World Cup 2026: The Premier League clubs fighting a World Cup hangover

Manchester City and Arsenal, meanwhile, had the greatest concentration of players making deep runs into the competition.

City’s World Cup contingent featured for several of the tournament’s leading nations.

Rodri helped Spain win their second men’s World Cup after playing 726 minutes, while Marc Guehi and Elliot Anderson helped England reach the final weekend.

Nico O’Reilly featured in England’s semi-final run, while Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku both reached the quarter-finals.

Arsenal‘s numbers were similarly striking.

Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka remained involved until England’s 6-4 victory over France in the third-place play-off, while Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino reached the final with Spain.

William Saliba helped France reach the third-place play-off, although he was subsequently injured and did not feature again. Noni Madueke was part of England’s run to the final weekend but did not play beyond the quarter-finals, while Martin Odegaard captained Norway to the quarter-finals.

The workload concerns are already being felt. City’s Rodri recently had back surgery and is expected to miss a “short period” at the start of the season, while Saliba avoided surgery, but Arsenal have confirmed he will be sidelined for an “extended period” because of a back issue.

Even though neither setback can be attributed solely to the World Cup, both underline the physical demands being placed on players in an increasingly crowded football calendar.

Those clubs are likely to begin the campaign without having enjoyed a full pre-season with several key players.