Which Serie A stars are favourites to win the World Cup?

Which Serie A stars are favourites to win the World Cup? The 2026 World Cup is just around the corner, and Football Italia looks at which Serie A stars are favourites to win the trophy, as Italy won’t participate. Italy have once again missed out on World Cup qualification, so Serie A fans can only enjoy the stars from Italy’s top flight in this summer’s tournament. The excitement is palpable with fans using a  £5 deposit casino to place their bets on the 2026 World Cup winners. Spain and France look the best-placed countries, but as usual, the World Cup will be full of surprises and underdogs. Spain won the Euros just two years ago, beating England in the final, while France reached the World Cup Final twice in a row. They first won the trophy in 2018 and then lost it on penalties to Argentina four years later. Serie A has no representatives in the Spanish team for the World Cup, but four players from Italy’s top flight feature in the French squad: Marcus Thuram (Inter), Mike Maignan and Adrien Rabiot of Milan, and Roma’s Manu Koné. England are also up there among the favourites, but no Serie A player will represent the Three Lions this summer. On the other hand, Juventus’ Gleison Bremer and Roma’s Wesley will try to help Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil win their sixth World Cup. Inter captain Lautaro Martinez, the 2025-26 Serie A top-scorer and Como’s Nico Paz will defend Argentina’s champions status. Sixty-six  Serie A players will participate in the World Cup, with many likely to lead underdog countries, such as Scott McTominay and Lewis Ferguson’s Scotland, as well as Kristian Thorstvedt, Marcus Pedersen, Torbjørn Heggem, and Leo Ostigard’s Norway. DORTMUND, GERMANY – JUNE 18: Vincenzo Montella, Head Coach of Turkiye, gestures during the UEFA EURO 2024 group stage match between Turkiye and Georgia at Football Stadium Dortmund on June 18, 2024 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images) There will be even more familiar faces for Italian fans at the World Cup : besides Brazil coach Ancelotti, ex-Azzurri star Vincenzo Montella is the Turkey national team coach and 2006 Italy World Cup winner Fabio Cannavaro will lead Uzbekistan from the touchline. Rudi Garcia, a former Roma and Napoli boss, has called up four Serie A players to his Belgium World Cup squad: Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Alexis Saelemaekers and Koni De Winter. COMO, ITALY – MAY 02: Kevin De Bruyne of SSC Napoli looks on during the Serie A match between Como 1907 and SSC Napoli at Giuseppe Sinigaglia Stadium on May 02, 2026 in Como, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images) “We are no longer the nation that led the FIFA Ranking for six years,” Garcia recently told Gazzetta. “We are outsiders, and it’s okay. These are situations I’m accustomed to as a coach.” Garcia said that the favourite teams are France, Spain, Argentina, “maybe even England and Brazil,” while his Belgium side will aim to “remain in the race until the Final in New York.”