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After six weeks of blood, sweat and tears (from both players and fans), the curtain has fallen on the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Find out who made our team of the tournament.
Expanded from 32 to 48 teams, the 2026 FIFA World Cup was the longest in history, giving individual players a greater opportunity than ever before to leave their mark.
Across 104 matches, there were 308 goals. There were also 15 red cards, one of which played a crucial role in deciding the final. In the end, it was the Opta supercomputer’s pre-tournament favourites, Spain, who emerged victorious in front of 80,000 fans at New York New Jersey Stadium.
We analysed the performances of every player to take to the field in North America and have selected Opta’s team of the tournament, highlighting 11 players who stood out according to our data.
Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel (Switzerland)Several goalkeepers excelled during the 2026 World Cup. Spain’s Unai Simón won the Golden Glove award after conceding just once, though such was the defensive solidity of the new world champions, he only had to make 10 saves in the whole tournament.
In our eyes, Switzerland’s Gregor Kobel shone ever-so slightly brighter, while Portugal number one Diogo Costa also came close to being included in our XI.
Kobel made 20 saves and kept two clean sheets at the tournament as he helped his country to the quarter-finals; only Paraguay’s Orlando Gill made more saves than him (23).
What separated Kobel from his rivals was the quality of his shot-stopping. The Swiss keeper faced shots worth 8.27 expected goals on target (xGOT), but only conceded five goals. That meant he prevented 3.27 goals overall, the most of any goalkeeper in the tournament (Gill ranked second with 2.56 goals prevented).
His standout moment of the competition came in the penalty shootout against Colombia in the last 16 when he produced an excellent full-stretch dive to keep Cucho Hernández’s strike out.
Switzerland were unable to cause an upset against Argentina, but Kobel was the backbone of their run to the last eight in 2026.
Right-Back Pedro Porro (Spain)Pedro Porro slots in at right-back, meaning three members of our back four were part of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad.
Porro scored twice in North America, with no defender finding the net more often. His second goal sealed Spain’s commanding 2-0 semi-final victory over France, a result that cemented Luis de la Fuente’s side as overwhelming favourites to lift the trophy.
The Tottenham defender was a constant attacking threat throughout the tournament. He delivered more open-play crosses than any other defender at the 2026 FIFA World Cup (24) and provided a constant outlet down Spain’s right flank.
Porro also created 10 chances, a tally bettered by only two defenders across the competition.
Centre-Back
Pau Cubarsí (Spain)
Barcelona’s teenage defensive sensation Pau Cubarsí burst onto the international scene in style in North America as he was named Young Player of the Tournament.
After narrowly missing out on a place in Spain’s squad for the 2024 UEFA European Championship, he played every minute for La Roja in 2026 and was a key figure in their near-impenetrable defence.
Cubarsí formed an excellent partnership with Aymeric Laporte as Spain kept a record seven clean sheets at the World Cup. He was particularly important in limiting a star-studded French attack to just 0.31 expected goals (xG) in their semi-final, the lowest of any nation in a men’s World Cup semi since 1994.
The 19-year-old not only added value to his team defensively, but he was also excellent on the ball. No defender attempted more passes than Cubarsí (699), and 671 of these passes were successful, again, the most of any defender.
Cubarsí also created eight chances; quite impressive for a centre-back.
Centre-Back Lisandro Martínez (Argentina)Lisandro Martínez is one of a small number of players who forced their way into Lionel Scaloni’s plans post the 2022 World Cup, and he delivered in 2026.
Martínez’s standout performance came in the round of 32 against Cape Verde. A match Argentina were expected to win comfortably, instead required Martínez to bail them out.
He provided the assist for Lionel Messi’s opening goal, delivering a sensational clipped pass into the path of their captain, before firing in from a narrow angle to give Argentina the lead in extra-time.
“The Butcher” was an excellent box defender for La Albiceleste, making 34 clearances, the seventh-most of any player at the tournament.
He also excelled on the ball, making 169 forward passes in the tournament. Only Spain duo Cubarsí (226) and Laporte (229) were more progressive on the ball than Martínez.
An injury forced him off early in the final, but Martínez should still be happy with his individual campaign overall.
Left-Back Marc Cucurella (Spain)Marc Cucurella has developed a habit of producing his best performances at major tournaments. After a very impressive Euro 2024 campaign, he was again the standout left-back during the World Cup, and another important presence in Spain’s record-breaking defence.
Cucurella was a particularly imperious presence in the semi-finals, when he was tasked with keeping the reigning Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembélé quiet. He won three tackles, more than any other player on the pitch, as Les Bleus failed to create a single big chance.
The new Real Madrid man produced many energetic performances on the left-hand side of defence, creating three big chances during the World Cup; of defenders, only Portugal’s Nuno Mendes (4) created more. Cucurella also generated 1.19 expected assists (xA), ranking him fourth among defenders.
Against Austria in the round of 32, Cucurella played a pivotal attacking role, setting up two goals. In doing so, he became the first Spanish player to make two assists in a single World Cup match since 2002.
Central Midfielder Rodri (Spain)When Rodri injured his ACL against Arsenal in September 2024, people wondered whether he would ever get back to his best. Two years later, he led Spain to World Cup glory, and winning the Player of the Tournament award.
