Rashford, used in most World Cup games as a sub
England’s Marcus Rashford became during the World Cup 2026 the competition’s new record holder for the most appearances (12) as a substitute. He added another 3 such games to 9 he had in editions of 2018 and 2022 combined.
Rashford beat the previous record of Denilson who came on as a sub in 11 Brazil games in 1998 and 2002.
| WORLD CUP | MOST GAMES | AS | SUBSTITUTE | |
| Player | Country | Games | By Edition | |
| 1 | Marcus Rashford | England | 12 | 2018(5), 2022(4), 2026(3) |
| 2 | Denilson | Brazil | 11 | 1998(6), 2002(5) |
| 3 | Oliver Neuville | Germany | 9 | 2002(2), 2006(7) |
| 4 | Rafael Leão | Portugal | 9 | 2022(5), 2026(4) |
| 5 | Romelu Lukaku | Belgium | 9 | 2014(2), 2022(2), 2026(5) |
| 6 | Pierre Littbarski | Germany | 8 | 1982(1), 1986(4), 1990(3) |
| 7 | Cesc Fàbregas | Spain | 8 | 2006(2), 2010(4), 2014(2) |
| 8 | Ramires | Brazil | 8 | 2010(3), 2014(5) |