The 2026 World Cup is over, and Spain have emerged triumphant over Argentina after a simply unforgettable 39 days, with 48 teams and 104 games along the way to get us to our champion.

So with the tournament over, it’s time to shift into best-and-worst mode, starting with the players.

Who excelled and made the most of their summer, and who didn’t meet expectations as their teams wilted in the brutal heat? Mark Ogden runs through his picks from the brilliant to the … not-so-brilliant.

– Reaction: How Spain won World Cup over Argentina, Messi
– Ogden: So what if Messi had a bad game? He’s still the GOAT
– Marcotti: The superstars shone at World Cup, but Spain were best team

Best XI of the 2026 World Cup

GK — Vozinha, Cape Verde: Spain’s Unai Simón has been outstanding, but look at the players in front of him. You can’t say that for Cape Verde’s Vozinha, a 40-year-old who had the tournament of his life, keeping a clean sheet against Spain and making some stunning saves to deny Lionel Messi in a heartbreaking defeat against Argentina. Vozinha made himself a World Cup legend.

DF — Djed Spence, England: The England defender was perhaps a surprise pick by Thomas Tuchel, who omitted Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold to accommodate the Spurs man, but Spence not only excelled but got better with every game and had a star performance against Argentina in the semifinal.

DF — Pau Cubarsí, Spain: It’s amazing to think that the Spain defender is just 19 years old, but he plays with such confidence and authority. He can be prone to lapses of concentration, but the Barcelona youngster is a real talent and he did well to continue in the final after being poleaxed by a terrible Enzo Fernández challenge.

DF — Aymeric Laporte, Spain: Laporte looked to be heading into the wilderness when he left Manchester City for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia in 2023, but he has since returned to Spain with Athletic Club and at 32, he looked back to his best in this tournament, forging a great partnership with Cubarsi.

DF — Marc Cucurella, Spain: The Spain left back sealed his big move to Real Madrid from Chelsea just before the tournament and he proved himself worthy of the Bernabeu with an outstanding World Cup. It seems a long time ago that his defensive abilities were being questioned in his early days at Stamford Bridge.

MF — Rodri, Spain: The Manchester City midfielder is simply the best in the world in his role as a defensive midfielder/orchestrator. Rodri always appears to be playing in a different time zone than everybody else, and he never loses the ball.

MF — Ayyoub Bouaddi, Morocco: The 18-year-old has been a real breakout star of this tournament after turning his back on France and pledging his international allegiance to Morocco earlier this year. A quarterfinal defeat against Les Bleus ended Bouaddi’s tournament, but the Lille midfielder has a huge future ahead of him.

FW — Lionel Messi, Argentina: Messi has defied his age — and logic — by starring in his sixth World Cup at the age of 39. Argentina would have been out well before the quarterfinals without their magical captain. He has ended all debate over who really is the GOAT at this tournament.

MF — Jude Bellingham, England: The England midfielder scored seven goals in this World Cup, an incredible feat for somebody who doesn’t play in the forward line. Bellingham has energy, drive, defensive capabilities and a spiky temperament, but when all of those elements are combined, he showed that he can be unstoppable.

FW — Kylian Mbappé, France: His two goals against England in the bronze medal game took the France captain to 10 for the tournament and earned him the Golden Boot as top scorer. Mbappe was sensational in every game other than the semifinal against Spain — and that’s probably why Les Bleus didn’t reach the final for a third successive World Cup.

FW — Erling Haaland, Norway: The Norway forward matched Poland’s Grzegorz Lato’s record from 1974 for the best World Cup debut with seven goals, but the Manchester City star did more than score goals for Stale Solbakken’s team. He also stole the hearts of the casual fan in the United States, thanks to his enigmatic personality, great performances and a willingness to have fun on social media.

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Burley absolutely disgusted by Argentina’s World Cup final performance

Most disappointing XI of the 2026 World Cup

GK — Fernando Muslera, Uruguay: The Uruguay No. 1 was at his fifth World Cup having come out of international retirement earlier this year, but the 40-year-old made three errors leading to goals and was substituted at halftime in the final group game against Spain, so it was a tournament too far for the former Galatasaray keeper.

DF — Joshua Kimmich, Germany: The Germany captain made only one appearance at right back for Bayern Munich last season, but Julian Nagelsmann deployed him in that role, rather than his favored defensive midfield position, and it backfired with the 31-year-old struggling throughout a woeful World Cup for four-time world champions.

DF — Virgil van Dijk, Netherlands: The Dutch conceded five goals in four games and were never convincing at the back, so van Dijk must take his share of the blame as captain and their defensive organizer. And his failure to take a spot kick in the penalty shootout exit against Morocco while younger players stepped forward wasn’t a great look.

DF — Marc Guéhi, England: The Manchester City defender was solid enough until it really mattered. Against Argentina in the semifinal, he was flat-footed, took too many touches when in possession and generally looked a level below what a player of his reputation should be, just when England needed him to step up.

DF — Nico O’Reilly, England: The 21-year-old never looked comfortable at fullback in the World Cup, despite often playing that role for Manchester City. His natural position is in midfield, and O’Reilly paid the price for his versatility by being put in a role that opposing coaches quickly realized he wasn’t suited to.

MF — Federico Valverde, Uruguay: Uruguay had a dismal World Cup that ended in acrimony with coach Marcelo Bielsa clashing with several players and the one who arguably failed to deliver more than any other was Valverde, with the Real Madrid midfielder doing little to inspire his team to qualify from a weak group behind Spain.

MF — Scott McTominay, Scotland: The Napoli midfielder arrived at the World Cup as a potential star after helping the Scots secure qualification with a stunning overhead kick goal against Denmark. But the former Manchester United player left his form in Italy and produced three forgettable and ineffective performances.

MF — Bruno Fernandes, Portugal: The midfielder was outstanding for Manchester United last season, but he has never been able to translate his club performances onto the international stage. Maybe that is down to Cristiano Ronaldo being the focal point of everything Portugal do — or don’t do, to be more accurate — but Fernandes was poor at this World Cup.

FW — Florian Wirtz, Germany: Is Wirtz the real deal, or one of football’s most overhyped playmakers? That question was asked during a lamentable first season at Liverpool, and after his no-show for Germany at the World Cup, the 23-year-old now faces a huge season at Anfield to prove that he really is a player worth his £116.5 million transfer fee.

FW — Christian Pulisic, United States: The forward made a sensational start in the first half of the 4-1 opening game win against Paraguay, but he was substituted at halftime because of an injury and then failed to come close to rediscovering that form when fit. When the pressure was on, Pulisic disappeared.

FW — Neymar, Brazil: Sorry, but what was the point of him being at the World Cup? It was a bizarre squad selection by Carlo Ancelotti considering the 34-year-old’s injury problems, and he managed only 37 minutes in total. Neymar’s place in the squad denied a call-up for Chelsea’s João Pedro who is younger, fitter and in better recent form, so it was a mistake all round to bring him along.