Ranking the top 50 players at the 2026 World Cup: The final list

So that’s it! The 2026 World Cup is in the history books and Spain can now put a second star on their players’ match shirts.

But how does their triumph on Sunday and Argentina’s loss — and, to a far lesser degree, the ‘Bronze Final’ (aka, the third-place play-off) between England and France the day before — affect The Athletic’s final ranking of the top 50 players at the tournament?

A reminder: These are informed by The Athletic’s player ratings model, which provides an objective assessment of each player’s contribution in a match.

Please feel welcome to direct your thoughts and complaints to the comments section.

1. Lionel Messi — Argentina/Inter Miami (same)

Spain’s collective excellence is represented by the eventual champions having nine players in the top 25 of this list, but no individual was more impactful at this World Cup than Messi. It’s a pity his Argentina team-mates didn’t give him a chance to make it a more interesting final.

2. Kylian Mbappe — France/Real Madrid (same)

Mbappe wrapped up the Golden Boot as tournament top scorer with two brilliant goals against England in the third-place play-off, and is already the World Cup’s record goalscorer, with 22. At 27 years old, he has at least the 2030 edition in him and could put his tally beyond reach.

3. Rodri — Spain/Manchester City (same)

As well as captaining winners Spain and getting voted this World Cup’s best player, Rodri is the perfect symbol for their collectivist style of football. It’s been a long, hard road since an ACL knee injury nearly two years ago, but he showed on the biggest stage of all that he is finally back to his best.

4. Jude Bellingham — England/Real Madrid (same)

Bellingham came off the bench to score a sensational solo goal against France and make himself the first Englishman ever to score seven goals at a single World Cup. He might already have taken over from Harry Kane as the team’s talisman.

5. Pau Cubarsi — Spain/Barcelona (+3)

The only teenager in our top 10 and the best defender in the tournament, Cubarsi punctuated a sensational World Cup by shutting down Julian Alvarez and Messi, and even drawing the wild red-card foul from Enzo Fernandez which sealed Argentina’s fate in the final.

6. Aymeric Laporte — Spain/Athletic Club (+1)

Only a hair behind his younger centre-back compatriot, Laporte led an almost impenetrable Spanish defence from start to finish as well as providing key value to their possession game with his almost flawless passing out from the back.

7. Erling Haaland — Norway/Manchester City (-1)

Got shut down by quarter-final opponents England in the stifling Miami humidity as he failed to score for the first time in 21 international appearances. Haaland ran out of steam by that game last weekend, but his remarkable feats and joyful swagger at this World Cup will live long in the memory.

8. Harry Kane — England/Bayern Munich (-3)

Kane faded badly in the knockout rounds and probably should have been substituted in the semi-final loss against Argentina, but as well as scoring six goals, his interplay with Bellingham helped the latter to shine.

9. Michael Olise — France/Bayern Munich (same)

Olise missed so many great chances to score his first World Cup goal, but goes home with the record for the most assists (seven) in a single edition of the tournament. His chemistry with Mbappe can be the foundation of the next French champions.

10. Ousmane Dembele — France/Paris Saint-Germain (same)

Scored a lovely goal off the bench against England to take his tally for this World Cup to six. In truth, his tournament was more about bursts of brilliance than consistent dominance, and the current Ballon d’Or holder will be one of several French players haunted by their performances in the semi-final defeat against Spain.

11. Pedro Porro — Spain/Tottenham (same)

Wasn’t at his most decisive going forward against Argentina, but had his attacking moment in the semi-final with the crucial second goal to see off France. His speed and athleticism were also hugely important for Spain’s success defensively.

12. Lamine Yamal — Spain/Barcelona (+3)

Spain managed to win this World Cup without their poster boy having a single great game. Yamal was clearly limited physically throughout, but even in this form, he is more dangerous than just about any winger on the planet — and he played his part defensively, too.

13. Declan Rice — England/Arsenal (+7)

A brilliant driving run and finish when standing in for Kane as captain against France was a just reward for Rice, who was an absolute warrior throughout this World Cup and performed at a high level (except against Norway, when he’d been ill for several days in the run-up to the match), despite clearly playing injured.

14. Achraf Hakimi — Morocco/Paris Saint-Germain (-2)

Hakimi had his most ineffective game of a very impressive tournament in the quarter-final loss against France, unable to carry his customary attacking threat down the right or fully shut down Desire Doue, Mbappe or Olise when they ventured into his zone of influence.

15. Mikel Oyarzabal — Spain/Real Sociedad (-2)

Oyarzabal’s open-play goal threat disappeared in the knockout rounds, but his positional intelligence, pressing intensity and link-up play make him valuable to Spain whether he is scoring or not.

16. Vinicius Junior — Brazil/Real Madrid (-2)

Vinicius Jr was probably the Brazilian least deserving of elimination against Norway in the round of 16, and would have registered a sensational assist if Endrick had not fluffed his lines in the second half of that match. Brazil have plenty of problems but he is not among them, and could go home with his head held high.

