The 2026 World Cup is finally upon us, serving up drama from the word go as the opening game between Mexico and South Africa saw three red cards.
On-field drama is what the Finals are known for as well as giant-killings, controversy, iconic moments and little-known nations punching above their weight to make it into the latter stages of the tournament.
But, what about breakout performances?
Who is the youngest player at the 2026 World Cup?
There have been plenty of youngsters who've burst onto the scene at World Cups, such as Michael Owen at France '98, scoring that excellent goal for England against Argentina.
More famously, though, who could forget Kylian Mbappe's Russia 2018 performance? The Frenchman announced himself to the world as one of the best players on the planet at just 19 years of age. And, of course, most famous of all is 17-year-old Pele at Sweden 1958, helping Brazil to their first ever World Cup victory.
This summer, it's likely that Spain's Lamine Yamal will light up the competition, but he's already very well-established, despite still only being 18.
The Barcelona winger is among the youngest players at the 2026 World Cup, however, he isn't the youngest. That honour belongs to one player in Group A, who has accomplished plenty in his short career to date.
Gilberto Mora, 17, is the youngest player at this summer's tournament and has already made his first appearance at the Finals.
The diminutive Mexican was brought on in front of 85,000 fans during El Tri's 2-0 win over South Africa in their Group A opener.
Fans at the Azteca Stadium - renamed the Mexico City Stadium for the 2026 World Cup - gave the Tijuana midfielder a rousing reception as he took to the field.
Who is Gilberto Mora?
Mora was one of the stars of last year’s Under-20 World Cup and plays his club football for Liga MX side Tijuana. He's the Mexican top flight’s youngest-ever player and goalscorer, as well as El Tri's youngest-ever debutant.
He managed an assist in Mexico’s U20 World Cup opener against Brazil back in 2025, bagged a brace versus Spain, scored the only goal of the game against eventual winners Morocco, and added another assist against Chile in the knockouts, so you could say he’s got tournament pedigree.
At 17 years, 7 months and 28 days old, Mora is the sixth-youngest player to ever appear at the Finals - and he's in esteemed company.
Former Manchester United and Northern Ireland midfielder Norman Whiteside remains the youngest-ever, while Cameroon's Samuel Eto'o is at No. 2 in the list, and Pele sits fifth.
