Colombia, Egypt, Norway, and Bosnia and Herzegovina are among the nations happy to return to the World Cup 2026 after missing out on the previous edition in Qatar. After going through the grueling qualifiers from their respective continents, these four nations will surely aim to make their returns count.
And they will do just that through their stars, who have played in the Premier League at some point in their professional careers. Former Liverpool teammates Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah will be tasked with shouldering the massive workload for Colombia and Egypt, respectively. Erling Haaland will do the same for Norway, while Edin Dzeko will be captaining Bosnia and Herzegovina anew.
None of their teams are exactly the favourites in the quadrennial tournament, so this should motivate them to defy the World Cup 2026 odds. Today, let’s look at these stars and discuss what they can bring to the table in today’s SBOTOP feature.
Luis Diaz, Colombia
Colombia failed to qualify for the World Cup 2022 after finishing sixth in the highly competitive CONMEBOL standings. Los Cafeteros missed out on the final qualification spots and the inter-confederation playoff berth by just one point, and a huge reason for this is their seven-match winless run, which included 684 minutes without scoring a single goal. At the time, Diaz was not yet the star he is at Liverpool and Bayern Munich. Now at 29 years old, he is set to lead the line for Colombia in the World Cup.
During this year’s CONMEBOL qualifiers, Colombia finished third in the standings with 28 points. Diaz was the joint-second leading scorer with seven goals, including a brace during their surprising 2-1 win over Brazil in Matchday 5.
At club level, Diaz played a pivotal role in Bayern Munich’s domestic double, where they won the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal. He has formed a dynamic attacking triumvirate with Harry Kane and Michael Olise, having contributed 15 goals and 14 assists.
While Diaz is expected to create numerous World Cup 2026 highlights, he won’t have to do it alone, as he has Cucho Hernandez, Jhon Cordoba, Andres Gomez, and Luis Suarez (from Sporting) up front, with captain James Rodriguez pulling the strings at the No. 10. Jefferson Lerma and Daniel Munoz can also help. Yerry Mina, Jhon Lucumi, and Davinson Sanchez will provide stability at the rearguard.
Mohamed Salah, Egypt
Egypt didn’t qualify for the World Cup 2022 because they lost to Senegal in the final round of the CAF qualifiers on penalties. This time around, the Pharaohs are back due to a slight change. Before, finishing on top of their group would have them progress to the next round, but this time, doing so already clinches your World Cup spot, and Egypt did just that.
During this year’s CAF qualifiers, Mohamed Salah was among the tournament’s top scorers with nine goals, showing that he’s still got it. At club level, the 33-year-old forward had seven goals and seven assists for Liverpool, and Salah is set to leave Anfield as a free agent this summer.
World Cup 2026 will likely serve as an audition for Salah’s next (and probably last) lucrative payday. Given his calibre, he will surely have his host of suitors, but performing well in the quadrennial tournament would mean more commas and zeros for his next contract.
Erling Haaland, Norway
Norway failed to qualify for the previous World Cup because they finished third in Group G of the UEFA qualifiers behind the Netherlands and Turkey. Fast forward to today, and they are back, as they finished on top of Group I with a 100-per cent record.
Erling Haaland finished as the UEFA qualifiers’ top scorer by some margin, as his 16 goals were at least eight more than the joint-second placers. The 25-year-old striker just won another Premier League Golden Boot for having 27 goals and eight assists for Manchester City, who finished second behind league champions Arsenal in the English top-flight but won the EFL and FA Cups.
Edin Dzeko, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina did not qualify for World Cup 2022 after finishing fourth in Group D of the UEFA qualifiers. This year, they finished second in Group H and had to go through Path A, defeating Wales and Italy on penalties to secure their return to the quadrennial competition.
Edin Dzeko was the Golden Lilies’ top scorer with six goals, and the 40-year-old striker will captain the squad once again. He is one of the reasons Schalke are back in the Bundesliga for 2026-27, having contributed six goals and three assists.
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