As I’m sure many of you are aware, Greece are not travelling to compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico this summer – 12 years of hurt and counting.

There are, however, players from the Greek Super League who will be representing their nation.

By some miracle, there are 11 of them – plus on-loan Panathinaikos goalkeeper Alban Lafont – which means I can create a starting XI of players who will be at the biggest tournament in world sport and who also play their club football in Greece.

Due to Lafont being on loan and this XI being made up of players who are permanently at their respective clubs, he only gets an honourable mention.

The formation will be a 3-4-1-2, and to be clear, it is not a very balanced team. But we will get to that…

GK: Moisés Ramírez – Kifisia

We start from back to front, with goalkeeper Moisés Ramírez.

The first of three players from Kifisia, Ramírez kept eight clean sheets in 28 league matches as he helped his side secure their safety in the Greek Super League.

While not Ecuador’s No. 1 between the sticks, the 25-year-old makes our starting XI. 

LCB: Abdul Baba Rahman – PAOK

Onto the centre-back trio, and we begin with a player who isn’t actually a central defender, and he won’t be the last.

Baba Rahman, while not quite as prolific in front of goal in 2025/26 as he was the previous season, still clocked nearly four thousand minutes for PAOK as his side finished third.

The 31-year-old’s impressive club form means he has been selected for the first time in three years to play for Ghana at this summer’s World Cup.

CB: Dylan Batubinsika – AEL

The only outright centre-back in the three-man defence, so if this team ever did play together in real life, they would ship a boatload of goals.

Dylan Batubinsika spent the first half of the 2025/26 season at Saint-Étienne in Ligue 2, primarily playing for the club’s B team in the third tier before joining AEL in January 2026.

Part of a defence that only won twice throughout the remainder of the campaign and got relegated, Batubinsika will be representing DR Congo.

RCB: Jorge Sánchez –  PAOK

Making up a defensive line with two PAOK players out of three, we come to Jorge Sánchez.

A January signing from Cruz Azul, Sánchez, who has actually played as many professional matches this season at right midfield as he has at full-back, had a solid half-season in Thessaloniki.

He will seemingly be the starter on the right side of the defence for Mexico at this summer’s tournament.

CDM: Orbelín Pineda –  AEK Athens

Staying with Mexico, but moving onto the midfield, next is arguably one of the players of the season in Greece.

Orbelín Pineda was ever-present during AEK’s title-winning campaign, and he was one of the key reasons Enosis lifted their 14th league crown.

The 30-year-old was instrumental in the early stages of the campaign, turning draws into victories when AEK were struggling to score consistently and, along with Răzvan Marin, made the strongest midfield pairing in the Super League.

If Pineda replicates his club form with one of the World Cup co-hosts, there could be suitors for him in this coming transfer window.

CDM: Samuel Moutoussamy – Atromitos

The second, and not the last, player from DR Congo is Samuel Moutoussamy.

Having joined Atromitos from Sivasspor last summer, the 29-year-old played an important part in his club’s season.

He racked up nearly 2,500 minutes as the Peristeri side narrowly missed out on the European play-offs and had a comfortable relegation play-outs campaign.

A big part of DR Congo’s midfield, Moutoussamy joins Pineda as the duo in the middle of the park.

CAM: Gaël Kakuta – AEL

Moving on to the last DR Congo international in the starting XI, experienced attacking midfielder Gaël Kakuta can also play on both wings, but I settled with the position he has featured in most this season.

Having joined AEL in January from Sakaryaspor, the Crimsons became the 34-year-old’s 18th club of his career.

With limited minutes, Kakuta failed to help AEL maintain their status in the Super League, but he still managed to earn his spot on the plane to the World Cup. 

RW: Facundo Pellistri – Panathinaikos

On to the forward line now, and we start on the right flank.

Facundo Pellistri has had an inconsistent time at Panathinaikos since joining in the summer of 2024.

A versatile player who has featured at attacking midfield, left and right wing, the latter of which I have placed him in this XI, the former Manchester United talent has been a victim of injury and the revolving door of managers at Prasini since he joined.

He only played just over 1,000 minutes and registered no goals and two assists this season.

Pellistri was still called up to Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay squad, and it remains to be seen how much impact he will have on their campaign.

LW: Jeremy Antonisse – Kifisia

On the opposite flank is Jeremy Antonisse. The Dutch-born Curaçao international joined Kifisia last summer.

While not a player with a huge output attacking-wise, he has had a solid campaign in Athens, helping this side comfortably stay up in the Super League.

With Curaçao making their World Cup debut, he and his international teammates will want to make a big impression in their maiden campaign.

ST: Mehdi Taremi – Olympiacos

The penultimate player in our 11, Taremi joined Olympiacos from Italian giants Inter last summer.

The Iranian international primarily played as a No. 10/shadow striker during Thrylos’s campaign, with his most memorable goals coming in the UEFA Champions League against Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen.

He had a less productive second half of the season, but still ended the campaign with a very respectable return of 16 goals and six assists in all competitions.

As the captain and primary goal threat for Iran, the 33-year-old, despite the political difficulties surrounding his national team at the World Cup, will be their star man at the tournament.

ST: Ayoub El Kaabi – Olympiacos

Last, but certainly not least, in the XI is Ayoub El Kaabi.

One of the greatest strikers Olympiacos has had in the modern era, the Moroccan has been an ever-present goal threat for Thrylos since his arrival in the summer of 2024.

He played a vital part in his side’s UEFA Conference League victory by scoring the winner in the final and finishing as the competition’s top scorer, while also helping to win the league and cup double in 2024/25. 

The 32-year-old started strong in his third season at the Piraeus side, although he had a poor end to the campaign, much like Taremi.

He was the Super League top scorer despite this, and will hope to find his form again for Morocco when their campaign kicks off.

So that is the starting XI of Greek Super League players who are due to feature at the 2026 World Cup.

While it is a flawed, attack-heavy, and an unbalanced team, it is quite hilarious that an XI of players could be made to fit into a full team in the first place.

The biggest representation from one continent was Africa with five players, and interestingly, none from Europe. 

To finish, every team requires a manager, and I believe we have the perfect man for the job:

Manager: Georgios Donis – Saudi Arabia

Okay, this is technically cheating, but it is still a fun way to end.

The first Greek to manage a team at the World Cup since Ange Postecoglou in 2014 with Australia, Donis took charge of Saudi Arabia a couple of months ago, replacing Hervé Renard.

Having managed Saudi Pro League side Al-Khaleej, which featured ex-Super League players like Kostas Fortounis, Dimitrios Kourbelis, Bart Schenkeveld, Giorgos Masouras and Paolo Fernandes, Donis seemed to impress enough to land the national team job.

He also has the prestigious honour of taking them to the biggest competition in the sport.

I am sure he is also being paid handsomely for his troubles too.