The 2026 FIFA World Cup concluded on 20th July with Spain beating Argentina 1-0 after extra-time to become the champions for the second time. There were some exceptional performances from certified superstars but there were some debutants as well who took the World Cup by storm.
Here we take a look at the team of the tournament for the 2026 FIFA World Cup –
Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simón was a wall between the sticks. He played the sweeper-keeper role to perfection at this World Cup and became a World Champion.
Simón only conceded a solitary goal through the entire campaign. With the Spanish defence playing a relatively high line, Simón not only made goal stopping saves, he also neutralized threats in case of turnovers while coming out of his line and helping his defence. He made 10 saves with a 90.9% save percentage and made a new single World Cup record of seven clean sheets. For his contributions leading to Spain winning the World Cup, Simón also won the Adidas Golden Glove award at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The former Chelsea full-back was an absolute nuisance for the opposition teams during this entire World Cup as he was an integral part of the formidable Spanish backline that only conceded one goal in this entire World Cup campaign.
Cucurella is a superb modern-day fullback who is quick, can bomb forward, overlap with his winger and provide assists. He is also a tough defender, great at tackles and duels on the other end of the pitch. He also provided two assists, played the entire 90 minutes of every game and had a 92% pass completion rate. For his influential performances at both ends of the pitch, Cucurella deserves to be in the Team of the tournament.
Marc Guéhi was England’s standout performer in the defensive line at this World Cup. Barring the high-scoring third place encounter against France, England was stingy in defence, only conceding four goals until the play-off fixture.
Guéhi was sensational in the backline having started six out of the seven fixtures and recorded a 97% passing accuracy with 476 completed passes. He won 23 out of the 29 duels he contested and made 28 clearances – a sublime performance from the Man City defender. He also helped his nation reach the semi-finals of the World Cup and win the bronze medal at the World Cup.
At only 19, Cubarsi is now a World Cup winner and one of the architects of Spain winning the Jules Rimet Trophy for the second time in their history.
He played every match for Spain at this World Cup, helmed a backline alongside Aymeric Laporte that only conceded one goal the entire tournament, keeping an incredible seven clean sheets. Cubarsi had a 96% passing accuracy with total 640 completed passes and 33 clearances. It was the defensive brilliance at the back that won Spain the World Cup with Cubarsi winning the Young Player of the Tournament award along with becoming a World Champion.
Pedro Porro may have endured a tough time at Tottenham Hotspur last season barely escaping relegation but that didn’t deter the right-back while performing for his nation.
Similar to his full-back partner Cucurella on the other side, Porro was a proper threat going forward while tracking back to help his central defenders. Porro scored two goals, had a 91% passing accuracy with 392 completed passes in six matches and also provided the cross that led to the winning goal in the final. He was also named the ‘Man of the Match’ in the semi-final against France. Porro was again part of an impenetrable backline that conceded only one goal all tournament and deservedly won the title.
Rodri struggled last season with Manchester City after coming back from a long-term injury (ACL) and there were a lot of doubts about his performance in this World Cup but the midfield maestro smashed it at the World Cup, controlling the Spanish midfield, setting the tempo and choking the opposition teams.
His best performances came in the big knockout games – semi-final against France and final against Argentina where he controlled the possession, tempo of the game, protected the backline and literally choked the opposition forwards like an elite defensive midfielder. For his incredible performances throughout this World Cup which helped Spain win the World Cup, Rodri was also adjudged the Player of the Tournament, winning the prestigious Golden Ball award.
Bellingham was England’s most impressive player at this World Cup. The Real Madrid midfielder was one of the best performers at the World Cup with seven goals and an assist in eight games.
He scored two crucial braces against Mexico and Norway in the knockouts and helped England to a third-place finish at the World Cup. He also became the highest scoring Englishman in a single tournament at the World Cup, surpassing Harry Kane’s golden boot winning performance at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Bellingham has proven yet again why Real Madrid paid the big bucks for one of England’s most talented teenagers and rightfully makes the team of the tournament.
French midfielder/winger Olise was one of the players to watch at this World Cup after a phenomenal domestic campaign with Bayern Munich and Olise didn’t disappoint.
Olise started the tournament as a right winger but was shifted in the playmaker role behind the striker after a few games by coach Didier Deschamps and it unlocked Mbappé in a different way. Olise ended the tournament with seven assists in eight games, also breaking Pelé’s record for the most assists at a single World Cup tournament.
Although he didn’t score any goals, Olise was vital to Les Bleus reaching the World Cup semi-finals and one of the best playmakers in the tournament.
Erling Haaland made his World Cup debut with Norway in this edition. He had also been instrumental in Norway’s qualification for the World Cup with 16 goals in eight games, helping his country qualify after a gap of 28 years.
At the World Cup too, the Man City striker scored seven goals in five games, leading his side to a quarter-final finish. The Viking’s biggest upset came in the Round of 16 when they defeated South American heavyweights Brazil with Haaland taking matters in his hands and scoring a brace late in the game to knock out the Selecão from the tournament.
French striker Kylian Mbappé was at his lethal best at this World Cup. Mbappé repeated his feat from the last World Cup, bagging the Golden Boot award with 10 goals in seven games. His incredible performances at the World Cup also made him the tournament’s all-time top goal-scorer with a career 22 goals, surpassing Lionel Messi.
Mbappé also led France to the World Cup semi-final with his top performances and were beaten only by a tactically superior Spain. He also scored a brace in the third-place playoff against England although France lost the high-scoring encounter 6-4 after having made a comeback from 4-0 down.
At 39-years-old, not many expected Lionel Messi to perform well at the World Cup but again he proved his doubters wrong and showed why he is the best ever to play the beautiful game.
Messi almost single-handedly dragged Argentina to a World Cup final. He scored a majority of their goals in the group stage with a hattrick in the first game, a brace in the second and another goal in the third to help them qualify for the knockouts. Messi scored eight goals and provided four assists in seven games. He was instrumental in bringing Argentina back from the dead, every time they were in trouble, especially in the knockout games against Egypt and England with decisive actions be it scoring or assisting goals.
This was most likely his last World Cup appearance and we are just glad we could witness Messi Magic again at the grandest stage of all.
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