The 2026 World Cup begins tonight, here is every Aston Villa player’s pre-tournament friendly record as their nations prepare for North America.
- Tielemans scored against Croatia and assisted against Tunisia as Belgium demolished both opponents.
- All three Villa England players, Konsa, Rogers and Watkins, featured in both New Zealand and Costa Rica friendlies
- McGinn captained Scotland to victory over Bolivia, with Thiago Silva warning Brazil to beware the Villa captain
- Martinez targets Argentina’s June 17 opener against Algeria after recovering from his broken finger
England. Three Villans, two wins, full confidence
England’s two pre-tournament friendlies delivered the wins Tuchel required and gave all three Aston Villa representatives meaningful minutes heading into Wednesday’s Group L opener against Croatia in Dallas.
The New Zealand fixture in Tampa produced a narrow 1-0 victory with Rogers starting in the number ten role and Watkins deployed unconventionally on the right wing due to Saka and Madueke’s delayed arrivals. Kane’s headed goal settled the contest. Rogers showed promise without the decisive final action his best performances deliver. Watkins dragged wastefully wide from a good position, a miss that reflected the position rather than the player.
The Costa Rica friendly in Orlando delivered the sharper performance Tuchel wanted and gave the Villa trio a cleaner and more natural showing. Ezri Konsa started at centre-back and contributed to a clean sheet, exactly the kind of composed, authoritative display that earned him his World Cup place.
Morgan Rogers, not distracted by transfer news, came off the bench on 62 minutes, replacing captain Kane, and brought energy and creativity across his 28 minutes. Watkins entered on 70 minutes, replacing his Villa teammate Konsa, and contributed usefully across a 17-minute cameo. All three Villans featured. All three are ready.
Belgium. Tielemans unstoppable, Onana disciplined
Villa’s Belgian duo have been the pre-tournament’s most impressive national performers. Youri Tielemans scored against Croatia, a composed left-footed finish that extended Belgium’s unbeaten run to 13 games before delivering a curling assist for De Ketelaere’s goal in the 5-0 Tunisia demolition. Two fixtures. One goal. One assist. One captain’s performance that confirms the Europa League final hero arrives at the tournament in the finest form of his career.
Amadou Onana contributed disciplined and composed performances across both fixtures playing 67 minutes against Croatia and 66 against Tunisia before being withdrawn as Belgium managed his workload carefully. His specific defensive midfield role, protecting the backline and freeing De Bruyne to operate with full creative freedom, was executed with the authority and physicality that makes him so difficult to replace when fit.
Scotland. McGinn ready for Brazil
John McGinn captained Scotland to a convincing friendly victory over Bolivia, delivering exactly the performance that had Thiago Silva issuing specific warnings to Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil setup.
The Villa captain heads into Scotland’s first World Cup since 1998 in outstanding individual condition, ten goals last season, a Europa League winner’s medal, and the motivation of a man who understands the historical significance of what his country is about to attempt.
Scotland face Haiti, Morocco and Brazil in Group C. The Brazil clash in Miami on June 24th, with Silva having specifically identified McGinn as the danger man, even though Roy Keane said different. However, that will be the fixture that could define the entire campaign.
Argentina. Martinez targeting the opener
Emiliano Martinez spent the pre-tournament window managing his broken finger recovery rather than featuring in Argentina’s warm-up fixtures. The plan was to protect the goalkeeper from friendlies, targeting full fitness for Argentina’s opening fixture against Algeria on June 17th.
The World Cup defending champions will be significantly stronger for having Martinez fully fit between the sticks, as every goalkeeper coach in world football already knows.
The others. Digne, Lindelöf and Guessand
Lucas Digne has been part of Didier Deschamps’ France preparations, contributing defensive experience and Europa League winner’s confidence to a squad targeting their third World Cup title. Victor Lindelöf has captained Sweden through their warm-up programme, the extraordinary midfield transformation he delivered for Villa adding a new dimension to his international value. Evann Guessand has represented Ivory Coast one of the tournament’s most intriguing attacking nations in a genuinely challenging group.
ReadAstonVilla Verdict
Eleven players. Seven nations. Every one of them prepared, fit and ready. The World Cup begins tonight, and across the next four weeks, Villa Park’s finest will be performing on the greatest stage in world football. Back them all.
