| Babil Tezcür
Once upon a time, much of the drama of FIFA’s World Cups was provided by the fact that they were encounters of different football cultures, styles, and players, previously unknown to each other, and to their respective fan bases.
At Mexico’s iconic 1970 World Cup, for instance, only three players out of eight representative nations’ rosters we sifted through played outside of their national leagues: two West Germans, and one Uruguayan Neither Brazil, Bulgaria, England, Israel, Morocco, or Peru had a single player at a club in a foreign league.
But globalization has fundamentally reshaped the makeup of international football. Now, the world’s best players develop in similar circumstances, national teams no longer possess distinct styles, and immigration has also created more fluidity in the flow of the sport’s talent. Now, much of the drama of FIFA’s World Cups is provided by the fact that they are encounters of rivals and teammates from the same domestic leagues, now representing their nations.
When Spain met Argentina in the final last Sunday, the most represented domestic football league represented among the 22 starters that day was not the league in either of those countries, but the English Premier League (where nine of the starters play, as compared to seven in Spain’s La Liga). The pivotal midfield clash between Spain’s Rodri and Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez re-created a Manchester City – Chelsea rivalry. Meanwhile, some players opposing each other in the match (Spain’s Pedro Porro and Argentina’s Cristian Romero, and Spain’s Marc Cucurella and Argentina’s Fernandez) are teammates and English clubs Tottenham and Chelsea.
With some exceptions from newcomer nations like Cape Verde or Jordan, World Cup squads offer fans fewer surprises, in terms of players or styles of play. Most fans tuning into the 2026 World Cup would have already spent the entire club season watching players like Mbappe, Haaland, Kane, and Lamine Yamal battle it out during the European club season.
This underlying globalization started accelerating around the last U.S.-hosted World Cup, in 1994, when international transfers had become far more common. Many players started to move abroad to Europe, drawn by a relaxation on limits on foreign players, higher salaries, and the opportunity to play on a bigger stage. By 2010, and especially in 2026, the vast majority of World Cup players do not play their club soccer in their home countries.
Some countries like England and Spain will have a relative high number of stars playing domestically (as opposed to South American nations), but that is because their “domestic” leagues have become all-star global leagues. They no longer embody a distinctive national style when they arrive at the World Cup, because at their English and Spanish clubs they play alongside stars from around the world, and more often than not coached by foreign managers. Call it fusion football.
This globalization has not only altered where players play, but also how they play the game, even before moving. Brazil’s top young prospects, for instance, are encouraged to develop their game in ways that make them more attractive to European clubs, as opposed to with an eye towards preserving a distinctive Brazilian “jogo bonito” style. Similar tactics, coaching philosophies, and other footballing methods are shared across the top clubs in the world, which results in a more connected international football scene and a homogenous style of playing.
Migration patterns add to the fusion, with teams made up by national diasporas. In this summer’s World Cup, 19 of Morocco’s 26 players were born outside of Morocco, and 24 of them play for clubs outside the country. Other countries like Curacao and Cape Verde were able to field more competitive squads by relying on their overseas diasporas.
In the end, FIFA's 2026 World Cup results appear reaffirming of tradition and status quo for the sport, with four traditional powerhouses and the four top-ranked teams (France, England, Argentina, and Spain) among its semifinalists. But underneath that superficial continuity, globalization continues to transform the game's demographics.