2026 World Cup Set-Piece Takers: Penalties, Corners & Free Kicks by Team
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will feature the deepest collection of elite set-piece talent in tournament history. Lionel Messi will handle Argentina's free kicks, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane lead the spot-kick orders for France and England, and Cristiano Ronaldo, Mohamed Salah, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Son Heung-Min all step up as their nations' primary set-piece takers.
For DFS lineups, anytime-goalscorer props and fantasy drafts, knowing exactly who's on the ball at every dead-ball set piece is one of the highest-leverage edges you can build before kickoff.
Below is a complete breakdown of expected penalty takers, corner takers and free kick specialists for all 48 teams, organized by group from Group A through Group L. We'll update this page throughout the tournament as roles shift, injuries land and managers rotate squads.
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*We'll be updating this article throughout the tournament and are including corners taken in parentheses after each player's name.
Top 10 Penalty Takers at the 2026 World Cup
- Lionel Messi (Argentina): Argentina's primary free-kick taker as the defending champion chases a second straight title.
- Kylian Mbappe (France): France's go-to penalty option and one of the most reliable converters at international level.
- Harry Kane (England): Tournament-tested and the most prolific penalty scorer of any 2026 contender.
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal): Portugal's all-time leading scorer is still on penalties heading into his final World Cup.
- Mohamed Salah (Egypt): Egypt's sole penalty taker and the focal point of every attacking phase.
- Erling Haaland (Norway): Norway's first option from the spot in their first World Cup since 1998.
- Memphis Depay (Netherlands): Still the master of the set piece and penalty for Netherlands.
- Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain): Even with Lamine Yamal on the pitch, Oyarzabal may have the leg up on Spain penalties.
- Son Heung-Min (South Korea): Captain, talisman and South Korea's reliable free-kick option.
- Christian Pulisic (USA): The host nation's primary penalty taker leading the USMNT into a home World Cup.
See the full breakdown of penalty, corner and free kick takers for all 48 teams below.
2026 World Cup Set-Piece Takers: Penalty, Corner and Free Kick Takers by Team
Group A
| Team | Penalties | Corners and Free Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | Raul Jimenez, Orbelin Pineda | Alexis Vega, Roberto Alvarado, Hirving Lozano, Brian Gutierrez, Gilberto Mora, Efrain Alvarez, Alexis Gutierrez |
| South Africa | Oswin Appollis, Lyle Foster | Oswin Appollis, Teboho Mokoena, Relebohile Mofokeng, Aubrey Modiba, Sipho Mbule, Tshepang Moremi |
| South Korea | Son Heung-Min, Hwang Hee-Chan | Son Heung-Min, Lee Kang-In, Hwang In-Beom, Tae-Seok Lee, Min-hyeok Yang, Jin-Gyu Kim |
| Czechia (Czech Republic) | Patrik Schick, Tomas Soucek, Tomas Chory | Vladimir Coufal, David Jurasek, Lukas Provod, Adam Karabec, Vasil Kusej, Vaclav Cerny |
Group B
| Team | Penalties | Corners and Free Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | Jonathan David | Mathieu Choiniere, Jonathan Osorio, Stephen Eustaquio, Ali Ahmed, Marcelo Flores, David Junior Hoilett, Jacob Shaffelburg |
| Qatar | Akram Afif, Almoez Ali | Akram Afif, Edmilson Junior, Homam Ahmed, Mohammed Waad |
| Switzerland | Granit Xhaka, Breel Embolo, Zeki Amdouni | Ruben Vargas, Fabian Rieder, Michel Aebischer, Djibril Sow, Alvyn Sanches |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | Kerim Alajbegovic, Amir Hadziahmetovic | Kerim Alajbegovic, Esmir Bajraktarevic, Ivan Basic, Amar Dedic |
Group C
| Team | Penalties | Corners and Free Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Raphinha, Igor Thiago, Lucas Paqueta | Raphinha, Bruno Guimaraes, Vinicius Junior, Matheus Cunha, Lucas Paqueta |
| Morocco | Brahim Diaz, Achraf Hakimi, Soufiane Rahimi | Achraf Hakimi, Ez Abde, Brahim Diaz, Eliesse Ben Seghir |
| Haiti | Duckens Nazon, Wilson Isidor, Mondy Prunier | Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Louicius Deedson, Josue Casimir, Ruben Providence, Leverton Pierre |
| Scotland | Scott McTominay, John McGinn | John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson, Andrew Robertson, Ryan Christie, Billy Gilmour |
Group D
| Team | Penalties | Corners and Free Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun | Christian Pulisic, Sebastian Berhalter, Malik Tillman, Antonee Robinson, John Tolkin, Giovanni Reyna |
| Paraguay | Julio Enciso, Diego Gomez, Miguel Almiron | Diego Gomez, Julio Enciso, Miguel Almiron, Mauricio, Ramon Sosa |
| Australia | Martin Boyle, Ajdin Hrustic, Nestory Irankunda | Martin Boyle, Nestory Irankunda, Ajdin Hrustic, Awer Mabil, Ryan Teague, Conor Metcalfe, Callum Elder |
