The World Cup 2026 has already shown us why every prediction pointed to this being the biggest and most exciting football stage ever created. With 48 nations competing for the first time, the scale of this tournament is unlike anything the sport has produced before.
Alongside that expansion, the 2026 edition has become the most significant betting event in football history. For instance, those who visit the Betting.co.uk resource hub receive a clear overview of all the betting sites offering World Cup betting, and we can see that there are many.
But beyond the numbers and the markets, what makes this tournament genuinely special is the presence of Liverpool's finest. Even the players who have already been eliminated will leave this World Cup with their legacies sharpened, because stepping onto that stage, for any footballer, is a defining moment that no club result can replicate.
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Alisson Becker is not simply a goalkeeper; he is the benchmark by which modern shot-stoppers are measured. Representing Brazil at his third World Cup, the Liverpool number one has reached a level of consistency that very few players in any position ever achieve. His reading of the game, his composure under pressure, and his ability to organize a backline are qualities that have been central to Brazil's defensive identity for nearly a decade.
What separates Alisson from his peers is not just reflexes or positioning; it is his mental authority. He makes goalkeeping look unhurried and controlled even in the most chaotic situations. At this World Cup, he carries the weight of a nation's expectation and wears it without visible strain. Whether Brazil lift the trophy or not, Alisson's contribution to the Selecao's story over multiple tournaments has already secured his place among the all-time greats of his position.
Three Liverpool players represented the Netherlands in this tournament, and each brought something distinct, despite their team's elimination. Virgil van Dijk, the captain of both club and country at various points, has been the defensive pillar Dutch football has relied on for years. His physical dominance combined with his technical quality makes him rare: a centre-back who can play his way out of danger rather than just clear it. At 34, his World Cup appearances carry the weight of a career defined by elite-level performance.
Cody Gakpo is one of the most compelling attacking players at the tournament. His ability to operate across the front line, to score in clutch moments and to draw defenders out of position, makes him a constant threat. He has already demonstrated at previous World Cup level that big occasions bring out the best in him, and at Liverpool he has continued to grow into a more complete and dangerous forward.
Ryan Gravenberch represents a different kind of story. This is his first World Cup, and at 24, the sheer fact that he has earned his place in a Dutch squad packed with quality says everything about his trajectory. His energy in midfield, his ability to cover ground, win the ball back and immediately transition into attack; these are qualities that set him apart even among experienced international footballers. Gravenberch is not a finished product, which makes what he has already achieved even more impressive.
Argentina enter this World Cup as defending champions, and Alexis MacAllister is one of the key reasons their midfield functions so well. He was part of the 2022 squad that went all the way in Qatar, and since then he has only grown in stature. His intelligence in tight spaces, his pressing intensity and his ability to dictate tempo make him one of the most complete central midfielders in world football right now.
Lionel Messi remains Argentina's figurehead, and this sixth World Cup is being treated as something close to a farewell tour for one of the sport's greatest ever players. But Mac Allister is the engine beneath the spectacle. He does the work that allows others to shine, and that role is precisely what champions are built on. If Argentina retain the title and become the first back-to-back winners since Brazil in 1962, Mac Allister's place in football history will be firmly secured.
Germany's early exit was a blow, but it did nothing to diminish the quality Florian Wirtz brought to this tournament. Wirtz is already regarded as one of the most gifted players of his generation, and his move to Liverpool signals a club ready to build around a player who operates with the confidence and vision of someone far more experienced.
For Wirtz personally, reaching the World Cup fulfilled a childhood ambition that serious injury had threatened to take away.
Germany's result did not define his tournament performance, and it certainly will not define his career. If anything, the hunger that comes from falling short at a World Cup tends to produce the kind of elite-level motivation that separates good players from truly legendary ones. The next few years, for Wirtz in a Liverpool shirt, will be extraordinary to follow.