How many Celtic players are participating at the 2026 World Cup amid wild Crystal Palace stat

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The 2026 World Cup is about to take centre stage, and several Celtic players are hoping to write their names in lights on football’s biggest stage.

One of the more interesting stats to emerge ahead of this summer’s tournament is the fact that Crystal Palace (12) will be taking more players to the United States, Canada and Mexico than Spanish giants Real Madrid (10).

That’s largely due to Palace’s success in recent seasons, including winning the FA Cup and Community Shield last season, and then the Europa Conference League during the recently concluded campaign.

So, how many Celtic players will be participating in this summer’s World Cup?

Well, the answer is eight, and for two players, Auston Trusty and Alistair Johnston, it’s extra special because their nations will be co-hosting FIFA’s biggest prize.

• READ MORE: Tony Watt expresses Alistair Johnston ‘worry’ despite Martin O’Neill staying for another season

Did James Forrest deserve a place in Scotland’s World Cup squad?

Rangers teenager Findlay Curtis has been given the nod ahead of him…

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Eight Celtic players are heading to the 2026 World Cup, as Manchester City dominate

To nobody’s surprise, the team across the world that will be taking the most players to the 2026 World Cup is Manchester City (19)

They haven’t won the English title for the last two seasons, but they have still been utterly dominant over the years and boast some of the world’s best players.

With all that in mind, here is a look at the clubs sending the most players to this summer’s World Cup, alongside a full breakdown of the Celtic stars heading to the tournament.

Which Celtic players were unfortunate to miss out on a 2026 World Cup spot?

Someone like Cameron Carter-Vickers can count himself unlucky. If he wasn’t injured, then, more than likely, he would have been part of the USMNT squad.

It could even be argued that Trusty wouldn’t have been picked because Carter-Vickers was regularly being picked by Mauricio Pochettino ahead of his club teammate.

Nonetheless, there were also calls for James Forrest to return for Scotland, especially given Steve Clarke’s lack of bite out wide, but he didn’t start enough games during the recent campaign to earn that place.

Another is Kasper Schmeichel. Yes, Denmark didn’t qualify, losing out to Scotland, and then the extra chance of the play-offs.

But if Schmeichel had sorted out his shoulder over the summer, he wouldn’t have played with that injury all season, to the point that he could no longer continue, play in those play-off games and then end up having to retire because of it.

Two Celtic loan players were also unlucky to miss out for different reasons.

By all intents and purposes, Julian Araujo would have been picked by Mexico, but an injury didn’t just end his domestic campaign in March, but also his World Cup chances.

Marcelo Saracchi wasn’t selected for Uruguay, with Marcelo Bielsa opting to go a different direction, despite the left-back playing an important role in Celtic winning the domestic double.