64 Serie A players still alive at the World Cup: Croatia lead the ranking
With Italy once again missing from the World Cup, Serie A fans reach the 2026 knockout rounds without a national team to call their own. But the map is far from empty. In all, 64 players who ply their trade in Italy remain in the competition – and Croatia, with seven representatives, emerge as the most obvious choice for anyone who wants to cheer for someone without betraying their own league.
Croatia, the Serie A team in the knockouts
No other nation still alive in the tournament concentrates as many names from Italian football as Croatia. There are seven in total: Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot share a dressing room at Milan, but here they are on opposing sides – Modric leads the Croatian line, while Rabiot represents France. Petar Sucic, of Inter, is the great bet of the younger generation. Martin Baturina, of Como, arrives as a revelation. And Mario Pasalic and the rest also count towards the tally.
For a country of fewer than four million inhabitants, it is an impressive delegation. Croatia already reached the final in 2018 and third place in 2022 – and this could be the last great World Cup for Modric, who turns 41 later this season. There is no shortage of symbolic weight.
Belgium, Norway and the powers with an Italian accent
Just behind Croatia come Belgium and Norway, each with five players from the Italian league. The Belgians have the names: Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, the Napoli pair carrying the team’s attacking weight. Charles De Ketelaere, of Atalanta, and Alexis Saelemaekers, of Milan, complete a group that mixes established stars with high-level tactical pieces.
Norway, meanwhile, take the quieter path. Leo Ostigard, of Genoa, was the first Serie A player to score at the 2026 World Cup – a fact that says plenty about the Scandinavian rhythm at the tournament. Kristian Thorstvedt, of Sassuolo, and Torbjorn Heggem, of Bologna, reinforce a team that reached the World Cup for the first time in decades and did not come just to make up the numbers.
France and the Netherlands are playing for the title – with Italian reinforcements
Among the favourites for the trophy, France enter the knockouts with four players from the Italian league: Marcus Thuram and Manuel Akanji at Inter, Adrien Rabiot and Mike Maignan at Milan, plus Manu Kone at Roma. The Netherlands, in turn, count on Teun Koopmeiners and Bremer at Juventus, Marten De Roon at Atalanta and Denzel Dumfries at Inter. A possible clash between the French and the Dutch in the quarter-finals would be almost a Serie A classic.
Argentina, with Lautaro Martinez and Nico Paz, also remain alive. So does Brazil, represented by Ederson and Bremer. The 2026 World Cup may not have the Azzurra – but it has never had so many faces familiar to Italian football fans.
