[Saba Sports News] Based on official FIFA documents and data from Transfermarkt, a statistics agency has compiled the average height rankings of the 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup.
Norway and Bosnia and Herzegovina share first place with an average height of 1.872 metres, while Saudi Arabia is the shortest side at 1.784 metres. Saudi Arabia’s full-backs are generally under 1.80 metres tall, with Saud Abdulhamid standing at just 1.71 metres, a major reason for the team’s low average height.
Panama midfielder César Yanis is only 1.60 metres tall, whereas England defender Daniel Burn reaches 2.01 metres. The height difference between them is 41 centimetres, which would set a new World Cup record if they face each other on the pitch. The previous record stood at 39 centimetres, set between Nikola Žigić of Serbia and Mohamed Koné of Ivory Coast at the 2006 World Cup. Panama will take on England in the final group-stage match, making a head-to-head between the two players highly likely.
In my view, a team’s strength in the World Cup is ultimately judged by tactical execution and collective performance rather than physical stats. This ranking is merely a talking point and a reference for match preparation, not an indicator of the final results.