17. Dayot Upamecano — France/Bayern Munich (-1)

France’s defence collapsed in atrocious fashion without Upamecano in the first half against England, and markedly improved after he came on. He and William Saliba (more on him shortly) were second only to Spain’s Cubarsi and Laporte among central defensive pairings at this World Cup.

18. Anthony Gordon — England/Barcelona (-1)

After a slow start, Gordon’s impact grew with every appearance, culminating in his superbly taken opening goal against Argentina. With or without the ball, he doesn’t have any obvious holes in his game.

19. Dani Olmo — Spain/Barcelona (+13)

Olmo provided the flashes of flair in Spain’s high-functioning midfield, setting up Porro’s clincher against France with a sublime return pass and creating a similar chance for Yamal early on in the final.

20. William Saliba — France/Arsenal (-2)

If the penalty-conceding error by Lucas Digne knocked France down in the semi-final, Saliba’s exit with a back injury in the 30th minute was the blow from which they never recovered. His presence, intelligence and leadership are vital for this team and his replacement Maxence Lacroix was lured out of position by Oyarzabal in the build-up to Spain’s match-settling second goal.

21. Elliot Anderson — England/Manchester City (-2)

It would be going too far to say Anderson justified the gargantuan transfer fee City just paid Nottingham Forest for him at this World Cup, but he proved a very able partner for Rice as well as holding the fort without him for stretches. Aged 23, he should be a fixture in England’s starting XI for years.

22. Marc Cucurella — Spain/Real Madrid (-1)

His only anxious moment of the final came when Messi seemingly tried to get him sent off for covering his mouth while they were jawing away at each other. Otherwise, his tournament was low on drama (unless you count a £50million-plus transfer from Chelsea during the group stage) and the setting for arguably the most consistent stretch of defensive excellence of his career.

23. Fabian Ruiz — Spain/Paris Saint-Germain (+2)

A back-to-back Champions League winner in the past two seasons, he can now call himself a world champion, too. Ruiz’s insertion into the starting line-up in the knockout phase took Spain’s midfield to a higher level, physically, tactically and technically.

24. Ismael Saibari — Morocco/Bayern Munich (-2)

It’s a huge shame that injury deprived Saibari of the chance to demonstrate his quality against France in the last eight, because he’d been having a fantastic World Cup at the tip of Morocco’s attack, which more than justified Bayern’s decision to sign him from Dutch side PSV this summer.

25. Diogo Costa — Portugal/Porto (-2)

The best goalkeeper in the tournament, despite Unai Simon of Spain winning the Golden Glove, Costa made a series of excellent saves against the Spanish in the round of 16 before Mikel Merino managed to sneak a shot underneath him in the final minutes to end Portugal’s campaign. He should get more opportunities to avenge that disappointment.

26. Julian Quinones — Mexico/Al Qadsiah (-2)

Quinones took his World Cup goal tally to four by lashing a loose ball into the roof of the net against England. He was Mexico’s primary attacking threat from the left flank throughout the tournament and helped push the side who eventually came third to the brink at the Azteca.

27. Unai Simon — Spain/Athletic Club (+9)

Simon was only needed to surge from his box once in the final to sweep the ball away from Messi, as he memorably did twice to Mbappe in the semi-final, but his proactive style of goalkeeping enabled Spain’s entire strategy out of possession and his distribution was also excellent.

28. Leandro Trossard — Belgium/Besiktas (-1)

Trossard was arguably Belgium’s best performer against the United States in the last 16 but he was unable to do anything significant to trouble the Spanish defence come the quarter-finals. Still, this was a good World Cup for the former Arsenal man, who has just signed for Turkey’s Besiktas.

29. Roberto Alvarado — Mexico/Guadalajara (-1)

Could not add to his three World Cup assists in the round of 16 defeat against England, but contributed to the waves of Mexican attacks with his tidy left-footed distribution. His form at this tournament has raised his profile outside his homeland significantly, and deservedly so.

30. Bruno Guimaraes — Brazil/Newcastle (-1)

Will unfortunately be remembered more for his horrendous penalty miss against Norway than for the four World Cup assists that preceded it. Guimaraes was Brazil’s best midfielder at this tournament and that counts for something, but not as much as it used to.

31. Ismaila Sarr — Senegal/Crystal Palace (-1)

Four-goal Sarr’s huge contribution to Senegal’s showing, and his sensational finish against Belgium, merit a finishing position in the middle of this list. He also scored one of the goals of the tournament in that wild round-of-32 defeat.

32. Alexis Mac Allister — Argentina/Liverpool (-1)

Mac Allister spent long stretches chasing the ball against Spain yesterday and could not carry the goal threat that he had in earlier rounds, but he was still Argentina’s best midfielder at this World Cup.

33. Cristian Romero — Argentina/Tottenham (same)

The loss of Romero to injury in the second half against Spain substantially weakened Argentina’s defence. His individual World Cup featured some errors but the highs were very high. Decide for yourselves if he gets bonus points for avoiding U.S. President Donald Trump’s handshake during the medal ceremony.

