O'Reilly, Khusanov and Cherki all tipped to shine in North America
The World Cup is almost here, and no team will see more of its players in action than Manchester City. No fewer than 19 Blues across 12 teams will feature at the tournament this summer, with all of the biggest names reporting for duty.
The prolific Erling Haaland is looking to help Norway live up to their status as many people's dark horse pick to mount a deep tournament run. A trio of City players, headed by central defender Ruben Dias, will be featuring for a Portugal team that's looking to give the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo the perfect send-off at the age of 41. But online betting sites make Rodri the most likely City player to enjoy this success.
The central midfielder is the captain of a Spanish team that the popular sports betting at Thunderpick platform makes the 9/2 favourite to win the World Cup this summer. Should La Roja do exactly that, then it will be the Blues midfield maestro who hoists the trophy in MetLife Stadium on July 19th. But what of City's younger stars?
A whopping seven of the 18 City players headed to North America this summer are aged 24 and under. Which of them could have the biggest roles to play despite their tender years? Let's take a look.
Nico O'Reilly | 21 | England
Nico O'Reilly has enjoyed a stellar breakout year. The 21-year-old featured 53 times for City this season and popped up in some crucial moments, none more so than his stunning brace in the League Cup final victory against Arsenal. He played over 4,000 minutes for City last season, a tally only bettered by the talismanic Haaland, and now, he is poised to be England's starting left back at the World Cup.
Manager Thomas Tuchel has placed a huge amount of faith in young O'Reilly, opting to leave the experienced Luke Shaw and Arsenal's teenage Premier League winner Myles Lewis-Skelley at home, placing all his chips on the 21-year-old to deliver the goods when it matters the most. The City star has proven under outgoing boss Pep Guardiola that he is talented with the ball at his feet, capable of stepping into midfield in an inverted full-back role, and capable of running beyond the opposition defence and into the penalty area, just as he did when netting twice to win the League Cup.
It's that presence in the penalty area that has likely triggered Tuchel to give him the nod. O'Reilly stands at 6 ft 4 and is a menace in both penalty areas, equally capable of both defending his own goal from an aerial bombardment and providing a goal threat from attacking set pieces. With very few other left-back options in Tuchel's squad, the pressure is on to deliver. Luckily, he has done that and more for over a year now.
Abdukodir Khusanov | 22 | Uzbekistan
Many City fans were wondering why exactly Pep Guardiola spent some €40m on unknown Uzbek defender Abdukodir Khusanov 18 months ago. The former Lens man endured a miserable debut against Chelsea when he first arrived, making an error that led to a goal and receiving a yellow card all within the first ten minutes. The only way was up from that moment on, but no City supporter expected his rise to be so sudden.
The 22-year-old has shone at the Etihad Stadium, looking assured both in the air and in duels on the ground. He played more than any other City defender throughout the course of the 2025/26 season, ahead of established names such as Ruben Dias and John Stones. Now, however, he has a herculean task ahead of him.
Khusanov was one of the main reasons why Uzbekistan qualified for the World Cup for the first time ever. Their entire qualification campaign was based on him being a rock at the heart of the defence, and that's exactly what he proved to be. The White Wolves conceded just seven goals throughout the second round of AFC qualifiers, the second lowest of anybody. When you're managed by former World Cup and Ballon d'Or-winning defender Fabio Cannavaro, perhaps that should be expected.
Still, the Uzbeks have a huge mountain to climb this summer if they are to make much of an impression on the World Cup. They have been drawn into a testing group alongside both Portugal and Colombia, and Khusanov will have to remain watertight at the back if his side is to have any form of success.
Rayan Cherki | 22 | France
France has reached the last two World Cup finals, winning the first in Russia in 2018 before losing to Argentina four years later. They head to North America as genuine contenders, as ever, with the bookies positioning them right behind favourites Spain at 5/1. However, this team is a team in transition.
Antoine Griezmann has been the glue that held Les Bleus together throughout recent tournaments, thriving in attacking midfield and creating opportunity after opportunity for the mercurial Kylian Mbappe. However, at the age of 35, he is now retired from international football, and young City star Rayan Cherki could be poised to inherit his throne.
The former Lyon man has proven to be a revelation in his first season at the Etihad, providing ten goals and a mighty 15 assists throughout an incredible maiden campaign. Now, he could well be tasked with morphing into that Grizou role behind Mbappe. Luckily, the veteran former Atletico Madrid man has laid the blueprint for Cherki to follow, and if his blistering form in Manchester is anything to go by, the 22-year-old should be able to follow it to a tee.