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Many stars of the World Cup are afraid to miss the matches of the second round
As the curtain falls on the 2026 World Cup group stage competition, concerns are mounting for teams that have qualified or are close to qualifying for the round of 32 matches at risk of missing their players due to accumulation of yellow cards, given the large number of players at risk for the start of round 3.
The current World Cup has witnessed a remarkable disciplinary record after the number of red cards reached 8 in the first two rounds alone, an unprecedented number at this stage of the tournament.
Among these cases, the card of Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron, who was the first to be sent off for covering his mouth during verbal arguments with opponents, was part of a series of new laws that Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the International Football Association Board (IFAB) implemented during the tournament.
How does the suspension penalty work?
World Cup disciplinary regulations state that any player who receives two yellow cards in two different matches will be suspended, meaning he will automatically miss the next match. Given the short duration of the tournament, losing a key player in the knockout stages can be a huge blow to any team.
According to the message published in the newspaper.come on“Ahead of the final round of the Spanish group stage, there are 94 players, including 11 representing Arab teams, on the list at risk of suspension, as any new yellow card will prevent them from participating in the round of 32 if their country qualifies.
Big stars are in danger
The list includes a number of notable stars of the tournament, led by Spain’s Pedro, Brazil’s Casemiro, Portugal’s Bernardo Silva, England’s Declan Rice and Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku.
The list also includes other big names such as Memphis Depay and Somerville of the Netherlands, while Egypt’s Ahmed Fatou, Marouane Attia and Hamdi Fathi go into the finals under threat of suspension, while Iran faces the same threat with its captain Ihsan Haj Safi and midfielder Elzahieh.
Portugal and Brazil are the most concerned
Portugal appears to be one of the most affected teams as they have 4 players on the threat list: Bernardo Silva, Renato Vega, Tomas Araujo and Nelson Semedo.
As for Brazil, they are facing the risk of losing 3 key players in Casemiro, Roger Ibanez and Douglas Santos as they look to continue their journey to the title.
Full list of players at risk
Spain. Pedri:
Egypt: Ahmed Fattuh, Marwan Attia, Muhannad Lashin.
Canada: Alistair Johnston, de Fougerolles, Cornelius.
Morocco: Issa Diop.
South Africa: Sibisi, Mbatha.
Ivory Coast: Frank Kessy, Gila Duy, Sekou Fofana.
Ghana Yerenke, Ignacy Williams.
Cape Verde: Castaner, Juninho Bacuna, Yari, Leandro Bacuna, Cominencia, Borges.
Bosnia and Herzegovina. Lukic, Demirovic, Katic, Didic, Edin Dzeko.
Croatia: Petar Suchic.
Scotland: Andy Robertson, Curtis, Hickey, McLean.
Austria: Bosch, Leimer, Sabitzer.
Netherlands: Somerville, Memphis Depay, Van de Ven.
Portugal: Bernardo Silva, Renato Vega, Tomas Araujo, Semedu.
England. Declan Rice.
Belgium: Romelu Lukaku, Castan, De Kuyper.
Australia: Sutar, Sercate, Italian, Boss.
Sweden: Gudmundsson, Ayari, Bergvall.
New Zealand. Singh, McWatt.
Switzerland: Denis Zakaria, Elvedi.
Czech Republic: Krejci.
Saudi Arabia: Muhammad Kanno, Abdul-Ilah Al-Omari, Salem Al-Dosari.
South Korea: Lee Kang In, Lee Ji Hyuk, Baek Sun Ho.
Algeria: Rames Zerrougi.
Qatar: Jassim Jaber, Mahmoud Abu Nada, Ahmed Fathi.
Iran: Ehsan Haj Safi, Said Ezzat Allahi.
Uzbekistan: Abdulkadir Khosanov.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: Bikel, Chancel Mbemba.
Brazil: Douglas Santos, Roger Ibanez, Casemiro.
Argentina: Facundo Medina, Leandro Paredes.
Colombia: Jefferson Lerma, John Lukumi, Johan Mujica.
Ecuador: Alchivar, Boroto.
Paraguay. Galarza, Diego Gomez, Arce, Caceres, Junior Alonso.
USA: Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, Anthony Robinson.
Mexico: Brian Gutierrez.
Uruguay: Rodrigo Bentancourt, Matias Oliveira.
When are yellow cards cancelled?
According to the tournament regulations, all yellow cards accumulated after the end of the group stage are canceled to allow the players to start a new chapter in the knockout stages.
After that, a new system is applied, with a disqualification for two yellow cards until the end of the quarter-finals, until the cards are canceled again after this round.
This system ensures that no player misses the final match due to accumulation of yellow cards, while the risk of disqualification remains only in the case of an outright dismissal or red card during the semi-finals.
Notably, color cards have become important because they can qualify one team over another when points and other criteria are equal.
Check out the 8 criteria to break the points tie between teams at the end of the group stage
