Ladies, drop what you’re doing.
It’s time for our once-every-four-years drool fest.
The World Cup has once again delivered a fresh crop of soccer heartthrobs for us to shamelessly ogle over the next month and this year’s line-up is particularly strong.
From tattooed strikers to chiseled center-backs, the world’s biggest sporting stage is packed with men who can get pulses racing before they’ve even touched the ball.
Of course, a pair of powerful thighs and a set of toned abs never hurt anyone. David Beckham’s recent Boss underwear campaign remains one of the finest arguments for sport ever produced.
But while researching this very important piece of journalism, I discovered something unexpected. The World Cup’s hottest players aren’t just easy on the eye. Many of them have the kind of backstories that make you want to throw your dating apps into the ocean and start attending soccer matches instead.
Because while we all appreciate a good set of abs, what we really love is a man with a heart-warming story to go with them.
So if soccer has never really been your thing, buckle up. These men aren’t just lust-worthy. They’re green-flag certified.
I did a little digging, and it turns out that there are even more reasons to fall in love with soccer – and with its stars – this World Cup
Christian Pulisic, Winger and Attacking Midfielder, USA
His nickname is ‘Captain America’ and, after falling down a Christian Pulisic rabbit hole, I’ve decided it’s entirely justified.
What surprised me most was how little interest he seems to have in behaving like a superstar.
Despite being one of the most recognizable soccer players in the United States, I kept finding stories about the work he’s doing to help kids access the game that changed his own life.
Through the Christian Pulisic Legacy Program, he has helped create soccer pitches and opportunities for children in underserved communities, giving thousands of kids a safe place to play who might otherwise never have had the chance.
Christian Pulisic’s nickname is ‘Captain America’
He seems genuinely aware that soccer opened doors for him and wants other kids to have the same opportunity.
In a tournament full of bad boys, mysterious Europeans and men who look like they own at least one leather bracelet, Captain America is giving dependable boyfriend energy.
The fact that he also looks like the handsome American boyfriend in a Netflix rom-com is just showing off. Lucky for ladies everywhere, he’s single, having recently split up from his girlfriend.
And yes, those brown eyes are doing an extraordinary amount of community service.
Lionel Messi, Right Winger, Argentina
Of course, Messi is on the list. Settle in because it’s quite the love story.
Before Messi became arguably the greatest soccer player who ever lived, he was a shy little boy in Rosario, Argentina, hopelessly smitten with a girl named Antonela Roccuzzo.
Of course, Messi is on the list
He reportedly told anyone who would listen that she would one day be his girlfriend. Then at 13, Barcelona came calling and he moved to Spain.
Most childhood crushes disappear after something like that. This one didn’t.
Years later, after the fame and the billions of fans, they reconnected and fell madly in love. In an ending worthy of a Hallmark TV movie plot, they ended up getting married and having three sons.
In a world full of men who require three to five business days to reply to a text, there is something profoundly attractive about a man who never forgot his first love.
Jude Bellingham, Attacking Midfielder, England
Reader, I fear I may be in love.
If the World Cup were a giant dating app, Jude Bellingham would be the man causing the servers to crash.
His famous goal celebration, where he stands perfectly still with his arms stretched wide as an entire stadium loses its mind around him, has become one of soccer’s most recognizable images. Most men would look ridiculous attempting it. Jude somehow makes it look iconic. He’s defied the ‘ick!’
If the World Cup were a giant dating app, Jude Bellingham would be the man causing the servers to crash
The reason I’ve become slightly obsessed with him, however, has less to do with soccer and more to do with his family.
When Jude moved to Germany as a teenager to pursue his career, his mother Denise packed up her life and moved with him so he wouldn’t be navigating a foreign country alone. His father stayed behind in England with Jude’s younger brother Jobe, which meant the family spent years making sacrifices so both sons could chase their dreams.
Again and again, he speaks about his parents, the support they gave him and the opportunities they created for him.