The midfielder was back to his controlling best this tournament. After the conclusion of the semi-finals, he had completed 655 passes at the World Cup, already the most by an individual player at a single edition since 1966.
He ended the tournament with a whopping 811 passes, truly acting as Spain’s metronome.
What makes this even more impressive is how incisive many of these passes were. Rodri completed 122 line-breaking passes in total during the World Cup, 76 of which came in the final third, the most of any player in both respects.
Rodri was also an excellent dueller in North America. He won 49 duels, the fourth-most of any player at the tournament, and 11 of these came in the semi-final win against France, where he won almost twice as many duels as any other player.
The 30-year-old must be one of the most understated, yet successful players of all time.
Central Midfielder Jude Bellingham (England)After a slightly tough season at Real Madrid, Jude Bellingham was in red-hot form for England this summer.
He played a crucial role in the group stage, scoring against Croatia and then again vs Panama, also setting up another in that game, before scoring crucial braces in the knockout rounds against both Mexico and Norway to help England through to the semi-finals.
Given a flexible role by Thomas Tuchel, Bellingham was able to utilise his running power and box-crashing ability to get on the scoresheet seven times, ending the World Cup as the joint-third-highest goalscorer. He also now holds the outright record for the most goals by an English player at a major international tournament.
What is particularly remarkable is that these seven strikes came from just 3.06 xG, meaning Bellingham had the joint-highest xG overperformance of any player in the 2026 World Cup (3.94).
Bellingham was also at his combative best in North America, winning 50 duels throughout the tournament; only two players won more.
Right Winger Leandro Trossard (Belgium)France duo Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise were in the conversation for this place, but Belgium’s Leandro Trossard just nicks it, getting the nod because of the value he provided both in and out of possession for the Red Devils.
In a team that contained Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku, Trossard established himself as Belgium’s key attacking outlet, scoring two goals and registering two assists during the World Cup.
He created 17 chances, a total bettered by just four players, all of whom made two more appearances than the former Arsenal man.
Trossard also created 2.17 xA during the World Cup; again, the four players who created more xA than the Belgian played two extra games in which to do so.
The Belgian was also at his tenacious best off the ball. Trossard made 10 high turnovers, the fifth-most of any player and more than twice as many as any of his teammates, with two of these turnovers ending in shots.
Attacking Midfielder
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
In the eyes of many, Lionel Messi cemented his status as the greatest footballer of all time during the 2026 World Cup. Now 39 years old, the Argentine maestro was arguably the standout attacker at the tournament.
Messi started the campaign in style, becoming the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick when he netted all three of Argentina’s goals against Algeria. Next time out, he became the all-time top goalscorer in World Cup history, leapfrogging Miroslav Klose, despite missing a penalty against Austria.
When his side looked dead and buried in the round of 16 against Egypt, it was Messi who turned the game around. He delivered an inch-perfect cross onto Cristian Romero’s head, before levelling the scores four minutes later.
Argentina looked in an even more impossible position in the semi-finals against England, but the little magician once again came to the fore. Messi assisted both of La Albiceleste’s late goals as he repeatedly delivered inch-perfect crosses from the right flank.
He ended the tournament with eight goals, behind only Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappé, while he also created the most chances at the tournament (25), at least seven more than any other player.
Messi is now the second-highest goalscorer (21) and top assist maker (12) in World Cup history. Superhuman stuff.
Left Winger Kylian Mbappé (France)Mr. World Cup, also known as Kylian Mbappé, is one of the most obvious inclusions in our team.
Although he was unable to captain his team to glory, Mbappé had an excellent tournament as an individual, registering a whopping 14 goal contributions, the most by any player at a single edition of the World Cup since records began in 1966.
France’s talisman netted 10 times in eight games, including a crucial opening goal against Morocco in the quarter-finals.
Mbappé’s brace against England in the third-place play-off meant he won the 2026 Golden Boot for the second consecutive time, and he is now the World Cup’s all-time top goalscorer (22).
An underrated asset that Mbappé provided to Les Bleus this summer was creativity. He delivered four assists and created 18 chances from open play, a total that could only be bettered by Messi.
He would no doubt have traded every one of those numbers for another World Cup winners’ medal, though.
Striker Erling Haaland (Norway)Would it really be a team of a competition if Erling Haaland wasn’t leading the line? The big Norwegian thrived during his first appearance on the world’s biggest stage, netting seven times in just five games, giving him the best goals-per-90 of any player to play at least 200 minutes at the 2026 World Cup (1.35).
As he does for Manchester City, Haaland was largely uninvolved in build-up play, lurking on the edge of the backline and bursting into life inside the box.
Consequently, he had one of the best touches-per-goal ratios at the tournament. He found the net every 17.1 touches; only Ermin Mahmić, Deniz Undav and Brian Brobbey had a better touches-per-goal ratio (of players to score multiple goals).
He also became the first Norway player to score a brace in a knockout match at a major tournament, with his two late strikes eliminating Brazil.
Although Norway couldn’t make it past the quarter-finals, they have tremendous potential to succeed in the future with Haaland leading the line.
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