The most expensive squads at the 2026 World Cup—ranked

 With the Champions League final now in the rearview mirror, the focus is solely on preparations for this summer’s 2026 World Cup.

While a whole host of massive names will not be part of this summer’s tournament, the vast majority of the world’s most valuable players will be heading to the United States, Canada and Mexico looking to write their names into the history books.

Here are the most valuable squads heading to the 2026 World Cup as priced up by Transfermarkt.

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There are eight nations whose transfer values drastically outweigh the rest of the competition, with the battle for a spot at the bottom of the top 10 extremely tight.

Unfortunate to miss out in 11th is Côte d’Ivoire with a total value of $617.44 million. Morocco ($567.78 million), Senegal ($549.99 million) and Türkiye ($549.76 million) all come in just marginally behind.

When it comes to the tournament co-hosts, the United States sits highest in 18th with a total value of $443.86 million. Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun share the honor of being the team’s most valuable players, with Weston McKennie, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi not far behind.

Canada comes in at 26th with a total squad value of $228.13 million and sits just one place above the final co-host, Mexico. A squad value of $226.26 million is only good enough for 27th on this list.

A total of 14 teams fall below a squad value of $100 million. Among those closest to the bottom of the rankings are Iran ($37.97 million), Curaçao ($30.04 million), Iraq ($24.54 million) and Qatar ($23.18 million).

Right at the bottom is Jordan with $23.12 million—a whopping $1.55 billion less than the most valuable squad at the 2026 World Cup.

The 10 Most Expensive World Cup Squads

10. Belgium ($631.4 million)

Belgium are right at the end of a famous golden generation. Eden Hazard has retired, while 34-year-old Kevin De Bruyne and 33-year-old Romelu Lukaku both bring limited financial value with them.

This time around, it is Manchester City winger Jérémy Doku who sits alone as Belgium’s most valuable player at $75.60 million, ahead of Aston Villa’s midfield duo of Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans.

9. Norway ($698.97 million)

You perhaps do not need reminding of the most valuable talent in the Norway roster. Man City striker Erling Haaland brings a monster valuation of $232.60 million to make him not only the most valuable player at the whole tournament, but in the entire world.

The perennial dark horses are by no means just a one-man army, however. Arsenal captain Martin Ødegaard and Crystal Palace striker Jørgen Strand Larsen contribute over $127 million between them on a roster that feels capable of springing a few upsets this summer.

8. Argentina ($950.76 million)

It has been a while since Lionel Messi has been Argentina’s most valuable asset—on paper, at least. He comes in at just $17.45 million here, with the heavy lifting in these rankings clearly being done by those around him.

Julián Álvarez and Enzo Fernández, who could be two of the big players in this summer’s transfer window, are both rated at $104.67 million, although interested parties are likely to have to pay far above that number for either.

7. Netherlands ($973.68 million)

The Netherlands’s roster is full of big-name players who will hope to make significant impacts at this summer’s World Cup.

At the top of the nation’s rankings is Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, who shares the same price tag handed to Álvarez and Fernández. Arsenal defender Jurriën Timber ($81.41 million) adds plenty of value, as do Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven ($75.60 million).

6. Brazil ($1.06 billion)

The first to break the $1 billion mark is Brazil, who could be even higher on these rankings had Chelsea winger Estêvão been fit and Blues striker João Pedro earned a call-up to the roster.

Predictably, Brazil’s value is spearheaded by Clásico rivals Vinicius Junior ($174.45 million) and Raphinha ($93.04 million), but Premier League titans Gabriel, Bruno Guimarães and Matheus Cunha all bring in over $80 million each.