There is only a month to go until the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico gets underway.

With many domestic seasons winding down, the focus is starting to shift towards the tournament and which players will have the opportunity to represent their nation at soccer’s biggest stage.

While many final squads have not yet been confirmed, decisions are starting to be made on provisional squads that will often need to be halved in number to meet the World Cup requirements. Here, The Athletic takes you through the rules and regulations on these preliminary squads as the names trickle in.

What is the preliminary squad?

Before the World Cup, participating nations are allowed to name a provisional squad (known as the “provisional release list”) that is much larger than a normal tournament team. Between 35 and 55 players can be included in the squad, four of which must be goalkeepers.

The provisional lists are not published by FIFA but nations can choose to announce their squad publicly.

The preliminary squad provides the opportunity for head coaches to create a longlist and further assess their pool of players before trimming the squad down to the required size.

It also allows FIFA, global football’s governing body, to have the information of each player — including passport information, caps and goals at international level and measurements such as height and weight — well in advance of the tournament.

Provisional lists are submitted for other tournaments as well, such as the Africa Cup of Nations. Nigeria named over 50 players in their preliminary squad before cutting it down to 28 players.

When does the final list have to be confirmed?

Bosnia and Herzegovina became the first nation to announce their World Cup squad on May 11, though lists are not regarded as official until they are confirmed by FIFA on June 2, nine days before the first match of the 2026 World Cup — Mexico vs. South Africa.

How many players can be in the final list?

The maximum squad size was increased to 26 for the 2022 World Cup and will remain at that number this summer. The minimum squad size is 23 and at least three players must be goalkeepers.

Can players who weren’t in the preliminary list still be called up to the squad?

Nations can only choose from players included in the preliminary list to take to the World Cup, meaning that anyone not named on the list will not be at the tournament.

Argentina announced its preliminary squad on Monday, with Paulo Dybala one of the names left off the list. It was not exactly a surprise omission given that the 32-year-old has not featured at international level since September 2024, though he has been capped 40 times and represented the nation at the last two World Cups. However, he will be playing no part at the tournament this summer.

Dybala’s omission has likely brought an end to his Argentina career (Daniel Jayo/Getty Images)

Can preliminary squad players replace any injured players before the World Cup?

Yes, players on the preliminary squad can replace injured players up until 24 hours before the team’s first World Cup match.

If a nation wishes to replace a player, it must inform FIFA, whose Medical Committee will then determine whether the player’s injury or illness is serious enough to rule them out of the tournament before approving their replacement.

What about during the tournament?

If a player is injured during the World Cup, they are not eligible to be replaced in the squad.

The exception applies to goalkeepers, who can be replaced by another goalkeeper from the preliminary squad.

At the 2020 European Championships (organised by UEFA rather than FIFA, but which has the same rules on goalkeepers), Aaron Ramsdale, then playing for Sheffield United, replaced Dean Henderson, then at Manchester United in Gareth Southgate’s England squad after the latter was forced to withdraw with a hip issue.