Watch Spotting: The Wild Watches Of World Cup 2026

Contents

Lionel Messi — Argentina — Rolex Day-Date ref. 228235JG in Jubilee Gold with Aventurine Dial
Harry Kane — England — Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5810/1G-001
Cristiano Ronaldo — Portugal — Rolex Aftermarket “Rainbow” Mother-of-Pearl Daytona ref. 116528
Anthony Gordon — England — Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Chronograph ref. 5271/11P-010 (Platinum with Sapphires)
Kylian Mbappé — France — Hublot Big Bang Integral
Mauricio Pochettino — U.S.A. (Manager) — IWC Ingenieur Perpetual Calendar 41 ref. IW344904
Lionel Messi — Argentina — Rolex Day-Date ref. 128239-0083 (White gold, natural turquoise stone dial, baguette blue sapphire markers)
Cristiano Ronaldo — Portugal — Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5811/1460G
Achraf Hakimi — Morocco — Patek Philippe Aquanaut 7968/300R-001
Kevin De Bruyne — Belgium — Vacheron Constantin Complete Calendar Openface ref. 4020T/000P-H038
Elliot Anderson — England — Rolex Daytona ref. 126506
Enzo Fernandez — Argentina — Audemars Piguet ref. 15510BC.OO.1320BC.01
Luka Modric — Croatia — Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5726/1A-014
Kevin De Bruyne — Belgium — Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon ref. 6000V/110A-B544
Kylian Mbappé — France — Hublot Big Bang Unico Mbappé Limited Edition
Vincenzo Montella — Türkiye (Manager) — Rolex Daytona ref. 116500LN
Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti — Morocco — Hublot Classic Fusion Titanium
Neymar Jr. — Brazil — Rolex Lady-Datejust ref. 279458RBR
Julian Nagelsmann — Germany (Manager) — Ingenieur Automatic 40
Nelson Semedo — Portugal — Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5712A
Didier Deschamps — France (Manager) — Hublot Big Bang Unico Sky Blue Ceramic
Harry Kane — England — Rolex Day-Date 36 “Puzzle” 128239
Mohamed Salah — Egypt — Richard Mille RM 67-02 Sébastien Ogier
Achraf Hakimi — Morocco — Patek Philippe Aquanaut ref. 5168G-010
Zlatan Ibrahimović — Audemars Piguet Code11.59 Tourbillon Onyx ref. 26396NB
Julian Nagelsmann — Germany (Manager) — IW389105
Noah Okafor – Switzerland – Audemars Piguet Double Balancier Openworked Ceramic Ref. 15416CE
Luka Modric — Croatia — Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5712R
Kylian Mbappé — France — Hublot Big Bang Unico King Gold
Luis de la Fuente — Spain (Manager) — IWC Pilot’s Watch Chronograph 41 TOP GUN Oceana
Antonio Rüdiger — Germany — Richard Mille RM 67-02 Sébastien Ogier
Ayoub El Kaabi — Morocco — Rolex Platinum Daytona ref. 116506
Ebere Eze — England — Casio F91W-1
Murat Yakin – Switzerland (Manager) — Cyrus Klepcys GMT Retrograde
Rodrigo De Paul – Argentina – Audemars Piguet Bamboo
Anthony Gordon — England — Patek Philippe Nautilus ref. 5990R
Vinicius Jr. — Brazil — Richard Mille RM 037
Didier Deschamps — France (Manager) — Hublot Big Bang Reloaded Blue Ceramic
Erling Haaland — Norway — Breitling Erling Haaland Signature Chronomat Automatic GMT 40
Luka Modric — Croatia — Rolex Daytona ref. 116519LN

Watch Spotting sports is hard. Unless you’re trawling through Instagram accounts and wire photo feeds looking, you’re not going to see a lot of watches at the World Cup. FIFA rules prohibit jewelry on the field during play. But then again, any footballer worth their salt has tens of millions of Instagram followers, so it’s easier to see what they’re wearing during the tournament.

Erling Haaland of Norway, a Breitling ambassador, of course, was wearing his Chronomat B01 Erling Haaland Limited Edition. *Getty Images.*

Like tens of millions of others, I’ve been drawn in by the World Cup. It’s been massively exciting, especially this year. And through it all, yes, I’ve been glancing at the wrists. My first Watch Spotting during the World Cup came while watching the match between Türkiye and the US at a small-town bar in Wisconsin (where it just so happened that a lot of the bar staff were from Türkiye, so shout out to Bayside in Fish Creek and the team, Omer, Ruki, and the rest). But the first thing I noticed was that the Turkish team’s Italian manager, Vincenzo Montella, was wearing a Patek 5905R. After cruising Getty, I also saw that, like any good Italian, he owns a Nautilus and a Daytona. So down the rabbit hole I went.

Türkiye’s manager, Vincenzo Montella, flashing his Patek Philippe 5905R. *Getty Images*.

Unsurprisingly, the teams that have stuck around the longest give us the most chances to see some different watches. There’s Kylian Mbappé, a Hublot ambassador, whose love of the brand seems to have spread to the team’s manager. The other factor is that the biggest stars have the biggest contracts, which means the blingiest watches. Managers are easier to spot, and it seems like IWC got on top of getting watches on a lot of managers’ wrists this year. Christian Pulisic from the U.S.A. wore a rare white-dialed Nautilus 5711 with a sapphire bezel, but sadly, that wasn’t available via Getty. But yes, there have been a lot of crazy watches at the World Cup this year, so to lead us into the semi-finals, let’s get after it.