Top 10 Premier League Forwards Playing in 2026 FIFA World Cup
From Erling Haaland’s record-breaking Norway to Mohamed Salah’s Egypt and Viktor Gyökeres’ Sweden — the Premier League is sending some of its most explosive attacking talent to North America this summer. Everything you need to know about the top 10 Premier League forwards playing in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The FIFA World Cup 2026, hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, will feature the largest field in tournament history at 48 teams and 104 matches.
For Premier League fans, the exciting news is that every single top-flight club is sending at least one player to North America this summer. And when it comes to the attacking third, the English top-flight has never been better represented on the world stage.
Whether it is the relentless goalscoring machinery of Erling Haaland, the talismanic leadership of Mohamed Salah, or the explosive form of Arsenal’s new Swedish sensation Viktor Gyökeres, these forwards carry the hopes and expectations of their nations into the biggest sporting event on the planet.
| Featured Forwards | Nations Represented | Qualifying Goals (Haaland) | Teams at WC 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 9 | 16 | 48 |
Premier League forwards World Cup 2026, Erling Haaland World Cup, Mohamed Salah World Cup 2026, Viktor Gyokeres Arsenal Sweden, Premier League players FIFA 2026, best Premier League strikers 2026. Here are the ten Premier League attackers you simply cannot afford to miss.
Top 10 Premier League Forwards
| # | Player | Club | Nation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erling Haaland | Man City | Norway |
| 2 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | Egypt |
| 3 | Viktor Gyökeres | Arsenal | Sweden |
| 4 | Alexander Isak | Liverpool | Sweden |
| 5 | Cody Gakpo | Liverpool | Netherlands |
| 6 | Omar Marmoush | Man City | Egypt |
| 7 | Anthony Elanga | Newcastle | Sweden |
| 8 | Raúl Jiménez | Fulham | Mexico |
| 9 | Chris Wood | Nottingham Forest | New Zealand |
| 10 | Daniel Jebbison | Bournemouth | Canada |
1. Erling Haaland
Manchester City | Norway | Centre-Forward
If there is one Premier League forward guaranteed to dominate headlines throughout the tournament, it is Erling Haaland. The Manchester City striker is only 25 years old and has already rewritten the record books at the international level, becoming the fastest player in history to reach 50 international goals, achieving the milestone in just 46 appearances.
To put that in perspective, England’s Harry Kane needed 71 caps to reach the same landmark.
Haaland almost single-handedly dragged Norway back to the World Cup stage for the first time since 1998, demolishing European qualifying with 16 goals across eight matches and scoring in every single game — including a brace in a 4-1 demolition of Italy in Milan.
Placed in a brutally tough group alongside France and Senegal, Norway’s ability to progress from the group stage rests almost entirely on whether Haaland can rediscover his most devastating form. Given his track record, betting against him feels unwise.
“If we would qualify for the World Cup, it would be like another big nation winning it.”— Erling Haaland, before Norway secured their spot
| Qualifying Goals | Apps to reach 50 int’l goals | Age |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | 46 | 25 |
2. Mohamed Salah
Liverpool | Egypt | Right Winger
Mohamed Salah’s relationship with the World Cup has been complicated — heartbreakingly so. The Liverpool legend missed the 2018 tournament through injury, and his country has not graced the global stage since.
He holds the 2nd position Top 10 Premier League Forwards in the Premier League and top Liverpool Winger (expected to leave Liverpool at the end of the 2025/26).
That all changes this summer. Salah, now Egypt’s captain, dragged his nation back to the World Cup with nine goals during African qualifying, shouldering the burden of expectation for a football-mad nation of over 100 million people.
His Premier League season has shown some signs of the dip that often affects elite players in their early thirties, yet Salah’s quality in big moments has never been in question.
Egypt open their campaign against Belgium on June 15, a match which could pit Salah directly against his Liverpool teammate Cody Gakpo and Manchester City winger Jeremey Doku.
