The 2026 FIFA World Cup is nearly upon us, and Juventus looks set to have a good amount of representation. Whilst certain players like Pierre Kalulu and Jérémie Boga have been overlooked by their national team managers, and whilst others like Dušan Vlahović and Manuel Locatelli have failed to qualify for the tournament, there are quite a total of six Juve players who’ll be competing for their nation in the biggest tournament in sports.
Today, we’re taking a look at the Juve players who’ll be making
their mark in North America.
With nobody suiting up in Group A, Bianconeri supporters will have to wait until the second day of the tournament to see their players in action. Jonathan David will lead the line for Canada in what will be their first-ever World Cup match on home soil, taking on Bosnia & Herzegovina in Toronto before meeting Qatar and Switzerland.
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and that may very well be the case with David this summer. After scoring just 8 goals in his debut season in Italy, Canada’s all-time leading scorer (39 goals and 20 assists in 75 appearances) will be looking to recover his Lille form and do something that he has never done before: score in a World Cup match.
Six hours after David opens the campaign for Canada, Weston McKennie will lead fellow co-hosts United States into action in Los Angeles. The Texan has established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet since making his international debut in 2017, racking up 12 goals and 9 assists in 64 appearances and earning praise from ex-USMNT internationals like A.J. DeLaGarza. All signs point to him playing a pivotal role in the midfield alongside Tyler Adams and helping the Stars and Stripes get out of Group D.
McKennie’s side will host Paraguay in Southern California, followed by an encounter with Australia in Seattle, before taking on Türkiye in LA. He’ll be going up against a familiar face in Kenan Yıldız, who has emerged as an indispensable figure on the left side of the Turks’ attack. Having steered them to a Euro quarterfinal two years ago, Yıldız will be seeking to confirm his status amongst the world’s top young stars after guiding them to playoff wins against Romania and Kosovo.
Group C, meanwhile, has one Juventus player: Gleison Bremer. Once the subject of a tug-of-war between Brazil and Italy, Bremer has made just six appearances for the Seleção since his debut in 2022. Two of those came in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, playing the full 90 of a 1-0 loss to Cameroon before coming off the bench to shore up a win vs. South Korea.
He hasn’t played a competitive match for Brazil ever since, and his goal-scoring display in the March friendly vs. France was his first cap in nearly two years. And while he will be liking his chances of getting some minutes against Morocco, Haiti, and/or Scotland following Éder Militão’s hamstring injury, it is expected that he will be a backup center back behind Champions League finalists Marquinhos and Gabriel Magalhães.
Juve fans won’t find any of their players in Group E, but they will find two in Group F. Whilst Teun Koopmeiners hasn’t quite managed to justify Juve’s investment, he has remained an important figure in the Netherlands’ setup, albeit one that has oscillated in and out of the side. He’s scored 3 goals and 3 assists in 27 appearances, sitting on the bench in their Euro 2020 campaign before playing all five in Qatar and scoring vs. champions Argentina.
After missing Euro 2024 with an adductor injury, Koopmeiners returned to the side in March after a year out, scoring in a 2-1 win vs. Norway before coming off the bench vs. Ecuador. It remains to be seen whether or not he’ll be involved in the starting XI, but Koopmeiners’ versatility and footballing IQ makes him an intriguing option for Ronald Koeman’s side as they look to fend off Japan, Sweden and Tunisia.
Koopmeiners will face off against his former Atalanta teammate and current Juve teammate Emil Holm on June 20 in Houston. Holm has racked up 2 goals and 2 assists in 16 Sweden appearances since making his debut in 2022, and after missing out on the World Cup qualifying playoffs in March due to a calf issue, he’ll be looking to play an important role off the bench for a team that is essentially playing with house money.
None of the four Group H and Group G matches on June 15 will feature Juve players, with Loïs Openda missing out on a spot in Belgium’s squad after a dismal debut season. The same cannot be said for June 16: whilst Pierre Kalulu has been snubbed by Didier Deschamps in what will be his final tournament as France manager, Group J will feature one Juventus player.
Nicolás González struggled to convince in his opening season at Juve before being sent out on loan to Atlético Madrid, where he has regained his form under compatriot Diego Simeone. While he is hellbent on making the move permanent, Atlético are unwilling to trigger the €32m obligation to buy and instead are offering €24m-€25m including bonuses, well below what Juve paid Fiorentina just two years ago.
For now, though, González is a Juventus player with a contract through 2029, and he’ll be seeking to play an important role off the bench for an Argentina side that is eyeing a fourth consecutive major trophy under Lionel Scaloni. González has emerged as an important squad player for the Albiceleste with 6 goals and 7 assists in 50 appearances, and after winning 2021 and 2024 Copa América titles, he’ll be looking to make his mark in the World Cup for the first time, having missed the 2022 edition due to injury.
Argentina are looking to become the first team in 64 years to win back-to-back World Cup, and although they are favored in the sports betting lines, they will first need to get past Algeria, Austria, and Jordan. They’re far from the only candidates to lift the sport’s most prestigious trophy: Portugal are vying to conquer the World Cup for their first time ever, and in order to do so, they’ll need a helping hand from Francisco Conceição.
Having made his first appearance on the eve of Euro 2024, Conceição needed just a minute to score a late winner vs. Czechia in his competitive debut, playing in four of their five matches as Portugal fell on penalties to France in the quarterfinal. And after missing the following window due to a muscular injury, Conceição has been called up for every single Portugal squad during his time as a Juve player.
With Bernardo Silva likely to start on the right flank alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, and Pedro Neto in attack, it seems likely that Conceição will be utilized as an impact substitute. He’s proven that he can make a difference against tired legs, equalizing just minutes after coming on vs. Germany and spurring Portugal to a comeback 2-1 win, before coming off at halftime in Portugal’s win against Spain in the 2025 Nations League Final.
After Blaise Matuidi in 2018 and Ángel Di María and Leandro Paredes in 2022, will we see a third-straight World Cup with a Juventus player winning the trophy? Stay tuned for what promises to be a thrilling six weeks of football.
