- © DFL
- © DFL
Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 stars to watch in FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A
A host of stars from Germany’s top two leagues are set to meet on football's biggest stage at the FIFA World Cup 2026. We crunch the numbers on an intriguing Group A featuring Czechia, Korea Republic, Mexico and South Africa...
Czechia
- Coufal clocked more intensive runs than any other player in the Bundesliga last season (2,803).
- The 33-year-old comes from a very sporty family, with two siblings who are figure skaters, while his mother, Alena Dřevjaná, competed as a gymnast in the 1988 Olympic Games.
Adam Hložek (Hoffenheim)
- Hložek was a childhood prodigy, becoming Slavia Prague's youngest league player and the Czech league's greenest goalscorer at the age of 16 in 2018/19.
- The attacker won a Bundesliga and DFB Cup double as part of Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen 'Invincibles' in 2023/24, before moving to Hoffenheim in summer 2024.
- He only played in one of Czechia's World Cup qualifiers due to injury, but found the net in a 2-1 win over Kosovo in a pre-World Cup friendly.
Watch: Hložek on the money
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Patrik Schick (Bayer Leverkusen)
- Schick has scored over 100 goals in all competitions for Leverkusen (103 in 210 appearances) since signing from Roma in summer 2020.
- He is the highest-scoring Czech player in Bundesliga history with 90 goals, including 10 for RB Leipzig.
- Schick was the joint-top scorer at UEFA Euro 2020 with five goals - level with Cristiano Ronaldo - and his strike from the halfway line against Scotland was voted Goal of the Tournament.
Watch: Schick's favourite World Cup players
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About the players
Korea Republic
Jens Castrop (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
- Castrop made 86 Bundesliga 2 appearances for Nuremberg before embarking on his first top-flight season with Gladbach last summer.
- The 22-year-old midfielder made four appearances for Germany's U21s before switching international allegiances to the homeland of his mother in 2025.
- Kim has made 116 appearances in all competitions for Bayern since joining from Napoli in summer 2023.
- He has claimed two Bundesliga titles and a DFB Cup during his time in Bavaria.
- The centre-back has been a champion in Germany, Italy and South Korea (for Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors).
Watch: Kim in action
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- Lee has spent eight seasons in Germany with Holstein Kiel (2018 – 2021) and Mainz (2021 - present).
- The 33-year-old has made 106 appearances for South Korea since 2015, including three as captain.
- The attacker has scored three goals in his past three Bundesliga matches against Bayern, including two in a 2-1 win in December 2024.
South Africa
- Okon made 25 appearances in his first season in Bundesliga 2 as Hannover narrowly missed out on promotion, finishing fourth.
- The 22-year-old defender, who signed from SuperSport United, has just five caps for South Africa so far but has played every minute of the first two group games.
Click here for the full list of Bundesliga/ Bundesliga 2 players at the World Cup
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