The 2025-2026 Champions League final between Arsenal and PSG on Saturday won’t be without some World Cup flavor. The game between the side coached by Luis Enrique and Mikel Arteta will involve some of the biggest stars that will also be part of the most important soccer tournament in the world, and will also feature the winner of the 2025 Ballon d’Or, Ousmane Dembele. Six nations that will play at the World Cup have multiple players in this game, while seven others will each have a single representative. Let’s take a closer look at them.France (Six)Let’s start with France, one of the most likely World Cup winners. The national team managed by Didier Deschamps will try to play their third consecutive final after winning it in 2018 and only losing on penalties four years ago. While the current coach will step down at the end of the tournament and there are big chances to see Zinedine Zidane taking his place, there will be five PSG players that will be part of the roster in the summer and one from Arsenal. The French giants will feature defender Lucas Hernandez, midfielder Warren Zaïre-Emery, and strikers Bradley Barcola, Desire Doue and Dembele. Arsenal, on the other hand, will feature William Saliba, one of the best defenders in Europe. With a strong French presence at PSG, France is the national team with the most players represented in the Champions League final.Lucas Hernandez – PSGWarren Zaïre-Emery – PSG Bradley Barcola – PSGOusmane Dembele – PSGDesire Doue – PSG William Saliba – Arsenal England (Four)While France are the most represented national team in terms of players that will play both the World Cup and the Champions League final, England are second, tied with Portugal and Spain. All four players that were selected by German coach Thomas Tuchel ahead of the World Cup play for Arsenal and are all attacking players, apart from Declan Rice: Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka will try to help their teammates to improve their recent performances after losing two European Cup finals in a row in 2021 against Italy and in 2024 against Spain. Eberechi Eze – ArsenalNoni Madueke – Arsenal Declan Rice – ArsenalBukayo Saka – Arsenal Portugal (Four)PSG are highly influenced by Portuguese players who will also be part of the upcoming World Cup. There are four players that will play both Champions League final were also selected by the Portuguese national team: Nuno Mendes, midfielders Vitinha and João Neves, and striker Gonçalo Ramos complete the list. While Ramos is not expected to start both in the final and at the World Cup, he could still prove to be an important option off the bench if called upon by the managers.
Nuno Mendes – PSG Vitinha – PSG Joao Neves – PSG Gonçalo Ramos – PSG Spain (Four)Arsenal are strongly influenced by Spanish players, also because of Mikel Arteta’s soccer influence. As a matter of fact, three of the key players of the English finalists are from Spain: midfielders Martín Zubimendi and Mikel Merino, along with goalkeeper David Raya, represent Arsenal’s Spanish contingent, while PSG have Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz in their squad, having also been called up by Luis de la Fuente ahead of the World Cup.Fabian Ruiz – PSG Martin Zubimendi – Arsenal Mikel Merino – Arsenal David Raya – Arsenal Brazil (Three)The national team coached by Carlo Ancelotti entirely relies on the starting defenders of PSG and Arsenal as three of the Brazilian defensive key players are all part of the Champions League final. Both Gabriel Magalhaes and Marquinhos are set to feature in the Champions League final, and they are also expected to lead the Brazilian national team at the tournament alongside Arsenal striker Gabriel Martinelli. Marquinhos – PSGGabriel – Arsenal Gabriel Martinelli – Arsenal Ecuador (Two)Two talented defenders that will also represent Ecuador at the World Cup, Willian Pacho for PSG and Piero Hincapie for Arsenal, are among those players to watch in the Champions League final.
Willian Pacho – PSG Piero Hincapie – Arsenal Other countriesThere are also seven players that will be part of the both Champions League final and the World Cup, including PSG and Morocco star Achraf Hakimi, Swedish striker Viktor Gyokeres and Norwegian midfielder and Arsenal captain Martin Odegard: Achraf Hakimi – PSG, Morocco Lee Kang-in – PSG, South Korea Jurrien Timber – Arsenal, Netherlands Martin Odegard – Arsenal, Norway Leandro Trossard – Arsenal, Belgium Kai Havertz – Arsenal, Germany Viktor Gyokeres – Arsenal, Sweden
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