12 players from the Russian Football League will play at the World Cup.

The final bids of the national teams participating in the 2026 World Cup include 12 players who competed in the Russian Premier League (RPL) last season. This is evidenced by the confirmed list of participants in the competition, published on the website of the International Football Federation (FIFA).

Zenit St. Petersburg, Dynamo Moscow and Krasnodar received the largest representation among Russian clubs — two players from each of these teams will go to the World Cup. Douglas Santos and Luis Enrique, representing the blue-white-Blues, will compete for the title as part of the Brazilian national team. The Mexican national team will be reinforced by Lokomotiv defender Cesar Montes and Dynamo Moscow midfielder Luis Chavez.

Juan Caceres, another Dynamo player, will play for the Paraguayan team, and Krasnodar forward John Cordoba will defend the colors of the Colombian national team. The Krasnodar club will also be represented at the tournament by midfielder Kevin Lenini as part of the Cape Verdean national team, where Akron's forward Gilson Benshimol has also been called up.

Other national teams have Teo Bongonda (Spartak Moscow, DR Congo), Mohammad Mohebi (Rostov, Iran), Edgardo Farinha (Paris NN, Panama) and Hazem Masturi (Dynamo Makhachkala, Tunisia) in their bids.

Visa survey: the United States clarified the entry rules for Russians at the 2026 World Cup

You can still apply only in Astana and Warsaw.

The Sun newspaper reported on May 31 that the Saudi Arabian Football Association announced the start of distributing free tickets to fans. The program is designed for fans of the national team who came to the United States. As noted, the free ticket distribution program was announced amid concerns from the World Cup organizers that the stadiums would remain half-empty.