There is no fixture on the opening matchday with more Premier League star power packed into 90 minutes.
| African Qualifying Goals | Egypt Captain | Opening Match vs Belgium |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Cap. | June 15 |
3. Viktor Gyökeres
Arsenal | Sweden | Centre-Forward
Viktor Gyökeres is arguably the most in-form centre-forward in European football heading into this summer. The Arsenal striker — who arrived from Sporting CP, where he replaced himself in the record books before moving to north London — sent Sweden to the World Cup in dramatic fashion, scoring a late winner in the playoff final.
During the two-legged playoff, he scored four goals, once again proving his ability to deliver in the moments that define careers.
Sweden, under the management of former Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter, has been transformed into an organised, dangerous unit built around Gyökeres’ physicality and clinical finishing.
His tournament opener on June 20 against the Netherlands in Houston will be one of the most anticipated Premier League club-versus-international matchups of the entire group stage, with his Arsenal teammate Jurrien Timber lining up in direct opposition.
| Playoff Goals | Club | vs Netherlands (Houston) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Arsenal | June 20 |
4. Alexander Isak
Liverpool | Sweden | Centre-Forward
Sweden have something very unusual heading into the 2026 World Cup: two elite-level Premier League strikers in the same squad.
lexander Isak, who has made the step up to Liverpool after establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s most technically gifted centre-forwards, lines up alongside Gyökeres to give Sweden a genuinely two-headed threat that few defences will be able to prepare for adequately.
Isak brings a different dimension to the Swedish attack — slender and swift where Gyökeres is powerful and physical, and blessed with close control and link play that draws defenders out of position.
Potter knows both players well from their time in the Premier League and will be relishing the prospect of deploying them as a partnership. For neutral fans, Sweden’s forward line could be the most exciting partnership of the entire tournament.
| Current Club | Nation | Strike Partnership w/ Gyökeres |
|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | Sweden | Dual |
5. Cody Gakpo
Liverpool | Netherlands | Forward / Left Wing
The Netherlands head into this World Cup with a squad packed with Liverpool DNA. Virgil van Dijk captains the side, while Ryan Gravenberch and Jeremie Frimpong also feature for Ronald Koeman’s Oranje.
But it is Cody Gakpo — explosive, direct, and capable of conjuring moments of brilliance from nothing — who carries the sharpest attacking threat in the Dutch setup.
Four years ago in Qatar, the Netherlands took eventual champions Argentina to a dramatic penalty shootout in the quarterfinals, a tournament that announced Gakpo to the global stage.
With another four years of Premier League experience now under his belt, he arrives in North America as a more complete and composed forward.
The Dutch will need him at his best to replicate or improve on that 2022 run. Their group-stage match against Gyökeres’ Sweden on June 20 in Houston looks set to be one of the premium fixtures of the opening phase
| QF Run with Netherlands | Club | vs Sweden (Houston) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Liverpool | June 20 |
6. Omar Marmoush
Manchester City | Egypt | Forward / Attacking Mid
When Manchester City paid a significant fee to bring Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt in the January 2025 window, eyebrows were raised. Those doubts have evaporated.
Marmoush has adapted to the Premier League with remarkable ease, bringing the relentless energy, creative intelligence, and goal threat that made him one of the Bundesliga’s most dangerous players. His arrival has added a new attacking dimension to Pep Guardiola’s side.
For Egypt, Marmoush operates alongside captain Mohamed Salah, forming a Premier League double act that could give any defence at this tournament serious problems.
Egypt’s opening match against Belgium on June 15 is the perfect platform: a high-profile fixture against a strong opponent, broadcast to hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide. Marmoush will be desperate to use that stage to announce himself to a truly global audience.
| Club | Nation | Acts w/ Salah for Egypt |
|---|---|---|
| Man City | Egypt | PL Double |
7. Anthony Elanga
Newcastle United | Sweden | Right Winger
Anthony Elanga’s rise from Manchester United squad player to genuine Premier League star at Newcastle United has been one of the feel-good stories of the last two seasons.
Pacy, direct, and with the instinct to deliver in crucial moments, Elanga opened the scoring against Poland in the World Cup playoff for Sweden — the match in which Gyökeres sealed the deal — and has cemented his place in Potter’s attacking plans.
