City At The World Cup – Every Fox To Feature

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City At The World Cup – Every Fox To Feature

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup now in full flow, we chart the Foxes who have proudly represented their respective nations in the competition.

2026-06-17T07:40+01:00

by Sam Jones

Published

17 Jun, 2026

City At The World Cup – Every Fox To Feature

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup now in full flow, we chart the Foxes who have proudly represented their respective nations in the competition.

Sam Jones

2026-06-17T07:40+01:00

City At The World Cup – Every Fox To Feature

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup now in full flow, we chart the Foxes who have proudly represented their respective nations in the competition.

Sam Jones

2026-06-17T07:40+01:00

City At The World Cup – Every Fox To Feature

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup now in full flow, we chart the Foxes who have proudly represented their respective nations in the competition.

Sam Jones

2026-06-17T07:40+01:00

City At The World Cup – Every Fox To Feature

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup now in full flow, we chart the Foxes who have proudly represented their respective nations in the competition.

Sam Jones

2026-06-17T07:40+01:00

Here are all the 23 Leicester City stars to feature in the World Cup Finals while at the Club…

Willie Cunningham

The very first City player to don their national team jersey at a World Cup was Northern Ireland’s Willie Cunningham in 1958. He played all three group matches at centre-back, and the play-off against Czechoslovakia, as well as the quarter-final defeat to France.

Gordon Banks

The legendary goalkeeper was a star of England’s 1966 World Cup triumph while at Filbert Street - the only Leicester City player to lift the prestigious trophy. Earning a clean sheet in the opening game draw against Uruguay, he kept a further three consecutive shutouts in three victories, prior to the semi-final and final successes, leading to Wembley glory for the Three Lions.

John O’Neill

Defender John O’Neill had the honour of playing in back-to-back World Cups for his country during his decade-long stint as a Fox. Firstly representing Northern Ireland at the 1982 tournament in Spain, he would feature against France in the second group phase.

Also selected four years later in Mexico, a now more experienced O’Neill played throughout all three group games, ending his international career following defeat to Brazil, having won a total of 40 caps.

Kasey Keller

Foxes 'keeper Kasey Keller represented the United States at France 1998, one of his four World Cups. Selected to play against Iran and Germany, the USA were knocked out in the group stage.

Muzzy Izzet

Muzzy Izzet was our only representative at the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan, assisting Turkey’s remarkable run to the semi-finals, where he played against eventual winners Brazil, before finishing in third place.

Riyad Mahrez

Tricky winger Riyad Mahrez became the first Leicester player in 12 years to appear at a World Cup when he represented Algeria in Brazil in 2014, helping his nation reach the last-16 – losing to winners, Germany.

Ahmed Musa

Etching his name into the Club's history books, Ahmed Musa became the first Leicester City player to score at a World Cup, finding the net for Nigeria against Iceland in Russia in 2018. He would score twice in that match, leaving him as our leading World Cup goalscorer.

Kelechi Iheanacho

Featuring across all three of Nigeria’s 2018 group stage matches, the striker helped the Super Eagles to victory over Iceland in Volgograd, though it wasn’t enough to progress out of Group D.

Wilfred Ndidi

Further back in the Super Eagles’ XI, midfielder Wilfred Ndidi played 90 minutes in each of those three Group D games, which also included defeats to Croatia and Argentina.

Harry Maguire

Harry Maguire made history in 2018 by becoming the first City player to score for England at a World Cup. Heading in against Sweden in the quarter-finals, the centre-back helped Sir Gareth Southgate’s side reach the last four for the first time since 1990.

Jamie Vardy

Alongside Maguire, Jamie Vardy was part of that England squad which made it to the semi-finals in Russia. The talismanic Foxes forward made four appearances at the tournament, including the extra-time defeat to Croatia.

Kasper Schmeichel

Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel played every minute of Denmark’s run to the last-16 in 2018, keeping out a Luka Modrić penalty in the final stages of extra-time before also saving two during the shootout, despite ending on the losing side.

Shinji Okazaki

The Japanese forward’s third consecutive World Cup tournament, in 2018, came while he was with the Foxes. Playing a part in all three group games, where four points was enough to reach the last-16, Okazaki remained on the bench during a 3-2 loss to Belgium.

Ricardo Pereira

After watching on as a substitute during each group stage fixture, departing City captain Ricardo Pereira got his chance to feature at the 2018 World Cup by starting Portugal’s last-16 bout with Uruguay, which ended in a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat.

Adrien Silva

Featuring from the bench in Portugal’s victory over Morocco in the 2018 group stage, central midfielder Adrien Silva played throughout the draw with Iran, prior to also starting alongside Ricardo in the reverse to Uruguay.

Yohan Benalouane

With Tunisia drawn in England’s group, 2018 saw then-Leicester centre-back Yohan Benalouane make his sole World Cup appearance, playing the second half of a 5-2 defeat to Belgium as the north African nation exited at the group stage in Russia.

Bilal El Khannouss

Having played for Morocco in the 2022 third-place play-off against Croatia prior to his transfer to Leicester, the attacking midfielder started the Atlas Lions’ opening game of this summer’s competition, a 1-1 draw with Brazil.

Nampalys Mendy

Papy Mendy featured across Senegal’s successful 2022 group stage campaign, beating both hosts Qatar and Ecuador to qualify for the round of 16 and set up a meeting with England. The midfielder once again started in defeat to the Three Lions.

Timothy Castagne

The previous World Cup included a trio of Belgium appearances from former Foxes full-back Timothy Castagne, who played 90 minutes in all three group matches. The Red Devils failed to qualify for the next round following one win, one draw and one defeat.

Youri Tielemans

Castagne’s international team-mate Youri Tielemans also featured in each of Belgium’s three group matches in 2022 against Canada, Morocco and Croatia. Both played in their nation’s first game of the 2026 edition, too.

Daniel Amartey

Included in the Black Stars’ 2022 World Cup squad, the versatile defender played every minute of the group stage campaign as Ghana won one and lost two, missing out on qualifying for the knockout stages in Russia.

Danny Ward

Shot-stopper Danny Ward got his opportunity to come into the side during Wales’ 2022 campaign, replacing the suspended Wayne Hennessey in the starting XI for the Dragons’ final group game, a 3-0 defeat to England.

Harry Souttar

This summer’s tournament has already seen one Fox successfully begin their World Cup journey and mark it with a win. Centre-back Harry Souttar captained Australia to a 2-0 victory over Turkey on matchday one in Vancouver.

Stats correct as of 17 June, 2026.

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