The 2026 FIFA World Cup has fully kicked off across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. According to information we have, at least five active players in this tournament had fathers who also wore the national team jersey at the World Cup.
On the Argentina side, Diego Simeone played in three consecutive World Cups in 1994, 1998, and 2002, serving as a key midfielder for the Albiceleste. His son Giuliano Simeone played throughout this qualifying campaign and is making his World Cup debut. The Atlético Madrid forward is averaging close to 7.0 in per-match ratings in the 2025-26 La Liga season and will become the second member of the Simeone family to represent Argentina at the World Cup. Argentina currently ranks 3rd in the FIFA rankings with 1,874.81 points.
The Norway lineage began with the elder Haaland. Alf-Inge Haaland appeared at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, standing out in his 1994 debut against Mexico. Thirty-two years later, his son Erling Haaland is leading the charge—he scored twice on his World Cup debut against Iraq, helping his team to a 4-1 win with an 8.1 match rating. Over his last 10 official international matches, his ratings have never fallen below 7.2, averaging 8.55, including two perfect 10s. Norway currently ranks 31st in the FIFA rankings.
France and Algeria offered a cross-team story of family legacy. Zinedine Zidane helped France win the World Cup in 1998 and also featured at the 2002 and 2006 tournaments; across five matches in 1998 he averaged a rating of 8.36 with two goals and one assist, the best among outfield players at that edition. Nearly two decades later, the Zidane name was back at the World Cup—Luca Zidane in goal for Algeria. Algeria already have a win in this year's group stage, with 17 shots and eight on target, 72% possession and two goals in one match, and are ranked 28th by FIFA.
By their respective paths, Giuliano carried the family imprint up front, Erling made a generational leap in scoring efficiency, and Luca extended the family's World Cup story as a goalkeeper. In the remaining group-stage fixtures, the fortunes of these three father-son pairings will remain a key storyline to watch.
