Concacaf Champions Cup bursting with World Cup pedigree
Past champions and stars of the FIFA World Cup are the headliners in this year's edition of Concacaf's top club competition.
The 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup has started
Four FIFA World Cup winners are participating in the tournament
Other big names like Son Heungmin and Marco Reus are competing
The 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup is up and running, with 27 teams taking aim at the top club prize in the region. This year’s tournament is as decorated as it gets, with champions from three previous editions of the FIFA World Cup™: Qatar 2022 winners Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul of Inter Miami, Russia 2018 podium-topper Hugo Lloris of LAFC and Brazil 2014 prize-winner Thomas Muller of Vancouver Whitecaps. In addition to those champions, this year's Champions Cup boasts a healthy portion of players from other corners of the planet who have enjoyed star performances in the global finals.
FIFA takes a look at the various World Cup men now shining on Concacaf’s biggest club stage.
The reigning MLS champions are on the hunt for a first Concacaf crown. After quarter-final and semi-final finishes in 2024 and 2025, the Florida outfit is poised to take that next step with Qatar 2022 winners Messi and De Paul of Argentina, along with legendary Uruguay marksman Luis Suarez.
Messi is the lone player from Germany 2006 in this year’s Champions Cup, while Suarez’s performances in four World Cups dating back to South Africa 2010 are part of football lore. The two won a UEFA Champions League together at Barcelona and would love to add another continental crown to their collection.
Lloris was the man in goal during France’s scintillating conquest of Russia 2018, and now in the autumn of his gilded career with the west coast outfit, the record holder for most World Cup appearances as a goalkeeper (20) is hoping to lift another international trophy.
He has very good company in Korea Republic star and former Tottenham team-mate Son. The Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 forward has taken MLS by storm since arriving in the middle of the 2025 season. The Californian side reached Champions Cup finals in 2020 and 2023, and now with Lloris and Son in the mix, they are a contender again.
An integral part of Germany’s triumphant campaign at Brazil 2014, along with earning Best Young Player honours at South Africa 2010 and starting responsibilities at Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, Muller has already made a big impact in Vancouver since joining in August 2025. The former Bayern Munich forward spearheaded the Canadian side’s run to MLS Cup 2025 where they fell to Messi’s Inter Miami. Vancouver were finalists in the 2025 Champions Cup and with Muller in tow they’re poised for another deep run.
The Costa Rica shot-stopper burst onto the scene at Brazil 2014 when Los Ticos topped the “group of champions” of Italy, England and Uruguay before bowing out in the quarter-finals. Navas would go on to appear in three World Cups with the Central American side, but only returned to Concacaf club action this year with Mexican side Pumas. While they were eliminated in the first round by San Diego FC, it marked Navas’ first appearance in the tournament since the 2009/10 edition as a member of Costa Rican giants Saprissa.
Seven-time Concacaf champions Club America are always a threat to win the trophy and this year is no different. Among the names on their rarefied roster are Mexico World Cup vets Jonathan dos Santos from Russia 2018 and Henry Martin, who played at Qatar 2022. With a win in the round of 16, they could advance to a mouth-watering quarter-final against Inter Miami.
Reigning Concacaf champions Cruz Azul are seeking to become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Club America in 2015-16. Like always, La Maquina boast a number of top players from the Mexican national team, including Qatar 2022 man Rodriguez.
Honduras were last in the World Cup in 2014, but all these years later the 38-year-old Jerry Bengtson remains a force up top. The powerful striker led the line in Olimpia’s feisty first round duel with Club America in which the Honduran side came up just short.
Venegas appeared both at Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 for Costa Rica and now plays at domestic side Cartagines. Their first round opponent is the Vancouver Whitecaps, making for a reunion between Venegas and Thomas Muller, who were the starting strikers for their respective teams in Germany’s wild 4-2 win over the Ticos in their Group E finale in Qatar.
The Galaxy are just one of three MLS teams to have lifted the Champions Cup trophy, doing so in 2000, and a pair of World Cup veterans could provide the right spark for another run. Yoshida was a fixture for Japan at Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, while injuries cruelly kept Reus from Germany’s winning side at Brazil 2014, along with South Africa 2010 and Qatar 2022. Russia 2018 was his lone appearance.
These two were both on the Costa Rica team that reached the quarter-finals at Brazil 2014, with Campbell turning in a Player of the Match performance in their opening 3-1 win against Uruguay. Both would go on to represent the Costa Rica at Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, and while they have won Concacaf Central American Cup titles at Alajuelense, a Champions Cup trophy lift would be a massive achievement.
The Rayados have five Champions Cup trophies in their cabinet and can lean on Mexican national team and Russia 2018 stars Carlos Salcedo and Jesus Corona for experience. It will be a clash of Concacaf titans in the round of 16 when they face fellow Mexican side Cruz Azul.
Similar to Bengtson, Najar is one of the few Honduras players from Brazil 2014 that remains active. A crunch last 16 clash against Messi and Inter Miami looms on the horizon.
The 38-year-old midfielder and member of Jurgen Klinsmann’s USA team from Brazil 2014 is still rolling with Philadelphia, who have a history of deep runs in the Champions Cup, including semi-final finishes in 2021 and 2023.
The 36-year-old, who was part of Panama’s history-making team at Russia 2018, got his first taste of Concacaf club action this year in San Diego’s elimination of Pumas.
Morris, Roldan and Tolo were part of the Sounders team that lifted the Champions Cup trophy in 2022, becoming just the third MLS team to do so and the first in 22 years. The former two then linked up with current club team-mate Ferreira on the USA team at Qatar 2022, while Tolo represented Cameroon.
Another player from Panama’s first World Cup team in Russia, Cooper made his Champions Cup debut back in 2009 with domestic side Arabe Unido. Seventeen years later, the 38-year is tangling with Reus and Yoshida’s LA Galaxy in the first round.
The 40-year-old striker remains an important piece for Tigres, just like in 2020 when he led them to their lone Concacaf title. A member of France’s team at South Africa 2010, Gignac has already helped Los Felinos into the last 16.
The Champions Cup has eluded Toluca since their 2003 conquest, but on the heels of back-to-back Liga MX titles, they’ll fancy their chances with a pair of Mexico World Cup players. Dynamic winger Gallardo was at Russia 2018 and then joined by forward Vega at Qatar 2022.