The 2026 FIFA World Cup has been an engaging watch thus far. The stars- such as Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Harry Kane and more- have shone, underdogs have impressed and controversial new additions to the World Cup are being re-appraised after initial skepticism
One of the new additions to the format of the tournament was the inclusion of the 8 best 3rd placed teams qualifying from the group stages. Some were worried that this inclusion would dull the initial matches, but the players still delivered
drama, brilliant performances and disappointments galore. Our coverage of the peaks and valleys of player performances in the group stages is here.
Once the group stages ended, the Round of 32 began. This is another addition to the 2026 World Cup and, again, players delivered for multiple spectacles. We will be covering the highs and lows of player performance of the first knockout round of this year’s World Cup.
The nominees of each category will be written down before the winner for said category is picked down. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Most Outstanding Player
Harry Kane
So often Harry Kane has been accused of going missing when the going gets tough. Certainly, England had it tough against the Democratic Republic of Congo, trailing 1-0 all the way until the 75th minute and counting their lucky stars they did not concede more goals. At that point in time, Kane stepped up. First the Bayern Munich man powered a header past the previously unstoppable Lionel Mpasi before he received the ball at the edge of the box, turned and powered a shot into the back of the net all without looking at the opposition goal once. It was the mark of a truly elite striker. He would greatly deserve the rumored upcoming knighthood.
Kylian Mbappé
This was the knockout round of the superstar forwards. Kane bagged a brace, but Kylian Mbappé beat him to the same achievement by a day. France and Mbappé faced off against Sweden but ultimately ran riot against the controversial last minute additions to the World Cup. France could have racked up a double digit amount of goals, but had to settle for “just” 3. Mbappé was of course at the heart of it all. The former AS Monaco player jinked his way past a few players in the box to put France up just before half-time, before his unending movement and hunger for goals saw him carve out the chance to score his second.
Lionel Messi
Surely, even arguably the greatest player of all time cannot be the best player at a World Cup at 39. Right? Then again, Lionel Messi scored his 7th goal of the tournament against Cabo Verde in the first knockout round of the match, Argentina are yet to score an open play goal that has not involved Messi and, right, he is still padding out his advantage as top scorer in World Cup history. That was not all, though, as it seemed Messi was fighting a one man war at times to overcome World Cup debutants Cabo Verde. His overall performance lands him the award despite scoring a goal less than the other two.
Winner: Lionel Messi
Best Young Player (Ones to Watch)
For this category, the pool was narrowed down to players born in 2004 and up.
Johan Manzambi
One can argue Johan Manzambi did not put in his finest performance at the World Cup in Switzerland’s 2-0 win over Algeria, especially because he was prone to losing the ball cheaply at times, but the 20-year-old still changed the match through his speed, tenacity and creativity. Furthermore, he did set up the opening goal with a superb, slaloming run and pass across the six yard box.
Pau Cubarsí
As the reigning European champions, Spain entered the World Cup as one of the favorites to win the whole thing. However, the Spaniard’s central defensive pairing was one of the few areas of scrutiny. A starting pairing consisting of Aymeric Laporte (who played in Saudi Arabia as recently as 2025) and teenager Pau Cubarsí (still prone to inconsistencies and mistakes due to his young age) did not inspire as much faith as maybe some other positions in the team did.
Spain have now wrapped up their fourth clean sheet in four games, though, comfortably easing past Austria 3-0. Austria managed just 5 low quality shots all match and 19-year-old Cubarsí marshalled the backline superbly.
Lamine Yamal
Lamine Yamal was also part of the Spain team that overcame Austria. His ability to play in this match was not always certain and he was clearly not fully fit in this match. Yet the 18-year-old still demonstrated his mercurial talent time and time again to give Austria’s defenders constant headaches. He could not be controlled, even when being double or even triple marked. Stupendous stuff.
Winner: Pau Cubarsí
Best Attacker
Julián Quiñones
Mexico had been one of just three teams (the others being last edition’s finalists, France and Argentina) to win all 3 of their group stage matches. People were cautiously optimistic about their ability to continue their amazing form but, again, Mexico blew expectations out of the water with a comfortable 2-0 win over Ecuador. Julián Quiñones was at the center of everything good Mexico did, bagging the go ahead goal and then setting up Raúl Jimenez’s goal to make it 2-0.
Michael Olise
Honestly, his overhead attempt alone could have gotten him on the list. Michael Olise’s sudden overhead attempt from the edge of the box in France’s 3-0 victory over Sweden only hit the woodwork, though, so he had to earn a spot on this list through his body of work throughout the match. That the Bayern Munich man did, though, putting on a creative clinic, creating oodles of chances for his teammates and walking away with two assists.
Mikel Oyarzabal
Mikel Oyarzabal can be easy to overlook. He is not the biggest player, nor is he very fast. At 29, he has chosen to remain at Real Sociedad rather than seek out a traditionally bigger club. It is easy for the casual fan to lose him out of their sights. But defenders do, too, which lead to Oyarzabal’s best moments. The 2024 Euros final goalscorer bagged a hugely important brace against Austria to propel Spain to their first World Cup knockout win since 2010.
Winner: Michael Olise
Best Midfielder
Luka Modrić
He deserved better than this. Just two months before his 41st birthday, Luka Modrić ran Croatia’s midfield in their late, late 2-1 loss to Portugal. He did everything, from dictating play to creating chances to making Portugal’s midfield pairing of Vitinha and João Neves look quite ordinary. Was this Modrić’s last World Cup or does the ageless wonder still have another tournament in him?