| Turkiye (Turkey) | Hakan Calhanoglu, Kerem Akturkoglu | Hakan Calhanoglu, Arda Guler, Orkun Kokcu |
Group E
| Team | Penalties | Corners and Free Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | Kai Havertz, Joshua Kimmich | Joshua Kimmich, David Raum, Florian Wirtz, Kai Havertz, Angelo Stiller, Pascal Gross |
| Curacao | Leandro Bacuna, Jordi Paulina, Rangelo Janga | Leandro Bacuna, Jeremy Antonisse, Juninho Bacuna, Brandley Kuwas, Gervane Kastaneer |
| Ivory Coast | Franck Kessie, Ibrahim Sangare, Evann Guessand | Amad Diallo, Franck Kessie, Yan Diomande, Wilfried Zaha, Simon Adingra, Benie Traore, Nicolas Pepe |
| Ecuador | Enner Valencia, Jordy Caicedo, Kendry Paez | Moises Caicedo, Jordy Alcivar, Pedro Vite, Nilson Angulo, Kendry Paez, Pervis Estupinan, Gonzalo Plata, John Yeboah |
Group F
| Team | Penalties | Corners and Free Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | Memphis Depay, Cody Gakpo, Wout Weghorst | Memphis Depay, Cody Gakpo, Teun Koopmeiners, Tijjani Reijnders, Justin Kluivert |
| Japan | Ayase Ueda, Ritsu Doan, Junya Ito | Takefusa Kubo, Junya Ito, Kaishu Sano, Yuito Suzuki, Ryunosuke Sato |
| Tunisia | Ali Abdi, Mohamed Ali Ben Romdhane, Ismael Gharbi | Hannibal Mejbri, Ali Abdi, Ismael Gharbi, Elias Saad |
| Sweden | Viktor Gyokeres, Alexander Isak | Benjamin Nygren, Yasin Ayari, Anthony Elanga, Emil Forsberg |
Group G
| Team | Penalties | Corners and Free Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Youri Tielemans | Kevin De Bruyne, Youri Tielemans, Leandro Trossard, Maxim De Cuyper |
| Egypt | Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush | Mohamed Salah, Omar Marmoush, Zizo, Hossam Abdelmaguid |
| Iran | Mehdi Taremi, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh | Saman Ghoddos, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Omid Noorafkan, Mehdi Ghayedi |
| New Zealand | Chris Wood, Ben Waine | Tim Payne, Jesse Randall, Elijah Just, Sarpreet Singh, Francis de Vries, Callum McCowatt, Marko Stamenic |
Group H
| Team | Penalties | Corners and Free Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| Spain | Mikel Oyarzabal, Lamine Yamal, Rodri | Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Nico Williams, Alex Baena, Alejandro Grimaldo, Pedro Porro, Yeremy Pino, Dani Olmo |
| Cape Verde | Dailon Livramento, Ryan Mendes, Garry Rodrigues | Jamiro Monteiro, Laros Duarte, Sidny Lopes Cabral, Ryan Mendes, Helio Varela |
| Saudi Arabia | Salem Al-Dawsari, Firas Al Buraikan, Musab Al-Juwayr | Salem Al-Dawsari, Musab Al-Juwayr, Saleh Abu Al-Shamat, Salman Al-Faraj, Sultan Al-Ghannam |
| Uruguay | Federico Valverde, Darwin Nunez | Giorgian De Arrascaeta, Federico Valverde, Rodrigo Zalazar, Juan Sanabria, Brian Rodriguez |
Group I
| Team | Penalties | Corners and Free Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| France | Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Antoine Griezmann | Michael Olise, Rayan Cherki, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Maghnes Akliouche, Kylian Mbappe |
| Senegal | Sadio Mane, Nicolas Jackson, Ismaila Sarr | Ismail Jakobs, Krepin Diatta, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Lamine Camara |
| Norway | Erling Haaland | Martin Odegaard, Julian Ryerson, Kristian Thorstvedt, Oscar Bobb |
| Iraq | Aymen Hussein, Amir Al-Ammari | Amir Al-Ammari, Ali Jasim, Hasan Abdulkareem |
Group J
Group K
| Team | Penalties | Corners and Free Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| Portugal | Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo | Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Nuno Mendes, Pedro Neto, Francisco Conceicao |
| Uzbekistan | Otabek Shukurov, Eldor Shomurodov | Abbosbek Fayzullaev, Otabek Shukurov, Jamshid Iskandarov, Jaloliddin Masharipov, Aziz Ganiyev |
| Colombia | James Rodriguez, Luis Diaz | James Rodriguez, Jhon Arias, Jaminton Campaz, Juan Quintero, Yaser Asprilla |
| DR Congo | Yoane Wissa, Cedric Bakambu, Gael Kakuta | Arthur Masuaku, Theo Bongonda, Nathanael Mbuku, Yoane Wissa, Brian Cipenga |
Group L
| Team | Penalties | Corners and Free Kicks |
|---|---|---|
| England | Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford | Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Reece James |
| Croatia | Luka Modric, Ante Budimir, Ivan Perisic, Andrej Kramaric | Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, Martin Baturina, Lovro Majer, Mario Pasalic, Nikola Moro |
| Ghana | Jordan Ayew | Jordan Ayew, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Ernest Nuamah, Derrick Kohn |
| Panama | Eric Davis, Adalberto Carrasquilla, Cecilio Waterman | Eric Davis, Adalberto Carrasquilla, Michael Amir Murillo, Yoel Barcenas, Jose Luis Rodriguez, Alberto Quintero |
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The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Adam Zdroik plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: zdroik, DraftKings: rotozdroik, Yahoo: StreakMaster.