34. Folarin Balogun — United States/Monaco (same)

Balogun’s personal World Cup ended with a relative whimper against Belgium after a political storm he had no hand in, but that should not obscure his stellar goalscoring contribution in the earlier rounds for one of the tournament’s three co-hosts.

35. Brahim Diaz — Morocco/Real Madrid (same)

Saibari’s absence may also have limited Diaz’s creativity against a far superior France side. Their chemistry in the group stage was spectacular, and played a key role in making Morocco the most successful African team at this World Cup.

36. Enzo Fernandez — Argentina/Chelsea (-10)

Goalscoring hero against Egypt and England, he cost Argentina any lingering chance of competing with Spain by picking up one yellow card for dissent and another for a wild tackle that sent Cubarsi flying. He may not want to be a Chelsea player anymore, but that’s Chelsea heritage.

37. Luis Diaz — Colombia/Bayern Munich (same)

Diaz scored his penalty in a tense shootout against Switzerland, but could not provide the cutting edge Colombia so desperately needed in that round of 16 tie and in this World Cup more generally, where he was well below his Bayern best.

38. Andreas Schjelderup — Norway/Benfica (same)

Did he mean it? We may never know, but Schjelderup’s cross/shot to give Norway the lead against England was undeniably spectacular, and built on his two assists for Haaland in the previous round against Brazil. He leaves this World Cup with his reputation enhanced.

39. Lisandro Martinez — Argentina/Manchester United (same)

Martinez’s final was also cut short by injury before half-time. Without him in central defence, Argentina found it much harder to play out from the back through and around Spanish pressure. He had a strong tournament, albeit with a few too many fouls.

40. Bukayo Saka — England/Arsenal (+7)

Scoring a hat-trick in the World Cup’s third-place play-off is always going to have a sense of melancholy, but even more so for Saka, who somehow didn’t even make it onto the pitch in the semi-final against Argentina. If he was fit enough to do that (and register three assists in the tournament), why didn’t Thomas Tuchel use him more?

41. Desire Doue — France/Paris Saint-Germain (-1)

Doue had a decidedly patchy World Cup alternating with Bradley Barcola on France’s left flank. Impactful against Paraguay and Morocco, he spurned his best chance to influence proceedings in the semi-final when he fluffed an attempt to lob Simon.

42. Gregor Kobel — Switzerland/Borussia Dortmund (-1)

Kobel could do nothing about any of Argentina’s three goals in the quarter-final, and was a significant reason why Switzerland were able to hold out for so long with 10 men. His shootout heroics against Colombia in the round of 16 also earn him substantial credit.

43. Martin Odegaard — Norway/Arsenal (-1)

Odegaard’s composure and leadership on the ball enabled Norway to control possession for long stretches against England in the stifling heat of Miami. He generally sent the ball where it needed to go during this World Cup, though his creativity in the final third waxed and waned.

44. Charles De Ketelaere — Belgium/Atalanta (-1)

De Ketelaere is doomed to become an all-time pub quiz answer as the only player to score against Spain at this World Cup, and his aerial ability also put the Americans to the sword in the round of 16. More than justified being picked to start over Belgium’s injury-hit record goalscorer Romelu Lukaku.

45. Emiliano Martinez — Argentina/Aston Villa (new entry)

A big-game performer, Martinez was busy and fought gamely to keep out Spain for as long as Argentina did, though he was fortunate that his spill to the feet of Nico Williams was erased by the officials. He could do nothing to keep out Ferran Torres’ emphatic extra-time winner.

46. Adrien Rabiot — France/Milan (-2)

Succeeded in muscling Yamal off the ball a couple of times in the early minutes against Spain, but France’s structure left him chasing shadows for the rest of the first half and frustration took hold. Being subbed off at half-time before you can get yourself sent off is never a good look.

47. Lautaro Martinez — Argentina/Inter (-2)

Lionel Scaloni’s slightly rash use of his substitutes meant Martinez never got the chance to come on and lead Argentina’s desperate search for an equaliser on Sunday. That’s a huge shame for him, because he had been a highly effective impact substitute throughout the tournament.

48. Mikel Merino — Spain/Arsenal (-2)

Speaking of impact subs… Merino headed inches wide of Martinez’s far post against Argentina before Torres scored, but still gets credit here for effectively winning two other knockout matches against Portugal and Belgium.

49. Youri Tielemans — Belgium/Manchester United (-1)

Though absent for their elimination against Spain due to injury, Manchester United-bound Tielemans still enjoyed an impressive and memorable World Cup as Belgium’s captain, punctuated by his starring role in that remarkable comeback against Senegal.

50. Ferran Torres — Spain/Barcelona (new entry)

Another of Spain’s highly effective ‘closers’ off the bench, Torres will go down in his country’s history, alongside Andres Iniesta in 2010, as the scorers of the extra-time goals which secured their first two men’s World Cup triumphs. It was a superbly controlled strike, with a satisfyingly roof-of-the-net-bulging outcome.

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