Full history of father-son duos to play at World Cup, from Reynas to Haalands

The 2026 World Cup is the largest ever, so it's no surprise to see a sizable contingent of sons following in their fathers' footsteps at the event.

A total 14 players at the 2026 World Cup have also had their father play for a national team at the prestigious global soccer tournament. Not all of these father-son duos have played for the same country; and even fewer have both been high-end impact players for their respective teams.

Nonetheless, the family ties run deep at this year's World Cup. And nowhere are they more apparent than with the U.S. men's national team, which features two key, young players who have seen their fathers operate in sizable roles for the USMNT.

Here's what to know about the history of father-son duos at the World Cup and those that will be on display at the 2026 tournament.

Father-son duos at the World Cup

A total of 39 father-son pairings have before appeared in the World Cup. Below is a full list of the duos, listed alphabetically by the son's surname.

Research compiled via ESPN, among other resources.

• Mazinho (Brazil) and Thiago (Spain)
• Miguel Ángel Alonso and Xabi Alonso (Spain)
• Roy Andersson and Daniel Andersson (Sweden)
• Roy Andersson and Patrik Andersson (Sweden)
• Gregg Berhalter and Sebastian Berhalter (United States)
• Alexandre Guimaraes and Celso Borges (Costa Rica)
• Danny Blind and Daley Blind (Netherlands)
• Cha Bumkun and Cha Duri (Republic of Korea)
• Sérgio Conceição and Francisco Conceição (Portugal)
• Domingos da Guia and Ademir da Guia (Brazil)
• Jean Djorkaeff and Youri Djorkaeff (France)
• Joseph Elanga (Cameroon) and Anthony Elanga (Sweden)
• Pablo Forlan and Diego Forlan (Uruguay)
• Bryan Gunn and Angus Gunn (Scotland)
• Alfe Inge Haaland and Erling Haaland (Norway)
• Javier Hernández and Javier Hernández (Mexico)
• Patrick Kluivert and Justin Kluivert (Netherlands)
• Ján Kozák (Czechoslovakia) and Ján Kozák (Slovakia)
• Lee Eul-Yong and Lee Tae-Seok (South Korea)
• Anders Linderoth and Tobias Linderoth (Sweden)
• Nicolae Lupescu and Ioan Lupescu (Romania)
• Cesare Maldini and Paolo Maldini (Italy)
• Julio Montero Castillo and Paolo Montero (Uruguay)
• Pablo Paz and Nico Paz (Argentina)
• Luis Perez and Mario Perez (Mexico)
• Miguel Reina and Pepe Reina (Spain)
• Claudio Reyna and Gio Reyna (United States)
• Roger Rio and Patrice Rio (France)
• Manuel Sanchis and Manolo Sanchis (Spain)
• Peter Schmeichel and Kasper Schmeichel (Denmark)
• Gøran Sørloth and Alexander Sørloth (Norway)
• Diego Simeone and Giuliano Simeone (Argentina)
• Włodzimierz Smolarek and Ebi Smolarek (Poland)
• Erik Thorstvedt and Kristian Thorstvedt (Norway)
• Lilian Thuram and Marcus Thuram (France)
• Martí Vantolrà (Spain) and José Vantolrá (Mexico)
• Jan Verheyen and Gert Verheyen (Belgium)
• Vladimír Weiss (Czechoslovakia) and Vladimír Weiss (Slovakia)
• Zinedine Zidane (France) and Luca Zidane (Algeria)

Sweden's Roy Andersson is the only World Cup player to have multiple sons appear in the tournament. Patrik appeared in seven games in the 1994 World Cup while his younger son, Daniel, made one appearance across two tournament selections in 2002 and 2006.

Father-son duos appearing at 2026 World Cup

Among the 39 father-son pairings in World Cup history, 14 are represented at the 2026 tournament. That includes two on the USMNT.

Here's more to know about each duo:

Claudio Reyna and Gio Reyna (United States)

Claudio made it to four World Cups for the United States, logging 10 appearances across those tournaments. He never scored at a World Cup but logged eight total goals across 112 career international caps.

Gio is appearing in his second World Cup in 2026. After a trying time at the 2022 tournament in Qatar, the 23-year-old scored his first World Cup goal in the USMNT's 4-1 win over Paraguay, before revealing in a post-score celebration he and his wife were expecting a child.

Gregg Berhalter and Sebastian Berhalter (United States)

Gregg made two appearances in the 2002 World Cup but is better known for leading the USMNT into battle during the 2022 World Cup. He was the first United States player to later become a coach for the team.

