nando Pijnaker (Auckland FC), Finn Surman (Portland Timbers), Callan Elliot (Auckland FC), Tommy Smith (Braintree Town).
Midfielders: Joe Bell (Viking FK), Matthew Garbett (Peterborough United), Marko Stamenic (Swansea City), Sarpreet Singh (Wellington Phoenix), Alex Rufer (Wellington Phoenix), Ben Old (Saint-Étienne), Callum McCowatt (Silkeborg IF), Lachlan Bayliss (Newcastle Jets), Ryan Thomas (PEC Zwolle).
Forwards: Kosta Barbarouses (Western Sydney Wanderers), Eli Just (Motherwell), Jesse Randall (Auckland FC), Ben Waine (Port Vale), Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest).