What are the deadlines for World Cup squads?

Published 27 May 2026

Teams participating in the 2026 Fifa World Cup had until Monday, 1 June to submit their final 26-man rosters.

Fifa officially released the confirmed final squads a day later on Tuesday, 2 June.

After that date, alterations to the squads are permitted only under two circumstances.

The first is if a player suffers a serious injury or illness. This player can be officially replaced in the squad up to 24 hours before the team's first match of the tournament begins.

Scotland made a change to their final roster 12 days after head coach Steve Clarke initially announced his 26-man squad, due to an injury to Napoli midfielder Billy Gilmour during their friendly victory over Curacao.

Manchester United teenager Tyler Fletcher was chosen to replace Gilmour.

South Korea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Ivory Coast, Sweden, Austria and DR Congo have also needed to make adjustments to their original final squads.

Once the 24-hour deadline passes, no further changes are allowed to the outfield players in a team's squad.

The sole exception applies to goalkeepers.

If a goalkeeper suffers a serious injury or illness, they can be replaced at any point during the tournament.

A team's final squad may consist of between 23 and 26 players, with at least three of them being goalkeepers.

Like many of their tournament competitors, both England and Scotland selected final squads of 26 players that included three goalkeepers.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.

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Manchester United teenager Tyler Fletcher was a surprise late addition to Steve Clarke's side following Billy Gilmour's injury