Leagues with most players at World Cup 2022: Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, MLS, A-League stars in Qatar

Contributor
Nathan Evans
Leagues with most players at World Cup 2022: Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, MLS, A-League stars in Qatar image

When the 2022 World Cup begins in Qatar, some of the biggest leagues around the world will be forced to pause given the large crop of international players they'll be losing to the tournament. 

Expectedly, the top five European leagues will be hit hardest with over 100 players having been called up by their national teams. 

But is the Premier League the most represented league at the World Cup? And which other competitions around the world make up the top 10 divisions with the most players at the tournament?

MORE: Premier League players in World Cup 2022: Ronaldo, De Bruyne, Kane, and every star from England's top flight

Leagues with most players at World Cup 2022

Just like at the previous World Cup in 2018, the Premier League is the most well-represented league at the 2022 tournament.

With 136 players being called up to their respective international squads, it perhaps underlines why many describe it as the best league in the world. 

Interestingly, outside the traditional top five Europeans leagues — the Premier League, Italy's Serie A, Spain's La Liga, Germany's Bundesliga, and France's Ligue 1 — MLS has the largest representation at the 2022 tournament with 36 players from the league turning out for various international sides. 

LeagueCountryNumber of players
Premier LeagueEngland136
La LigaSpain83
BundesligaGermany75
Serie A Italy68
Ligue 1France54
MLSUSA36
Saudi Pro LeagueSaudi Arabia33
Qatar Stars LeagueQatar33
EFL ChampionshipEngland26
Liga MXMexico23

MORE: World Cup prize money 2022: How much will the winners earn? Purse, breakdown for teams and players in Qatar

Premier League players at World Cup

Gabriel Jesus Harry Kane Arsenal Tottenham Spurs 290922

Below is a list of all the players that are heading to the 2022 World Cup who play for Premier League sides. 

Manchester City are the Premier League team with the most internationals heading to the tournament, whilst they also make up a sizeable amount of the England squad as they're home to five England internationals, the most of any side. 

ClubNumber of playersNames of players

Bournemouth

2

Chris Mepham (Wales)
Kieffer Moore (Wales)

Arsenal10Gabriel Jesus (Brazil)
Gabriel Martinelli (Brazil)
Ben White (England)
Aaron Ramsdale (England)
Bukayo Saka (England)
William Saliba (France)
Thomas Partey (Ghana)
Takehiro Tomiyasu (Japan)
Granit Xhaka (Switzerland)
Matt Turner (USA)
Aston Villa 4Emiliano Martinez (Argentina)
Leander Dendoncker (Belgium)
Matty Cash (Poland)
Jan Bednarek (Poland)
Brentford6Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon)
Mikkel Damsgaard (Denmark)
Mathias Jensen (Denmark)
Christian Norgaard (Denmark)
Saman Ghoddos (Iran)
David Raya (Spain)
Brighton8Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina)
Leandro Trossard (Belgium)
Moises Caicedo (Ecuador)
Pervis Estupinan (Ecuador)
Jeremy Sarmiento (Ecuador)
Tariq Lamptey (Ghana)
Kaoru Mitoma (Japan)
Robert Sanchez (Spain)
Chelsea12Thiago Silva (Brazil)
Mateo Kovacic (Croatia)
Conor Gallagher (England)
Mason Mount (England)
Raheem Sterling (England)
Kai Havertz (Germany)
Hakim Ziyech (Morocco)
Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal)
Edouard Mendy (Senegal)
Cesar Azpilicueta (Spain)
Denis Zakaria (Switzerland)
Christian Pulisic (USA)

