Brandon Thomas-Asante will play in a World Cup before he ever steps foot on a Premier League pitch. The Coventry City winger, who seven years ago was playing non-league football, scored 13 goals and registered four assists in the Championship this season to earn his place in Ghana's squad for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. His trajectory tells a larger story: the English Football League is a genuine proving ground for global talent, and this summer's World Cup will showcase 36 Championship players, three from League One, and even one from the non-league system.
The path from the EFL to the world stage is well-trodden. Harry Kane played in the Championship. Riyad Mahrez did too. Antoine Semenyo and Emiliano Martinez both came through the English Football League before becoming household names. Now a new generation is following that same route to the global spotlight. BBC Sport has identified 11 EFL players worth watching at the 2026 World Cup, and their stories illustrate how English football's second and third tiers remain a breeding ground for world-class talent.
Viktor Johansson, the 27-year-old goalkeeper for Stoke City, will compete for Sweden's number one spot against Derby County's Jacob Widell Zetterstrom and Kristoffer Nordfeldt. He missed Sweden's World Cup qualifying matches against Ukraine and Poland due to injury, but manager Graham Potter—the former Brighton, Chelsea and West Ham boss—will assess the competition carefully. Meanwhile, Sheffield Wednesday's Yan Valery, 27, will represent Tunisia at his first World Cup. The right-back started every game of Tunisia's Africa Cup of Nations campaign until they exited in the last 16 to Mali on penalties.
The defensive line features stories of remarkable progression. Cameron Burgess played every single minute of the Championship season for Swansea City at centre-back, and will anchor Australia's defence alongside Harry Souttar of Leicester City. At just 30, Burgess operated at the heart of the Socceroos' defence during 11 of their 14 World Cup qualifying matches—a testament to reliability at the highest level. Jose Cordoba, Norwich City's 24-year-old centre-back, quickly established himself as a first-name starter after arriving in summer 2024 and will represent Panama in their only second World Cup appearance ever.
Liberato Cacace's journey to Wrexham from Italian side Empoli in July 2025 was disrupted by injury during his first season—he managed just 13 appearances—but the 25-year-old New Zealand left-back, who has 35 international caps, is fit for the tournament. New Zealand's squad alone features five EFL players, including Millwall goalkeeper Max Crocombe and Swansea midfielder Marko Stamenic.
Brandon Thomas-Asante's story best encapsulates the year's remarkable arc. Rising from non-league football seven years ago, he has now won promotion to the Premier League with Coventry while also establishing himself internationally. Since making his Ghana debut in June 2024, he has earned seven caps. Ghana will face England in the group stage, adding extra intrigue to Thomas-Asante's World Cup debut.
These 36 Championship players and their League One counterparts represent more than raw numbers. They embody the principle that talent flourishes across English football's tiers, and that remarkable transformations—from obscurity to the world's biggest stage—remain possible. The 2026 World Cup will test whether this emerging generation can, like Kane and Mahrez before them, become the next wave of global superstars.