One week to go: 12 Palace players prepare for biggest World Cup ever

First-team

3 hours ago

The 2026 World Cup Finals begin just one week from today.

Crystal Palace have one of the best representations of any club side at the tournament, with 12 of our players representing their country this summer.

Here's all the information you need ahead of the 2026 finals, which kick-off on Thursday, 12th June.

What’s the background?

Quite simply it’s the biggest World Cup finals in history.

For the first time it will be co-hosted by three nations across an entire continent, with USA, Mexico and Canada sharing the responsibility.

It’s the third time in tournament history a major expansion has taken place and the first in the 21st century.

After becoming a 24-team competition in 1982 and progressing to 32 teams in 1998, the finals will now become a 48-team tournament from this year onwards.

That means a record 104 games to be played across the space of five weeks, or so.

Teams will still be placed in groups of four and play a minimum of three games. The eight best third-placed will advance to the knockout stage, along with the group winners and runners-up.

After the previous tournament in Qatar was held mid-season in November and December, the finals return to the traditional northern hemisphere summer schedule.

Where will the matches take place?

16 stadiums will be used in total to cover the 104 fixtures. 11 cities in the USA will host games, ranging from Los Angeles to Dallas.

Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey will host games from Mexico. Toronto and Vancouver will host fixtures for Canada.

The Azteca in Mexico City, which is one of only two stadiums on the planet to have hosted the World Cup Final twice, has the honour of opening the tournament when Mexico play South Africa on Thursday, 11th June (20:00 BST).

Ismaïla Sarr has previously scored at the World Cup, netting for Senegal in 2022

Who from Palace will feature?

The Eagles have a club-record 12 players called up to the World Cup finals.

It’s a far cry from 2002, when Gregg Berhalter became Palace’s first player to feature on the very biggest stage while playing for the Eagles.

They are Dean Henderson (England), Owen Goodman (Canada), Chris Richards (USA), Chadi Riad (Morocco), Maxence Lacroix and Jean-Philippe Mateta (France), Daniel Muñoz and Jefferson Lerma (Colombia), Daichi Kamada (Japan), Jørgen Strand Larsen (Norway), Yéremy Pino (Spain) and Ismaïla Sarr (Senegal).

How did they qualify?

Both Richards’ (USA) and Goodman’s (Canada) nations qualified automatically as co-hosts.

Morocco and Senegal both won their groups in African qualifying which earned them direct qualification for the finals.

In European qualifying, France, Spain, England and Norway all won their respective groups, the latter two doing so with 100% winning records.

For Kamada and Japan it was a similar story. They won all six group games in Asia qualification Group B, without conceding a goal, and became one of the first nations to qualify for the finals.

And finally in South American qualification, Colombia finished third in the continent-wide table, taking 28 points from 18 games. The top six in that league all qualified automatically for the finals.

The games to look out for?

From a Palace perspective, Group I is particularly juicy.

Lacroix and Mateta’s France will open their campaign on Tuesday, 16th June against Sarr’s Senegal – a rematch of the famous meeting between the two nations that opened up the 2002 World Cup.

Both nations will also face Strand Larsen and Norway in Group I. Norway face Senegal on Monday, 22nd June and then meet France in the final round on Friday, 26th June.

Remember though, due to the format this year, all four players could theoretically qualify from the group and reach the Round of 32.

How can I watch the games?

In the United Kingdom, every match will be free-to-air and broadcast on either BBC or ITV.

However, not all the matches will be particularly suited to a primetime European television audience.

When USA last hosted the World Cup in 1994, no game started later than 00:30 in the UK. This year there will be 17 different kick-off times, ranging from 17:00 BST to 05:00 BST.

When is the Final?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup Final takes place in New Jersey’s Metlife Stadium on Sunday, 19th July (20:00 BST). In the UK, it will be simultaneously broadcast on BBC and ITV.

Will we see a Palace player feature in the biggest international game on the planet? Only time will tell….

Match details

Check back on cpfc.co.uk for updates on how our players get on in North America. Here are details of the group games with all times BST.

Owen Goodman – Canada, Group B

Friday, 12th June: Canada v Bosnia (Toronto, 20:00 BST)

Thursday, 18th June: Canada v Qatar (Vancouver, 23:00)

Wednesday, 24th June: Switzerland v Canada (Vancouver, 20:00)

Chadi Riad – Morocco, Group C

Saturday, 13th June: Brazil v Morocco (New York/New Jersey, 23:00 BST)

Friday, 19th June: Scotland v Morocco (Boston, 23:00)

Wednesday, 24th June: Morocco v Haiti (Atlanta, 23:00)

Chris Richards – USA, Group D

Saturday, 13th June: USA v Paraguay (Los Angeles, 02:00 BST)

Friday, 19th June: USA v Australia (Seattle, 20:00)

Friday, 26th June: Türkiye v USA (Los Angeles, 03:00)

Daichi Kamada – Japan, Group F

Sunday, 14th June: Netherlands v Japan (Dallas, 21:00 BST)

Sunday, 21st June: Tunisia v Japan (Monterrey, 05:00)

Friday, 26th June: Japan v Sweden (Dallas, 00:00)

Yéremy Pino – Spain, Group H

Monday, 15th June: Spain v Cape Verde (Atlanta, 17:00 BST)

Sunday, 21st June: Spain v Saudi Arabia (Atlanta, 17:00)

Saturday, 27th June: Uruguay v Spain (Guadalajara, 01:00)

Jørgen Strand Larsen – Norway, Group I

Tuesday, 16th June: Iraq v Norway (Boston, 23:00 BST)

Tuesday, 22rd June: Norway v Senegal (New York/New Jersey, 01:00)

Friday, 26th June: Norway v France (Boston, 20:00 ITV)

Maxence Lacroix, Jean-Philippe Mateta – France, Group I

Tuesday, 16th June: France v Senegal (New York/New Jersey, 20:00 BST)

Monday, 22nd June: France v Iraq (Philadelphia, 22:00)

Friday, 26th June: Norway v France (Boston, 20:00)

Ismaïla Sarr – Senegal, Group I

Tuesday, 16th June: France v Senegal (New York/New Jersey, 20:00 BST)

Tuesday, 23rd June: Norway v Senegal (New York/New Jersey, 01:00)

Friday, 26th June: Senegal v Iraq (Toronto, 20:00)

Jefferson Lerma, Daniel Muñoz – Colombia, Group K

Thursday, 18th June: Uzbekistan v Colombia (Mexico City, 03:00 BST)

Wednesday, 24th June: Colombia v DR Congo (Guadalajara, 03:00)

Sunday, 28th June: Colombia v Portugal (Miami, 12:30)

Dean Henderson – England, Group L

Wednesday, 17th June: England v Croatia (Dallas, 21:00 BST)

Tuesday, 23rd June: England v Ghana (Boston, 21:00)

Saturday, 27th June: Panama v England (New York/New Jersey, 22:00)

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