How the World Cup has affected your Premier League team

By Akpo Esco 

Now Spain have been crowned world champions after victory over Argentina in New Jersey, attention will quickly shift to the new domestic season.

The Premier League was well represented in North America, with all 20 of the top-flight teams for 2026-27 having at least one player involved.

From injuries to transfers, here is how the World Cup has impacted your Premier League team.

Arsenal may be the Premier League team affected most by the World Cup.

The Gunners face an anxious wait over the fitness of William Saliba, who had been managing a back issue before his tournament was ended by the same problem.

The centre-back has not yet been assessed by the club's medical team, but if he was sidelined, it would be a big loss - especially as his defensive partnership with Gabriel is so crucial to how the team play.

The other two question marks will be over the fitness of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, who helped England finish third while managing their own fitness issues.

It does not look like they will need a longer lay-off once the tournament is over, but they will be monitored closely by Arsenal before the new season.

Leandro Trossard enjoyed a fine tournament with Belgium, starting all six games and scoring twice as they reached the quarter-finals, before the forward joined Turkish club Besiktas for £15m.

Gabriel Martinelli, who showed flashes of his quality playing for Brazil, is another player the Gunners could be open to selling this summer.

Carlo Ancelotti played the winger in a central role during the tournament, and that may be an extra attraction for potential buyers.

Bournemouth fans will have been encouraged by the performances of Ben Gannon-Doak at the World Cup, despite Scotland's brief stay in the tournament. The winger played in all three group matches, and particularly impressed in their sole win over Haiti.

The Cherries had six players at the World Cup, including New Zealand back-up goalkeeper Alex Paulsen who has joined Motherwell on loan for the coming season.

Starring among them, as well as Gannon-Doak, was winger Rayan. The 19-year-old started all Brazil's games bar their opener and claimed an assist in the 3-0 win over Scotland to seal their path to the knockout stage.

It further raises Rayan's stock following his January move to Bournemouth, and superb performances in the second half of last season.

This could be bad news for Bournemouth though, with Rayan heavily linked with Liverpool, managed by former Cherries boss Andoni Iraola.

For a couple of Brentford players, the World Cup could not have gone much worse.

Striker Igor Thiago came into the tournament on the back of a stellar scoring season for the Bees and tipped as Brazil's lead attacker in North America. 

However, after a lacklustre performance in the opener against Morocco he was dropped by manager Carlo Ancelotti and did not appear again.

It remains to be seen what impact this has on Thiago's confidence heading into the new season.

Meanwhile, midfielder Jordan Henderson made one substitute appearance for England, but his most memorable contribution was falling over an advertising hoarding during the celebrations following the win over Mexico and requiring surgery on a broken wrist.

Henderson, however, stayed with the England squad and should be fit for the start of Brentford's season, though he may have to initially play in a cast.

Brighton went into the World Cup with eight representatives and emerged with eight - although the personnel has changed.

Dutch centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke has moved to Tottenham from Brighton, with Croatia defender Luka Vuskovic going the other way.

Vuskovic endured a difficult World Cup, subbed off after 66 minutes of Croatia's opening loss to England, then not appearing in their three subsequent games.

Indeed, the only one of Brighton's eight representatives to make it past the last 16 was Belgium left-back Maxim de Cuyper who played in all six of their matches, starting five.

This could be useful for Brighton, who will hope key players like Bart Verbruggen, Pascal Gross and Yasin Ayari will therefore not be too tired after the World Cup and fresh for the start of the Premier League season.

Chelsea had 11 players involved at the World Cup, but only seven played in the tournament.

Key players Cole Palmer, Levi Colwill and Joao Pedro were left out of their respective squads and have already returned for pre-season training.

The greatest concern has been the fitness of captain Reece James, who played into the latter stages of the tournament after helping England reach the third-place play-off, but suffered hamstring issues.

Enzo Fernandez, who was sent off in the final against Spain, and Malo Gusto are set to return late for pre-season, along with expected new signing Valentin Barco.

England midfielder Morgan Rogers is set to arrive at Chelsea from Aston Villa for that club record £117m deal, though international team-mate Trevoh Chalobah is expected to leave this summer.

Much like Cristiano Ronaldo after Portugal knocked England out of the European Championship in 2006, Fernandez may find his antics in and around Argentina's victory over England will make him a target for opposition fans next season should he stay with Chelsea.

Culled from BBC Sport