Fatigue? The World Cup players with the toughest seasons

Fatigue? The World Cup players with the toughest seasonsImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk will arrive at the World Cup with Netherlands after a gruelling season for club and country ByDale JohnsonFootball issues correspondentPublished4 minutes agoCommentsFootball does not seem to have stopped for the last three summers.In 2024 we had continental competitions like the Euros, then came the Club World Cup, and now we have the World Cup.You could not blame some of the world's top players for feeling the strain of the game. The summer of 2025 would usually have been the opportunity to rest. Instead, Fifa placed its expanded Club World Cup into that slot. That tournament featured 74 players who are at the World Cup, some barely having a break in three years.How will the fatigue built up over the last 12 months affect the star players?BBC Sport looked at the total minutes played - for club and country - by every member of the 26-man squads of the top 10 countries in the Fifa world rankings.The numbers are taken from 15 June, 2025 - the day the controversial Club World Cup kicked off.Which national teams will go into this tournament carrying lots of minutes?And which players are most impacted?France go into the World Cup with the most fatigued squadImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Michael Olise has made 65 appearances for Bayern Munich and France over the past 12 months France must battle with both heat and fatigue if they are to win the World Cup for a third time. Didier Deschamps' squad have been in action more than any of the leading nations, with 1,341 matches totalling 98,895 minutes.Crystal Palace central defender Maxence Lacroix has the most starts (58) and minutes (5,009) of the France players, but the 26-year-old is only expected to be a squad pick for Les Bleus. Bayern Munich forward Michael Olise (65), coincidentally a former Palace player, has made the most appearances but by coming off the bench 12 tim...