MLS and USL at the World Cup: Who got called up and which team will send the most players?

Analysis

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

The 2026 World Cup will feature an unprecedented number of players and teams following FIFA's expansion of the tournament to 48 nations.

A record 1,248 players have been called up to represent their countries in the USA, Mexico and Canada this summer. Among them are numerous stars from Major League Soccer and even some from the second tier of football in the US, the USL Championship.

Inter Miami superstar and eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi naturally headlines MLS's contingent of World Cup participants. After winning the competition in Qatar in 2022, the Argentine and his Albiceleste teammates are looking to defend their crown.

Despite having a star-studded roster and spending more on players than any franchise in MLS history, Inter Miami are not the team with the most World Cup call-ups. That honour belongs to LAFC, who will be represented by four players on the biggest stage.

South Korean forward Son Heung-min, who will be sure to use the World Cup to kickstart what has so far been a disappointing season, and three Canadians - Jacob Shaffelburg, Mathieu Choiniere and Stephen Eustaquio - will carry the Black and Gold flag.

A record number of MLS call-ups

In total, 44 active MLS players have been called up for the World Cup. This number is a new record, though it includes Colombia captain James Rodriguez, whose Minnesota United contract will expire halfway through the tournament.

It is quite fitting that a World Cup on home soil will have more MLS players than ever before, and it illustrates the league's development since its founding off the back of USA '94, particularly over the past 10 or 15 years.

Of course, there is a major caveat: both the World Cup and MLS have expanded since the last tournament in 2022. There will be an additional 16 nations in the competition compared to Qatar, while St. Louis and San Diego have joined MLS since the 2023 season.

More teams mean more players and thus inflate the number of call-ups, especially since there will be plenty of minnows at this summer's World Cup. Indeed, it can be argued that MLS has not made the kind of strides many had expected when the decade started or when Messi joined in 2023.

MLS's attractiveness has steadily increased, and the product is undeniably getting better, but the league still struggles to attract peak-age European stars, including Americans playing across the pond. Weston McKennie has had numerous offers to head back stateside, but why join FC Cincinnati or return to FC Dallas when you can play for Juventus?

Still, the number of call-ups this summer is very impressive. Only Europe's "Big Five," the Turkish Super Lig and the Saudi Pro League (where most Saudi national team stars play) will have more players at the World Cup than MLS.

In addition to the 44 active players, there will be a large contingent of alumni, with 103 players from 24 nations having either played directly in the league at some stage or come through an MLS academy.

Obviously, this figure includes several USMNT stars but also plenty of big names from other nations such as Canada superstar Alphonso Davies, 2022 World Cup winner Thiago Almada and Colombia forward Cucho Hernandez.

Besides MLS, the USL Championship will also be represented at the World Cup, sending four stars from two nations to the tournament. Haiti internationals Carl Sainte and Duke Lacroix play for El Paso and Colorado Springs, respectively.

Meanwhile, Miami FC went big in the offseason and acquired former MLS players Eloy Room and Jurgen Locadia, who are two of the 25 Dutch-born players to be called up by World Cup newbie Curacao. Former Man Utd winger Tahith Chong is their only player who was actually born on the island.

31 former USL players - including from League One and the semi-pro League Two - have been called up for the World Cup. Obviously, there is plenty of MLS overlap here since some of the league's reserve teams previously played in USL.

Not a single active player from the still-young Canadian Premier League has been called up - despite Canada being one of the co-hosts. Liga MX will be represented by 26 players, including surprise USMNT inclusion Alejandro Zendejas.

Every MLS player at the World Cup

Atlanta United

• Miguel Almiron (Paraguay)

• Matias Galarza (Paraguay)

Charlotte FC

• Tim Ream (USA)

Chicago Fire FC

• Chris Brady (USA)

• Mbekezeli Mbokazi (South Africa)

• Joel Waterman (Canada)

FC Cincinnati

• Miles Robinson (USA)

Colorado Rapids

• Lucas Herrington (Australia)

Columbus Crew

• Max Arfsten (USA)

• Steven Moreira (Cape Verde)

FC Dallas

• Louicius Deedson (Haiti)

• Herman Johansson (Sweden)

• Petar Musa (Croatia)

Los Angeles FC

• Mathieu Choiniere (Canada)

• Stephen Eustaquio (Canada)

• Jacob Shaffelburg (Canada)

• Son Heung-Min (South Korea)

Inter Miami

• Lionel Messi (Argentina)

• Rodrigo De Paul (Argentina)

• Dayne St. Clair (Canada)

Minnesota United

• James Rodriguez (Colombia)

• Michael Boxall (New Zealand)

• Carlos Harvey (Panama)

Nashville SC

• Ahmed Qasem (Iraq)

New England Revolution

• Matt Turner (USA)

New York City FC

• Matt Freese (USA)

• Aiden O'Neill (Australia)

• Kai Trewin (Australia)

Orlando City

• Maxime Crepeau (Canada)

• Braian Ojeda (Paraguay)

• Marco Pasalic (Croatia)

Philadelphia Union

• Danley Jean Jacques (Haiti)

• Olwethu Makhanya (South Africa)

Portland Timbers

• Finn Surman (New Zealand)

Real Salt Lake

• Juan Manuel Sanabria (Uruguay)

San Diego FC

• CJ Dos Santos (Cape Verde)

• Anibal Godoy (Panama)

Seattle Sounders

• Cristian Roldan (USA)

Toronto FC

• Derrick Etienne Jr. (Haiti)

• Richie Laryea (Canada)

• Jonathan Osorio (Canada)

Vancouver Whitecaps

• Sebastian Berhalter (USA)

• Andres Cubas (Paraguay)

• Rayan Elloumi (Tunisia)

Written by

Tom Weber | Writer

Tom Weber is an experienced, multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer as part of his freelance work for FootballTransfers.

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