Former U.S. men’s national team striker Jozy Altidore celebrates with current USMNT player Tim Ream #13 after the United States defeated Paraguay 4-1 win to open their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D play in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alex Livesey – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
FIFA via Getty Images
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup having started in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, you could say that the game’s afoot. Or many games and many feet. But feet aren’t the only body parts at risk when it comes to playing football or what’s called soccer in the U.S. No, many different parts of the body can get hurt and, in turn, dramatically change the fortunes of any team on soccer’s biggest stage. So let’s go through a lucky seven things that players can do to protect themselves.
1. Listen To Pain
Pain can be, well, a pain. It can seem like an obstacle, something that’s keeping you from doing what you want to do like score goals. But longtime U.S. men’s national team striker Jozy Altidore warned against those “fight through pain” mantras that you may hear often. Pain is the body’s way of telling you that something’s not right.
“You have to be able to identify when you are in pain and be able to treat the pain at its source before returning to play,” Altidore told me and recalled what happened before the USMNT’s opening match against Ghana in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. “Looking back at it now, I didn’t feel great before the game.” Altidore then suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring tear in the 21st minute of that match, which forced the star player to miss all of the subsequent group stage.
“Using myself as a test case, I would have spoken up in that moment,” Altidore related. “I think a lot of guys will have similar situations, and I hope they say, ‘You know what, I’m not right.’” In fact, Altidore has teamed up with Advil to push back against this whole misleading “no pain, no gain” belief and the folly of simply moving ahead when you don’t feel right.
2. Screen Regularly For Concussions And Other Head Injuries
Let’s not get “a head” of ourselves too when hitting the ball with your head—otherwise known as a header—is a common way to pass the ball or attempt to score. But your head does contain something somewhat important, namely your brain. Too much force to your brain can cause injury such as a concussion—which is when your brain experiences a temporary loss of some kind of function—or worse. That’s why Shae Datta, MD, a clinical assistant professor of neurology at NYU and co-director of the NYU Concussion Center, has emphasized the importance of regularly screening players during and between games for concussion symptoms and giving those who have suffered some kind of head injury adequate time to recover. She pointed to recommendations in the Consensus statement on concussion in sport from the October 2022 Sixth International Conference on Concussion in Sport and mentioned how each team in the World Cup should have a doctor on hand during the games to screen players for any signs of injury. But she did add that the qualifications and experience of the doctors may vary significantly.
3. Stay Well Hydrated
Altidore also had a hot take on the 2026 FIFA World Cup—it’s going to be hot, in some cases really hot. The heat will not only bring risks of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, which I have covered before in Forbes. But as Altidore explained, “It could throw off mechanics so you could see a lot non-contact injuries. I hope not, though.” Since each player carrying around one of those hand-held fans on the picth is not really an option, “A key is being really hydrated. You can never be hydrated enough,” according to Altidore.
4. Strengthen And Stretch Your Muscles
Water can be an important friend. So can your muscles. And this goes beyond simply kissing your bicep. Keeping your muscles strong and flexible enough will certainly protect against damage to said muscles. I already mentioned the hamstring tear that Altidore suffered. Other lower extremity muscles like your quadriceps and calf muscles can be at risk, too.
Muscles that are strong and properly stretched can also better protect the joints, ligaments and bones that they support. For example, strong quadriceps and hamstring muscles can reduce your risk of knee injuries such as tears to the ligaments and cartilage of your knee, as I have explained before in Forbes. Such knee injuries are unfortunately quite common in sports that involve a lot of cutting, stopping and starting.
Also common are injuries to the Achilles tendon and other parts of the ankle. I’ve covered in Forbes such injuries to NBA players and soccer can be similar. Keeping your calf muscles strong and stretched enough can help protect your ankles. So can warming up your ankles properly.
Then there’s core problem when you don’t do enough to keep your core muscles strong. That will allow your lumbar spine to assume a lot of the force from the jumping and twisting of the body that occurs on the pitch. So don’t make the ab-solute mistake of neglecting your abs. No ifs, ands or buts about keeping your butt muscles—otherwise known as your glutes—in shape either.
5. Maintain A Proper Playing Surface
On the surface, players can’t do as much about this potential cause of injuries: uneven or poorly maintained playing surfaces. Bad conditions can raise the risk of many different injuries, especially knee and ankle injuries. But it’s not as if they can bring their own turf with them. Nonetheless, they can make a pitch to keep the pitch in proper condition.
6. Use Proper Equipment
Each of the national teams probably have established contracts with highly reputable equipment providers. It’s probably not going to be like that Dodgeball movie where one of the teams will run out wearing BDSM costumes. Proper soccer equipment includes shin guards to help protect the lower legs and properly fitting shoes with molded cleats or ribbed soles. Using screw-in cleats could help when more traction is needed but can raise the risk of injury.
7. Get Proper Rest
US forward Jozy Altidore controls the ball during a Group G football match between Ghana and US at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. (Photo by CARL DE SOUZA / AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
The rest of this list is, well, rest. Rest between playing will be needed to allow the body and mind to heal. That can be easier said than done as Altidore did point out that the World Cup schedule is fairly packed. Having games played across three fairly large countries with the associated travel times is not like the World Cups that were held in single, smaller countries like the 2022 one in Qatar, the 2010 in South Africa or the 2006 in Germany. Nonetheless, Altidore did say, “You have to think a little bit differently in your training and mindset because it’s not a season where you have time to build up. You’ve got seven games to get it right so you have to be a bit quicker out of the gates in terms of making sure that everybody’s on the same page.”
Of course, the last thing is luck. When talking about injuries, Altidore walked over to a wooden bench and knocked his fist on it. To win the World Cup, a team needs luck—luck that the ball bounces its way and its key players don’t get injured. So let’s hope this World Cup doesn’t runneth over with injuries.