Can injured World Cup players be replaced? Here's the rule
· Yahoo Sports
Star players are already dropping out ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Rodrygo is out. Mo Salah is hoping to be ready and Lamine Yamal is racing to get fit. With 48 nations finalizing rosters by June 2 and the tournament opening June 11, the rules around replacing injured players matter more than ever.
And they are not simple.
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The clock is ticking before the first kickoff
Every nation submitted a preliminary list by May 11 of between 35 and 55 players, including four goalkeepers. From that pool, each team then cuts down to a final squad of 23 to 26 players. That roster is due June 1 and will be officially released by FIFA the next day.
The first, larger preliminary list is the only place a replacement can come from. If an outfield player goes down with a serious injury or illness, a team can swap him out, but it has to happen no later than 24 hours before the first match.
It’s not an automatic swap, though, as FIFA’s Medical Committee requires a written medical assessment confirming the injury is severe enough to keep the player out of the tournament entirely before it approves anything.
Once the games begin, teams are set
Once a team’s first match kicks off, the rosters is locked in. Barring truly exceptional circumstances, what you start with is what you finish with. A pulled hamstring in the group stage doesn’t open a roster spot. A broken foot in the quarterfinals doesn’t get you a substitute player. The squad is set.
Brazil learned that the hard way in 2014. Neymar’s tournament ended when he fractured a vertebra in his back after a crunching foul from Colombia’s Juan Zuniga in the quarterfinals. There was no roster fix available. Winger Bernard Duarte started in his place for the semifinal against Germany and Brazil lost 7-1. It remains one of the starkest reminders of what losing your best player mid-tournament means. There is nothing in the rulebook that can help you.
If a replacement does happen before the deadline, it is permanent. The injured player is out for the rest of the tournament and the player coming in will wear his jersey number for the duration.
Goalkeepers have their own rules
This is where the rules shift. A goalkeeper who gets hurt can be replaced at any point during the tournament. FIFA built that in because of how specialized the position is and how few options teams carry. Teams are required to carry at least three goalkeepers on their final roster and have at least four on the preliminary list.
The goalkeeper doesn’t even have to come from the original list.
You can move a midfielder to outside back if you are in a pinch, but you can’t just plug anybody in at goalkeeper.
And even an experienced goalkeeper isn’t going to save you if your No.1 is out.
At the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, England’s legendary goalkeeper Gordon Banks fell ill the day before the quarterfinal against West Germany, passing an initial fitness test but soon relapsing, leaving manager Alf Ramsey to call in Chelsea keeper Peter Bonetti at the last minute. With little more than an hour to prepare, Bonetti’s mistakes allowed the Germans to rally back from a two-goal deficit.
The rules that could decide the 2026 World Cup
There’s one window to replace an injured field player — before the first game. After that, it’s over. Neymar in 2014 is proof of what that can cost. Goalkeepers are the exception, protected throughout the entire tournament, but Gordon Banks’ illness in 1970 shows that even the special rule won’t necessarily save a team if their No. 1 goalkeeper is down.
The rules put enormous pressure on the coaches to get their rosters right before the opening whistle.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Can injured players be replaced at the 2026 World Cup?