From player to coach: World Cup veterans take the helm

The upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup will mark a significant expansion, welcoming 48 national teams and, consequently, 48 head coaches. Among these tacticians, a notable portion, exactly one-third, have prior experience as players on the World Cup stage. This includes two distinguished figures, Didier Deschamps of France and Fabio Cannavaro of Italy, who not only played but also captained their respective teams to World Cup victories.

Deschamps is poised to set a new record among coaches, while Staale Solbakken, whose team will face Deschamps, has a story that is described as truly astonishing. The tournament also features Javier Aguirre of Mexico, the only coach to have received a red card as a player in a World Cup, which occurred during the 1986 quarter-final against West Germany. His team's journey that year, like Belgium's and Spain's, was decided by penalty shootouts.

Adding another layer of narrative, Hugo Broos, the current coach of South Africa, will begin the tournament facing Aguirre and Mexico, a scenario mirroring his own playing experience in the 1986 match where Mexico won 2-1. This marks the second time Mexico and South Africa will open a World Cup together, having drawn 1-1 in 2010 when Aguirre was also Mexico's coach. In both 2002 and 2010, Aguirre led Mexico to the Round of 16.

Further intertwining past and present, Ronald Koeman of the Netherlands has a World Cup goal to his name, scored via penalty in the 1990 Round of 16 against Germany. He also conceded a penalty in the group stage against Egypt's Hossam Hassan, who is now coaching his own national team in the current tournament. South Korea's Hong Myung-bo, a legend of the 2002 World Cup where he helped his team reach the semi-finals, will be participating in his seventh World Cup, having played in four and served as an assistant coach and head coach in subsequent tournaments. His World Cup playing career included goals against Spain and Germany in 1994.