Which World Cup players are at risk of suspension?
Which World Cup players are at risk of suspension?
USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams is on a yellow card Steve Limentani/ISI Photos/Getty Images
By George EdwardsJune 24, 2026 6:11 am EDT UpdatedFolarin Balogun, Tyler Adams and Chris Richards have been integral to the USMNT’s stunning start to the World Cup — but would Mauricio Pochettino be wise to bench them in their final group game against Turkey to avoid the risk of suspension?
Thomas Tuchel has the same dilemma with England midfielder Declan Rice against Panama.
Much like Canada’s Derek Cornelius, Alistair Johnston and Luc de Fougerolles, they are among 97 players who are one mistimed tackle or moment of madness away from missing their nation’s crucial knockout round tie because they have been booked in one of their opening two games.
Points, goals and head-to-head records may determine which teams make it through to the World Cup’s new round of 32, but it is discipline which could decide whether some players are forced to sit on the sidelines.
Players can be suspended for the first match of the knockout phase should they receive two yellow cards across their team’s first three matches.
Here, The Athletic explains what the new rules are, who is at risk and digs up some famous yellow-card related suspensions from football’s past.
What are the new accumulation rules?
Yellow cards are awarded to players for offences including repeated or reckless fouls, time-wasting, halting an opponent’s attack or simulation.
What is a red card? What is a yellow card?
Yellow cards and red cards are key elements of the rules of the game, as The Athletic explains
A player can play on with a booking, but one-game suspensions occur if they accumulate two cautions over two separate matches, until their yellow card record is wiped.
The expansion of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams and the subsequent new ‘round of 32’, meaning any country to make it out of the group stage plays an extra game, has made it easier for players with a tendency to get booked to avoid suspension.
In the Qatar World Cup in 2022, with teams getting to the final playing seven games, cards were only wiped after the quarter-final stage, meaning players had to tread a disciplinary tightrope for five games only being booked once to avoid a ban.
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That changed from previous tournaments in 2010, where cards were wiped after the group or round of 16 stages, giving players less chance of suspension but more likelihood of missing the final. There was more opportunity to amass bookings in the knockout stages. Just ask Paul Gascoigne.
For the 2026 edition there are two windows of three matches after which cards are wiped, one after the group stage and one after the quarter-finals.
But any player who has been booked in one of the two previous group stage games is at risk of being banned for the round of 32, should they receive another yellow card in their final group game.
Teams can also be punished for their players’ disciplinary record. If nations are level on points after three group stage matches, they are then ranked based on their head-to-head record, goal difference and goals scored.
If those three are all level, albeit an unlikely scenario, the side with the best disciplinary record will finish higher, with points deducted for every card shown.
Who could get banned?
The following players have received one yellow card over the course of the group stage. Only players whose nations could still qualify are included.
Players are already banned for their final group stage match if they were booked in their first two matches, with Cape Verde’s Sidny Lopes Cabral and South Africa’s Teboho Mokoena, who scored from the penalty spot in their 1-1 draw with Czech Republic, unavailable for their teams as a result.
Cape Verde’s Sidny Lopes Cabral will miss their last group game against Saudi Arabia (Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images)Five players are also suspended after receiving straight red cards in their nation’s last matches, including Paraguay’s Miguel Almiron and Belgium’s Nathan Ngoy.
Notable players at risk of suspension:| Team | Player at risk of suspension |
|---|---|
| Canada | Alistair Johnston, Derek Cornelius, Luc De Fougerolles |
| U.S.A. | Antonee Robinson, Chris Richards, Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams |
| Scotland | Andrew Robertson |
| Portugal | Bernardo Silva |
| Brazil | Casemiro |
| Netherlands | Crysencio Summerville, Memphis Depay, Micky van de Ven |
| England | Declan Rice |
| South Korea | Lee Kang-in |
| Belgium | Maxim De Cuyper, Romelu Lukaku |
| Spain | Pedri |
| Uruguay | Rodrigo Bentancur |
A full list of players at risk of suspension is available here.
Famous yellow-card related suspensions from the past
In 2002, Germany’s Michael Ballack had a four-minute stint that would define his country’s fate. He was cautioned in the 71st minute for bringing down Lee Chun-soo and halting a promising South Korea attack.
The future Bayern Munich and Chelsea midfielder had been booked in Germany’s round of 16 match with Paraguay, meaning he would miss the final, should his side progress.
With the score at 0-0, that wasn’t looking like a certainty, until Ballack popped up four minutes after his booking to send Germany through. They missed him in the final, losing 2-0 to Brazil and Ballack’s replacement Jens Jeremies being substituted.
Italy’s Alessandro Costacurta missed two major finals in 1994 alone. The defender still received a Champions League medal as AC Milan thrashed Barcelona 4-0 in the final, after Costacurta was shown a straight red in the semi-final against Monaco.
Two months later, Costacurta watched on again as Italy lost the World Cup final in California on penalties to Brazil 3-2. He was suspended after amassing two yellows in the knockout phase.
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