Malik Tillman
Down to 10 men due to Folarin Balogun’s red card and coming under some big pressure against Bosnia & Herzegovina to preserve their 1-0 lead, the USA needed a hero. Malik Tillman was the man to come through, bending a technically gorgeous shot over the wall that beat goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj. This might have been the former Bayern Munich player’s most important contribution to the match, but it was not his last. He pulled the strings in the offense until the red card, before showing his defensive tenacity by getting stuck in and putting in the hard yards to prevent the USA’s opponents from taking advantage of their extra man.
Youri Tielemans
Youri Tielemans could scarcely have hoped for a more heroic performance in Belgium’s dramatic 3-2 comeback against Segenal. Losing for most of the match and down 2-0 as the game approached the final 5 minutes, Romelu Lukaku scored Belgium’s first before Tielemans somehow got his head on the ball amid challenges from two defenders and the goalkeeper to spectacularly tie the game in the 89th minute. In extra time, as penalties loomed, Tielemans was then the one who Lamine Camara was adjudged to have fouled and it was the Belgium captain who also took the responsibility to take a 120+5 minute penalty to send his country through to the next round. He did so by blasting it confidently into the top corner. Unbelievable stuff.
Winner: Youri Tielemans
Best Defender
Aymeric Laporte
As mentioned above, Spain’s incredible defensive performances have been the bedrock for their success this tournament. Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cubarsí equally contributed to keeping this success going against Austria, with the senior Spanish center back looking especially impressive. He was not dribbled past once, made 9 defensive interventions and completed the majority of his long passes. The epitome of a calm presence at the back.
William Saliba
Dayot Upamecano got his flowers in the group stage awards and he arguably deserved a spot on the list here, too. But his center back partner for France, William Saliba, has also been phenomenal and continued those impressive performances here. Saliba thrived against the dangerous Swedish front two of Viktor Gyökeres and Alexander Isak, making his Arsenal teammate and Liverpool FC rival look ordinary throughout.
Sidny Lopes Cabral
Did Sidny Lopes Cabral earn this spot just because of his goal? Well, no. Cabral put in a strong defensive performance to help Cabo Verde keep Argentina at bay initially, making countless tackles and interventions to frustrate the defending World Cup champions and sensationally force them to settle for a 1-1 draw after 90 minutes. Argentina took the lead shortly after the retstart, however, and it clearly required a miracle for Cabo Verde to event the scores again. Cabral provided just that miracle with his sensational goal. Go watch it. It was amazing.
Winner: Sidny Lopes Cabral
Best Goalkeeper
Orlando Gill
This was the round of goalkeepers that did so well but fell just short, but the first goalkeeping candidate did get his team over the line. Paraguay upset favorites Germany (still hurts to write that) by overcoming them in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 regulation time final score. Paraguay may have limited Germany to very little early in the match, but they eventually resorted to launching the ball into the box to their tall forwards. This worked much better and forced Gill to make multiple fantastic saves. He truly shone in the penalty shootout, however, saving two penalties, allowing just 3 of the Germans’ 6 penalties to hit the back of the net and establishing himself as a terrifying presence for the Germans that saw Paraguay advance.
Zion Suzuki
Zion Suzuki did so well but ultimately could not stop Brazil from edging past Japan 2-1 with a dramatic last minute goal. Suzuki may have made just 4 saves but every one of them was very good, with the athletic Parma goalkeeper’s best efforts required to keept the ball out of the back of the net. The ernstwhile rumored Bayern target even got his fingertips to Gabriel Martinelli’s winner to steer it on to the post, only for the ball to still bounce in off the woodwork. He deserved better.
Vozinha
Is Vozinha’s story the best at the World Cup thus far outside of that of his own team? Cabo Verde’s goalkeeper infamously reached 10 million followers on Instagram following seven heroic saves to help his team hold Spain to a 0-0 draw in the group stages, but he followed that up with a performance that was arguably just as good against Argentina in the Round of 32. Despite conceding 3 goals, Vozinha made 8 saves (including several from Messi himself) and even showcased the confidence to put his skills with the ball on display, doing kick ups in added time after the first 90. The man is 40 years old and without a club, but surely he will find another club willing to sign him after this incredible World Cup.
Winner: Vozinha
Best Team
France
Les Bleus continue to go from strength to strength. As mentioned above, France could have scored 10 goals against Sweden. It is a minor miracle they only scored 3 and they continue to look like the strongest side in this World Cup.
Cabo Verde
Usually, teams that lose cannot qualify for this award at all. But Cabo Verde stole the hearts of every football team around the world in their incredible fight against Argentina. They may not have won a match in this World Cup and bow out in the Round of 32 but everybody will remember the World Cup debutants as the fairytale of this tournament for the way they made traditional powerhouses such as Spain, Uruguay and now Argentina sweat.
Spain
Spain may have started the World Cup with a shock draw to Cabo Verde, but they are clicking from gear to gear. They were not at their best in their 3-0 win over Austria but they did not need to be, securing their first World Cup knockout round win since 2010. In fact, it was shocking how comfortably Spain overcame Austria despite never leaving second gear and it was a timely reminder that the 2024 European Champions will very much have a say in this tournament’s winner.
Winner: France
What do you think of the nominees and the winners of each category? Do you have someone else in mind for each one? Let us know in the comments!
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