The elder Berhalter has since been replaced by Mauricio Pochettino, but his son – Sebastian – is on the 2026 World Cup roster. He appeared in each of the USMNT's first two group stage wins.

Alf-Inge Haaland and Erling Haaland (Norway)

Two of the elder Haaland's 34 career international caps came during the 1994 World Cup with Norway. The hybrid right-back-slash-midfielder never managed a goal in international competition.

By comparison, the younger Haaland is already Norway's all-time leading scorer. The 25-year-old notched two goals in his first World Cup match – a 4-1 win over Iraq – and will be looking to key his country on a dark-horse run to a tournament title.

Erik Thorstvedt and Kristian Thorstvedt (Norway)

Haaland isn't the only Norwegian national player to be following in his father's footsteps. Kristian Thorstvedt is doing the same, as his father, Erik, made three appearances as a keeper at the 1994 World Cup – part of his 96 appearances for the national team.

The younger Thorstvedt appeared in Norway's first World Cup game as a substitute. He did not score but has four goals in 38 international appearances for his country.

Gøran Sørloth and Alexander Sørloth (Norway)

Here's one more Norwegian connection for this year's World Cup! Gøran played one match during the 1994 World Cup while his son Alexander made his World Cup debut against Iraq.

A Sørloth has yet to score a World Cup goal, but Alexander – who has 26 goals in 73 caps – will look to change that as Norway remains in contention.

Zinedine Zidane (France) and Luca Zidane (Algeria)

Just five father-son World Cup duos have played for different countries. The Zidanes are one of them, as Zinedine was a star for France while his son opted to represent Algeria in international competition.

Zinedine notably scored in France's 1998 World Cup final win over Brazil and also notched a goal in the 2006 World Cup Final. However, he was also given a red card in the latter contest for his infamous headbutt of Italy's Marco Materazzi in the match's 110th minute.

The younger Zidane has only appeared in one World Cup match to date. The 28-year-old keeper made three saves but allowed three goals to Lionel Messi in Algeria's 3-0 loss to Argentina.

Joseph Elanga (Cameroon) and Anthony Elanga (Sweden)

Like the Zidanes, the Elangas are also representing different countries. The elder Elanga was included on Cameroon's 1998 World Cup roster but did not log an appearance in the tournament.

His son has had better luck with Sweden, scoring in his World Cup debut against Tunisia and appearing in both of the country's games. The 24-year-old has already scored seven times for his country across 32 appearances.

Bryan Gunn and Angus Gunn (Scotland)

Here's the lone father-son keeper duo at the World Cup. The elder Gunn served as a backup goalie for Scotland during the 1990 World Cup while his son was tapped to start for the Tartan Army during the 2026 tournament.

The younger Gunn has comported himself well at the 2026 tournament, conceding just one goal while making three saves across two matches to date. He will get a big-time test during Scotland's final group stage game against Brazil as the country looks to advance to the knockout stage.

Sérgio Conceição and Francisco Conceição (Portugal)

Sérgio managed 12 goals across 56 international appearances for Portugal but was unable to score in his three appearances at the 2002 World Cup.

Francisco made his first appearance at the 2026 World Cup in Portugal's draw against Congo. He entered the game as a substitute in at halftime and logged 0.53 expected assists.

Lee Eul-Yong and Lee Tae-Seok (South Korea)

The elder Lee made four appearances across two World Cups in 2002 and 2006. His son made his debut against Czechia, posting 0.45 expected goals across 69 minutes before remaining on the bench in South Korea's 1-0 loss to Mexico.

Lilian Thuram and Marcus Thuram (France)

Lilian appeared in three World Cups for France (1998, 2002 and 2006). He scored both of his goals in his country's 2-1 win over Croatia in the 1998 World Cup semifinals, paving the way to the country's first World Cup win.

The younger Thuram appeared in five matches at the 2022 World Cup but hasn't yet suited up for France – the tournament favorites – in 2026.

Patrick Kluivert and Justin Kluivert (Netherlands)

Justin has yet to play in the 2026 World Cup for Netherlands, but he is a part of its roster. His father, Patrick, made four appearances for the country in the 1998 World Cup.

Diego Simeone and Giuliano Simeone (Argentina)

Giuliano is in a similar boat to Justin Kluivert. He is a member of Argentina's 2026 roster but hasn't yet seen the pitch. His father, Diego, made 11 appearances across three World Cups for his country.

Pablo Paz and Nico Paz (Argentina)

Here's another father-son combination for Argentina. Pablo was on the Argentine squad for the 1998 World Cup while Nico drew into the 2026 side.