Hugo Ekitike, Rodrygo and Estevao are among those who will miss out this time. We speak to players who have been through the heartbreak

Germany's Lennart Karl suffered an injury ahead of a match with the USMNT and won't recover in time to take part in the 2026 World Cup.

The 25-year-old defender suffered a broken leg in October while playing with OGC Nice, after he collided with USMNT striker Folarin Balogun. Bombito’s recovery had progressed slowly and, according to TSN, it has now been determined that he is not on track to be a productive piece of Canada’s World Cup squad.

The injury status for a few core U.S. players will be watched closely ahead of Friday's World Cup opener vs. Paraguay

Lionel Messi returns with a highly fancied Argentina squad while Algeria and Austria are set to battle for second spot

Though the U.S. men's national team controlled much of its final tune-up match against Germany (albeit a 2-1 loss), it was obvious that the USMNT desperately needed Chris Richards back in time for the World Cup. On Monday, head coach Mauricio Pochettino got the news that many USMNT fans had hoped for: Richards is cleared to resume full training.

Playing at the World Cup is one of the proudest moments of any footballer’s career. But for some of the biggest stars in the game, their World Cup 2026 dream has turned into a nightmare, with injury robbing them of the chance to appear in North America this summer.

The centre-back played 30 minutes in Canada’s win over Uzbekistan last week but now faces replacement before the side's June 12 opener.