Eleven members of Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton & Hove Albion squad have disappeared to represent their countries at senior level during this international break.
Four of those will be in action in the final stages of World Cup qualifying.
It begs the question, can a Brighton player win the World Cup again?
That is not a possibility for one of those 11 players, Yankuba Minteh, since Gambia have failed to qualify for this summer’s tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The winger has jetted off for Gambia’s friendly against Senegal next Tuesday, the first match for their opponents since they were stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations crown in favour of beaten finalists Morocco.
Even so, Brighton could have as many as 12 players trying to emulate the club’s former midfielder Alex Mac Allister, now at Liverpool. Mac Allister was given a hero’s welcome on his return to the training ground after helping Argentina to lift the trophy in Qatar in 2022. That season, the midfielder went on to play a leading role in Brighton reaching Europe for the first time under former head coach Roberto De Zerbi.
Look who’s back… 👀 pic.twitter.com/BZEfmRoyeM
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) January 2, 2023
Brighton had eight players in total involved in the World Cup four years ago. Six of those players have subsequently joined Mac Allister through the exit door — Leandro Trossard (Belgium and Arsenal), Robert Sanchez (Spain and Chelsea), Moises Caicedo (Ecuador and Chelsea), Pervis Estupinan (Ecuador and AC Milan), Jeremy Sarmiento (Ecuador and Middlesbrough on loan), Tariq Lamptey (Ghana and Fiorentina).
That leaves Kaoru Mitoma, who will be representing Japan again this summer. Here is a look at who could be joining him…
Tickets already booked
Kaoru Mitoma has known for a year that he will be on his way to the finals again with Japan, who reached the last 16 in 2022. The Samurai Blue were the first nation to qualify for the tournament alongside the automatically entered co-hosts.
A 2-0 home win over Bahrain in Asian qualifying in March 2025 booked their place in an eighth World Cup in succession with three games to spare. Mitoma played his part with a goal and three assists in seven appearances.
Meanwhile, the versatile Diego Gomez is a mainstay for Paraguay, who have qualified from the tough South American section for the first time since 2010. They finished sixth in the standings — below Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia on goal difference — with six clean sheets in 11 matches under former Ecuador manager Gustavo Alfaro.
He will never forget his first goal for his country, the decisive strike in a 1-0 victory over Brazil back in September 2024.
Both Bart Verbruggen and Jan Paul van Hecke are regulars in Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands squad that topped Group G in European qualifying. They clinched their spot in November with a 4-0 victory over Lithuania in Amsterdam. That was Verbruggen’s third clean sheet in six qualifying matches. Van Hecke, facing competition in the centre of defence, started two of the qualifiers alongside Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.
Maxim De Cuyper’s adventurous instincts were highlighted as Belgium won Group J in Europe qualifying with an unbeaten record. The left-back contributed two goals and two assists in seven outings. Rudi Garcia’s side clinched their place with a 7-0 thrashing of Liechtenstein in November.
Kaoru Mitoma in action for Japan against the USMNT in September 2025 (Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)
Veteran travellers
The surprise inclusion of Jason Steele in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad of 35 players for friendlies at Wembley against Uruguay on Friday and Japan on Tuesday puts the 35-year-old in contention to be picked for the World Cup in a supporting role.
His former England Under-21 team-mate Danny Welbeck was unlucky to miss out and now seems a real outsider for a place, although it is not impossible that Tuchel knows what he would get from Welbeck, due to his experience and past England pedigree, so doesn’t feel the need to select him for warm-up matches three months before the tournament.
Pascal Gross’s chance with Germany did not come quite as late as Steele’s with England, but the midfielder was 32 years of age when he earned his first senior call-up for his country in August 2023.
Gross had drifted into the fringes after featuring in Julian Nagelsmann’s squad for the European Championships in his homeland in 2024. The now 34-year-old’s form since rejoining Brighton from Borussia Dortmund in this year’s January transfer window has led to a recall for friendlies against Switzerland on Friday and Ghana on Monday.
“I’m really happy for Pascal,” Hurzeler told reporters before Brighton’s 2-1 home win over Liverpool on Saturday. “He deserves it, because he’s working hard, he’s training hard, he’s there for me, he’s there for the team. He has performed really well since he has been (back) here.”
Facing the lottery of the UEFA play-offs
There are 16 nations fighting for four remaining European qualification spots. Countries are split into four sections, each featuring semi-finals over one leg on Thursday and finals next week, with a World Cup place the prize for the winner. Brighton have an interest in all four outcomes.
Diego Coppola’s desire to join Paris FC on loan for the rest of the season in January in order to get more game time to press his claims for Italy has paid off. The central defender has been called into Italy’s senior squad after more than 600 minutes of match time for the French club, compared to fewer than 200 minutes in the Premier League since moving from Hellas Verona during the summer 2025 transfer window.
Italy face Northern Ireland on Thursday for the chance to clinch a place at the World Cup against Bosnia and Herzegovina or Wales. Italy versus Wales would see Coppola up against Brighton’s first-team coach Andrew Crofts, who is assistant to Welsh coach Craig Bellamy.
Diego Coppola’s loan move to Paris FC has paid off (Christian Hofer/Getty Images)
Having recently returned to action as a substitute after a shoulder injury, Yasin Ayari is in the Sweden squad under former Brighton head coach Graham Potter. They play Ukraine on Thursday, with Poland or Albania awaiting the winners.
Ferdi Kadioglu — who has struck a rich vein of form for Hurzeler’s team at left-back — is part of the Turkey squad that clashes with Romania on Thursday, with Slovakia and Kosovo in the other semi-final of the section.
Meanwhile, Evan Ferguson will be rooting for the Republic of Ireland on Thursday against Czech Republic. The striker will be absent with an ankle injury sustained on loan to Roma, which has ruled him out for the rest of the season. Denmark or North Macedonia await the winners.
Sadly missing out
Matt O’Riley’s lack of game time (nine minutes in total) since he was recalled in January from a season-long loan with Marseille has contributed to his absence from the Denmark squad.
Part of Brajan Gruda’s motivation for returning to Germany in January on loan to RB Leipzig was to try to force his way into his country’s senior squad for the World Cup. That has not happened yet for the Germany Under-21 winger, who scored two goals and provided an assist in a 5-0 home win against Hoffenheim on Friday in the Bundesliga.
Any hope of Facundo Buonanotte being involved with reigning champions Argentina have disappeared with a lack of game time on loan to Chelsea in the first half of the season and with Leeds United since switching loan clubs in January.
Tom McGill, third-choice goalkeeper behind Verbruggen and Steele, has dropped out of contention for co-hosts Canada for the same reason. McGill’s only action this season was 34 minutes in a Football League Trophy tie against Barnet in August before he was injured and replaced by Nils Ramming (Brighton won 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw).
Cameroon failed to qualify which means that Carlos Baleba — still a target for Manchester United after they tried to sign him last summer — will not be parading his midfield talents on the world stage to potential suitors.