Sweden’s attacking depth is genuinely remarkable for a nation of their size. With Gyökeres through the middle, Isak as the secondary striker, and Elanga providing electric wide threats, they arrive at this World Cup as one of the most dangerous forward lines in the entire tournament.
Elanga brings the pace to stretch any defensive line and the confidence that comes from an excellent Premier League campaign at St. James’ Park.
| Club | Nation | Goal vs Poland |
|---|---|---|
| Newcastle | Sweden | Playoff |
8. Raúl Jiménez
Fulham | Mexico | Centre-Forward
Playing a World Cup on home soil — or as close to it as this tournament offers — carries a weight of emotion and expectation that very few footballers ever experience.
For Raúl Jiménez, co-hosting the tournament in Mexico represents the culmination of a career spent defying the odds, most remarkably after suffering a fractured skull during a league match in 2020 that threatened to end his playing days entirely.
Back at the sharp end of Premier League football with Fulham, Jiménez remains one of the most technically complete Mexican strikers of his generation — a player who drops deep to link play, holds the ball intelligently, and still finds the net with regularity.
Mexico open the tournament on June 11 in Mexico City against South Africa, a fixture that will be played in an atmosphere unlike anything else in international football when a nation hosts its own matches. Jiménez will lead the line for every minute of it.
| Club | Co-Host Nation | Opening Match vs South Africa |
|---|---|---|
| Fulham | Mexico | June 11 |
9. Chris Wood
Nottingham Forest | New Zealand | Centre-Forward
Chris Wood’s inclusion on this list is about more than statistics — it is about what he means to an entire footballing nation. The Nottingham Forest striker is New Zealand’s all-time record goalscorer and captains his country at what is, for the All Whites, a genuine footballing miracle: qualification for a major World Cup.
Wood has been the heartbeat of New Zealand’s attacking play for well over a decade, and his leadership both on and off the pitch has been central to their tournament preparation.
At club level, Wood has enjoyed a resurgence at Nottingham Forest, bringing the aerial power, the work rate, and the poacher’s instinct that makes him such a difficult proposition for defenders.
New Zealand face enormous challenges at the group stage, but Wood gives them a focal point that demands respect from any opposing backline. For a player who has given so much of himself to his country’s football programme, a World Cup at this level is the crowning chapter of an extraordinary career.
| Record | Club | New Zealand Captain |
|---|---|---|
| NZ All-Time Top Scorer | Forest | Cap. |
10. Daniel Jebbison Preston North End
Preston North End | AFC Bournemouth | Canada | Centre-Forward
Daniel Jebbison might be the least familiar name on this list to casual followers of the Premier League, but among the hardcore fanbase, he has become a genuine cult figure at AFC Bournemouth.
The Canadian-born striker — who turned heads as a teenager at Sheffield United before earning his Premier League breakthrough on the south coast — is part of a Canada squad that has the unique privilege of co-hosting this tournament on home soil.
Canada’s World Cup represents their third appearance at the tournament overall, and the country’s footballing infrastructure has grown enormously in the years since CanMNT qualified for Qatar 2022.
Jebbison, young, physically imposing, and hungry to prove himself on the biggest stage his sport can offer, lines up in Canada’s first group game against Bosnia & Herzegovina. For a player still building his name, there is no bigger shop window on earth.
| Club | Co-Host Nation | Canada’s World Cup |
|---|---|---|
| Bournemouth | Canada | 3rd |
The Premier League’s Global Stage Moment
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to be a huge moment for the Premier League as it showcases its global reach. Every top club will have players among the 48 competing nations, and the top ten best forwards of 2026 highlighted here are just a glimpse of the attacking firepower heading to North America this summer.
From Haaland’s once-in-a-generation finishing to Salah’s legendary leadership, from Gyökeres and Isak’s stunning Swedish striking partnership to the emotional journeys of Jiménez and Wood — this is a forward line-up that promises to define one of the most expansive and dramatic World Cups in history.
The tournament runs from June 11 through July 19, 2026. There has never been a better time to be a Premier League fan watching the world game.