Special World Cup patches to be worn by 18 England players at tournament
A total of 18 England players will wear a special patch at the 2026 World Cup along with stars from multiple other nations as part of a new FIFA partnership.
England take on Costa Rica in their final World Cup warm up friendly on Wednesday, locking horns with the Central American side at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Thomas Tuchel's side will then prepare for their Group L opener against Croatia the following week at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Other group games with Ghana and Panama will follow in the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough and the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
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Of the 26-man squad selected by Tuchel, only eight have World Cup experience.
That means that Dean Henderson, James Trafford, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Tino Livramento, Nico O'Reilly, Jarell Quansah, Djed Spence, Dan Burn, Elliot Anderson, Kobbie Mainoo, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze, Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney are all making their debuts on the biggest stage.
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And that very achievement will be commemorated in the form of a debut patch, courtesy of Fanatics/Topps after they became FIFA's new trading card and collectibles partner.
That deal kicks in officially from 2031 but for the 2026 World Cup, every new player will be given a special debut patch on their shirt.
After their maiden appearance, the patches will be removed and turned into a collectable with Topps which will be available at a later date.
The patches have been a feature in the MLS, the United States' top tier, being stuck on the upper right chest area above the Adidas logo on shirts.
Once removed, the patches are placed onto a trading card and randomly inserted into a Chrome MLS hobby box, which contains 21 packs of four cards and typically sell for around $120 (£88).
In the MLS, the cards are autographed and every hobby box has two signatures. It has not been confirmed whether this will also be the case for the World Cup.
According to Dale Johnson of the BBC, the collectables cannot be bought until 2031 when Fanatics and Topps begin their licencing agreement - by which point items from the 2030 World Cup are likely to be available.
The journalist estimates that more than 600 cards could come from the showpiece in North America, with Lamine Yamal and Erling Haaland among the high-profile debutants.
Every single player from debutants Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan will make their first bow and extended periods away for Scotland, Haiti, Turkey, DR Congo, Norway and many others means there will be patches galore.
The patches are incredibly popular in other US Sports such as baseball but the exact design has not been disclosed.
Topics: England, FIFA World Cup
Josh Lawless