Ethan Ampadu (Wales) is on loan at Spezia.
Crystal Palace2Joachim Anderson (Denmark)
Jordan Ayew (Ghana)
Everton4Amadou Onana (Belgium)
Conor Coady (England)
Jordan Pickford (England)
Idrissa Gueye (Senegal)
Fulham6Joao Palhinha (Portugal)
Aleksandar Mitrovic (Serbia)
Tim Ream (USA)
Antonee Robinson (USA)
Daniel James (Wales)
Harry Wilson (Wales)
Leeds United3Rasmus Kristensen (Denmark)
Brenden Aaronson (USA)
Tyler Adams (USA)
Leicester City7Timothy Castagne (Belgium)
Wout Faes (Belgium)
Youri Tielemans (Belgium)
James Maddison (England)
Daniel Amartey (Ghana)
Nampalys Mendy (Senegal)
Danny Ward (Wales)
Liverpool7Alisson (Brazil)
Fabinho (Brazil)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (England)
Jordan Henderson (England)
Ibrahima Konate (France)
Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands)
Darwin Nunez (Uruguay)
Manchester City 16Julian Alvarez (Argentina)
Ederson (Brazil)
Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)
Phil Foden (England)
Jack Grealish (England)
Kalvin Phillips (England)
John Stones (England)
Kyle Walker (England)
Ilkay Gundogan (Germany)
Nathan Ake (Netherlands)
Joao Cancelo (Portugal)
Ruben Dias (Portugal)
Bernardo Silva (Portugal)
Aymeric Laporte (Spain)
Rodri (Spain)
Manuel Akanji (Switzerland)
Manchester United14Lisandro Martinez (Argentina)
Antony (Brazil)
Casemiro (Brazil)
Fred (Brazil)
Christian Eriksen (Denmark)
Harry Maguire (England)
Marcus Rashford (England)
Luke Shaw (England)
Raphael Varane (France)
Tyrell Malacia (Netherlands)
Diogo Dalot (Portugal)
Bruno Fernandes (Portugal)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Facundo Pellestri (Uruguay)
Newcastle United5Bruno Guimaraes (Brazil)
Nick Pope (England)
Kieran Trippier (England)
Callum Wilson (England)
Fabian Schar (Switzerland)
Nottingham Forest5Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal)
Remo Freuler (Switzerland)
Wayne Hennessey (Wales)
Brennan Johnson (Wales)
Neco Williams (Wales)
Southampton2Armel Bella-Kotchap (Germany)
Mohammed Salisu (Ghana)
Tottenham11Cristian Romero (Argentina)
Richarlison (Brazil)
Ivan Perisic (Croatia)
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Denmark)
Eric Dier (England)
Harry Kane (England)
Hugo Lloris (France)
Pape Sarr (Senegal)
Son Heung-min (South Korea)
Rodrigo Bentancur (Uruguay)
Ben Davies (Wales)
West Ham5Lucas Paqueta (Brazil)
Declan Rice (England)
Alphonse Areola (France)
Thilo Kehrer (Germany)
Nayef Aguerd (Morocco)
Wolves5Raul Jimenez (Mexico)
Ruben Neves (Portugal)
Matheus Nunes (Portugal)
Jose Sa (Portugal)
Hwang Hee-chan (South Korea)

MORE: World Cup squads 2022: All 32 official national team rosters for FIFA men's tournament in Qatar

La Liga players at World Cup

Following on from the Premier League, La Liga has the second-most representatives heading to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. 

Of the teams, Barcelona have the most players with 17, eight of which turn out for Spain. 

