World Cup Players Reveal the Correct Way to Say Their Names

A Sports 5 piece published on June 13, 2026, uses World Cup team introduction videos to show how several star players actually pronounce their names. The article says the tournament helps fans discover surprising details about players and their cultures, including name pronunciations that often differ from common usage.

Among the examples cited, Germany’s Leroy Sane says his name with a z sound, closer to “Zana,” while teammate Jonathan Tah explains that the J in German is pronounced like a Hebrew yod, so his first name sounds like “Yonatan.” The Netherlands squad also produced surprises, with Jorrel Hato pronounced “Jorian,” and Ryan Gravenberch starting with an “h” sound rather than a “g.” By contrast, Cody Gakpo says his surname starts with a hard g, not an h.

The article adds three more cases. Christian Pulisic stressed that his name does not end with the “ts” sound often assumed in Hebrew. Viktor Gyokeres said his name is not pronounced with the initial sound suggested by the g, and also does not end with a sh sound. Riyad Mahrez, when pronouncing his own name, did not use the Arabic-style guttural sound for the last part and effectively called himself “Marez.”

The message of the piece is that the confusion can now stop, because the players themselves have clarified how their names should be said ahead of the World Cup.