After winning the Champions League with Real Madrid, one of the biggest trophies in world soccer, he handed his winner’s medal to his mother. All together now: ‘Awwww.’
There is something incredibly attractive about a young man who becomes rich, famous and adored by millions, yet still seems determined to make his parents proud.
Unfortunately for us all, he’s taken, currently dating influencer Ashlyn Castro.
Kai Havertz, Striker/Forward, Germany
Kai Havertz is responsible for one of my favorite discoveries during this entire research process.
The discovery was a donkey. Actually, several donkeys.
Havertz is known for his love of animals and in March 2023 established the Kai Havertz-Stiftung foundation, which supports both vulnerable people and animal welfare projects.
Kai Havertz is responsible for one of my favorite discoveries during this entire research process
Among the causes closest to his heart are rescue centers caring for neglected and abandoned donkeys, which is not a sentence I expected to write when I started researching the hottest soccer players at the World Cup.
The more I read, the more charming it became. Apparently, Havertz often visits animal sanctuaries because he finds being around animals calming, particularly when soccer becomes overwhelming. While many elite athletes carefully cultivate an image – or get carried away with girls and cars – there is something refreshingly genuine about a man whose happy place appears to involve rescue donkeys.
And if you’re wondering whether loving animals makes a man more attractive, the answer is yes.
All together now, ladies… swoon. But don’t get too excited. Like Messi, Havertz married German model Sophia Weber, a childhood friend, in July 2024.
Kylian Mbappé, Forward, France
No, it’s not just the sexy French accent that is making women go weak at the knees for this handsome sportsman.
At 19, after winning the World Cup, he donated his entire tournament bonus – reportedly hundreds of thousands of dollars – to a charity supporting disabled and hospitalized children.
No, it’s not just the sexy French accent that is making women go week at the knees for Kylian Mbappé
But that’s not all – Mbappé visits the children. Regularly.
The image most people have of him is a superstar sprinting past defenders at impossible speed. The image I can’t shake is a teenager who suddenly had more money than he could spend and decided children needed it more.
Of course, this generous gent is rumored to be dating 26-year-old Spanish actress Ester Exposito.
Son Heung-min, Left Winger/Striker, South Korea
If you haven’t already fallen down a Son Heung-min rabbit hole on TikTok, then clear your afternoon.
There’s the clip of him walking out for a match and noticing the tiny mascot beside him shivering in the cold. Without missing a beat, he takes off his jacket and puts it on her. Hearts melted.
Then there’s the one where it starts pouring with rain before kick-off and he cups both hands over the little boy walking out with him to keep him dry. What is it about a man being kind to a child that makes us all a little giddy?
If you haven’t already fallen down a Son Heung-min rabbit hole on TikTok, then clear your afternoon
He’s also donated hundreds of thousands to disaster relief in South Korea and funded a soccer academy in his hometown so young players would have opportunities he never had.
Kind, good looking humble and apparently incapable of walking past a cold child without doing something about it. That adorable smile is really just the cherry on top.
And good news for singles everywhere: Heung-min appears to be single.
Alphonso Davies, Left-Back/Winger/Wing-Back, Canada
Every World Cup needs a hero, and Alphonso Davies arrives with one of the most extraordinary stories in the tournament. He was born in a refugee camp in Ghana after his parents fled civil war in Liberia.
Alphonso Davies arrives with one of the most extraordinary stories in the tournament
Which is wild when you think where he ended up.
Today he’s one of the most exciting players in world soccer, and he has never stopped talking about where he came from or working with refugee organizations to help others in the same position his family once were.
We love a man with that much resilience.
Naturally, this good-hearted guy is taken, engaged to singer and influencer Sheyenne Jen.
And there you have it. Seven men who have absolutely no business being both that attractive and that decent. However, only two are single but a girl can dream.
If you’ll need me, I’ll be learning the offside rule.