ClubNumber of playersName of players
Athletic Bilbao2Inaki Williams (Ghana)
Nico Williams (Spain)
Atletico Madrid11Nahuel Molina (Argentina)
Rodrigo De Paul (Argentina)
Yannick Carrasco (Belgium)
Axel Witsel (Belgium)
Ivo Grbic (Croatia)
Antoine Griezmann (France)
Joao Felix (Portugal)
Koke (Spain)
Marcos Llorente (Spain)
Alvaro Morata (Spain)
Jose Gimenez (Uruguay)
Barcelona17Raphinha (Brazil)
Andreas Christensen (Denmark)
Ousmane Dembele (France)
Jules Kounde (France)
Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany)
Frenkie de Jong (Netherlands)
Memphis Depay (Netherlands)
Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
Jordi Alba (Spain)
Alejandro Balde (Spain)
Sergio Busquets (Spain)
Ansu Fati (Spain)
Eric Garcia (Spain)
Gavi (Spain)
Pedro (Spain)
Ferran Torres (Spain)
Ronald Araujo (Uruguay)
Cadiz1Awer Mabil (Australia)
Celta Vigo2Joseph Aidoo (Ghana)
Luca de la Torre (USA)
Espanyol1Martin Braithwaite (Denmark)
Getafe2Nemanja Maksimovic (Serbia)
Stefan Mitrovic (Serbia)
Mallorca2Predrag Rajkovic (Serbia)
Lee Kang-In (South Korea)
Osasuna2Ante Budimir (Croatia)
Abde Ezzalzouli (Morocco)
Rayo Vallecano1Pathe Ismael Ciss (Senegal)
Real Betis5German Pezzella (Argentina)
Guido Rodriguez (Argentina)
Andres Guardardo (Mexico)
William Carvalho (Portugal)
Youssouf Sabaly (Senegal)
Real Madrid12Thibaut Courtois (Belgium)
Eden Hazard (Belgium)
Eder Militao (Brazil)
Rodrygo (Brazil)
Vinicius Junior (Brazil)
Luka Modric (Croatia)
Eduardo Camavinga (France)
Aurelien Tchouameni (France)
Antonio Ruddier (Germany)
Marco Asensio (Spain)
Dani Carvajal (Spain)
Federico Valverde (Uruguay)
Real Sociedad1Takefusa Kubo (Japan)
Sevilla10Marcos Acuna (Argentina)
Alejandro Gomez (Argentina)
Gonzalo Montiel (Argentina)
Alex Telles (Brazil)
Thomas Delaney (Denmark)
Kasper Dolberg (Denmark)
Yassine Bounou (Morocco)
Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco)
Marko Dmitrovic (Serbia)
Nemanja Gudelj (Serbia)
Valencia6Jose Gaya (Spain)
Hugo Guillamon (Spain)
Eray Comert (Switzerland)
Edison Cavani (Uruguay)
Yunus Musah (USA)
Uros Racic (Serbia) is on loan at Braga.
Villarreal5Juan Foyth (Argentina)
Geronimo Rulli (Argentina)
Nicolas Jackson (Senegal)
Yeremi Pino (Spain)
Pau Torres (Spain)

MLS players at World Cup

Outside the top five major European leagues, MLS has the next most players from their league heading to the 2022 World Cup. 

Perhaps surprisingly to many, only nine of those 33 players will represent the USA, with Costa Rica and Canada also heavily featuring. 

ClubNumber of playersName of players
Charlotte FC1Karol Swiderski (Poland)
Chicago Fire1Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland)
FC Cincinnati 1Ronald Matarrita (Costa Rica)
Colorado Rapids 1Daniel Chacon (Costa Rica)
Columbus Crew1Milos Degenek (Australia)
FC Dallas1Jesus Ferreira (USA)
Houston Dynamo 1Hector Herrera (Mexico) 
LAFC6Jose Cifuentes (Ecuador)
Sebastian Mendez (Ecuador)
Diego Palacios (Ecuador)
Kellyn Acosta (USA)
Gareth Bale (Wales)
LA Galaxy1Martin Caceres (Uruguay)
Inter Miami1DeAndre Yedlin (USA)
Minnesota United1Dayne St Clair (Canada)
CF Montreal6Alistair Johnston (Canada)
Ismael Kone (Canada)
Kamal Miller (Canada)
James Pantemis (Canada)
Samuel Piette (Canada)
Joel Waterman (Canada)
Nashville SC 1Shaq Moore (USA)
Walker Zimmerman (USA)
New York City1Sean Johnson (USA)
New York Red Bulls1Aaron Long (USA)
Orlando City 1Facundo Torres (Uruguay)
Philadelphia Union1Olivier Mbaizo (Cameroon)
Real Salt Lake1Bryan Oviedo (Costa Rica)
Seattle Sounders4Nouhou Tolo (Cameroon)
Xavier Arreaga (Ecuador)
Jordan Morris (USA)
Cristian Roldan (USA)
Toronto FC3Mark-Anthony Kaye (Canada)
Richie Laryea (Canada)
Jonathan Osorio (Canada)
Vancouver Whitecaps1Lucas Cavallini (Canada)

A-League players at World Cup

The A-League Men — Australia's premier football league — will have seven representatives at the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.

All seven of those players have been called up for Australia. 

ClubsNumber of playersName of players
Adelaide United1Craig Goodwin (Australia)
Central Coast Mariners3Jason Cummings (Australia)
Garang Kuol (Australia)
Danny Vukovic (Australia)
Melbourne City2Mathew Leckie (Australia)
Jamie Maclaren (Australia)
Sydney FC 1Andrew Redmayne (Australia)