The 2026 FIFA World Cup just entered the knockout rounds, but fans were treated to a spectacle during the group stage. We’ve witnessed history being made, goals, joy, heartbreak, and everything in between. Several players stole the spotlight every passing day: some became cult heroes, while some played a genuinely good game.
I’ll be listing down my nominees for each category and then select my pick for who should be the winner for said category. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Messi defies time and logic because he cannot be stopped even after appearing at his sixth World Cup. A hat-trick against Algeria, a brace against Austria, and a goal against Jordan meant that Messi scored six goals in just three matches so far, with his brace vs. Austria helping him break Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 World Cup goals.
Olise is the silent puller of strings for the France national football team. Evident during his most recent and so far, most prolific season at Bayern Munich, the 24-year-old is the heart of the attacking unit for France, providing assists and showcasing his technical abilities and was named Man of the Match against Senegal.
The lethal German striker is operating at a blistering pace in terms of goal contributions from the bench. Three goals and two assists inside just under an hour of total minutes played for the 2014 World Cup winners is an impressive feat, and he proves that he’s the man for Germany after rescuing them against Ivory Coast.
Best Young Player (Ones to Watch)
For this category, I narrowed my pool down to players born in 2004 and up.
In his sole appearance at the group stage for co-hosts Mexico, Chávez opened the scoring against Czechia while he shut down his side of the pitch. Chávez isn’t the only bright young’un with El Tri, as he is joined by Obed Vargas and Gilberto Mora where they will spearhead Javier Aguirre’s youthful revolution with the Mexican national football team.
At only 18 years of age, Bouaddi ran the show for Morocco against five-time winners Brazil in what was his World Cup debut. The Lille starlet is the youngest player to 50 appearances in Ligue 1, the French top flight, and his display against the Seleção showed why France manager Didier Deschamps made a big mistake in not calling him up. He managed to show up accomplished veterans Casemiro and Fabinho; he played like a player beyond his age. On top of that, he managed to complete most of his passes and was highly involved in the build-up of attacking sequences despite being a holding midfielder.
Manzambi is a highly rated midfielder who plays for Switzerland and SC Freiburg at club level. He is described as an absolute powerhouse in the midfield and is known for his ball-carrying ability, tactical intelligence, and physical attributes. The 20-year-old is also noted for his progressive runs, creative vision and unpredictable passing skills. In essence, Manzambi is shaping into a modern-day Ruud Gullit and he already has some of Europe’s top clubs monitoring him.
The mercurial Frenchman has been a key player in France’s quest for a third World Cup win in its entire history. The Real Madrid frontman notched two goals in the game against Senegal, another two against Iraq, and assisted twice against Norway. He is poised to overtake Messi’s World Cup tally in the near future, with only a few goals separating the two superstars.
The towering Viking is an unstoppable force! The Manchester City striker emerged as the leading man for Norway in his country’s first appearance at the tournament in nearly 30 years. He scored two goals against Iraq and scored another two against Senegal.
The relentless Colombian winger is a danger man for Los Cafeteros, registering two goals and one assist for his country in the group stage. Apart from his direct goal contributions and threat in the final third, the 29-year-old is also known for his defensive qualities which is one of his defining traits at Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich’s new signing ran the show for Morocco at the World Cup so far. The 24-year-old has scored in all three group stage matches and was named Man of the Match against Brazil and Scotland.
Vite starred in midfield for Ecuador as he and his teammates ran tirelessly against a hapless Germany side. Vite would go on to assist the equalizer and helped disrupt the attacking play of the Germans. The Pumas midfielder also turned in solid shifts against Ivory Coast and Curaçao.
The midfield engine for FC Barcelona remains one of the most crucial pieces in Luis de la Fuente’s setup at the national team. Despite being held to a 0-0 draw by debutants Cabo Verde, Pedri nevertheless controlled the match and continuously set up chances for his teammates. This carried on throughout all the group stage matches, with the 23-year-old’s pass rate being consistent across the board.
Cubarsí has already earned praise for his defensive qualities and composure at such a young age when he first broke through at FC Barcelona, and it showed in the matches against Cabo Verde and Uruguay. The 19-year-old has only been dribbled past once and made several key tackles, interceptions, and clearances.
Upamecano is one of the standout players for Bayern Munich during the recently concluded 2025/26 season and he hasn’t missed a beat for the France national football team. Despite conceding twice in separate games, the 27-year-old ensured that his team was safe at the back while the attackers did the damage. Upamecano had a higher tally in all of the categories mentioned above with Cubarsí while also showcasing his passing ability.
Much like his compatriot Luis Díaz, Muñoz is a defensive and offensive powerhouse. He scored twice in the group stage against DR Congo and Uzbekistan and never stopped running down the right side of the pitch. He also won the Man of the Match award against the former.
Josimar José Évora Dias, known as Vozinha, made headlines during Cabo Verde’s opening match against European champions Spain in the first group match. The 40-year-old goalkeeper made 10 saves and kept a clean sheet while he and his defence kept the 2010 World Cup winners at bay to earn their first ever point at the World Cup. Vozinha started in goal in the 2-2 draw with Uruguay and kept another clean sheet against Saudi Arabia to book a place in the Round of 32, where they will face current World Cup champions Argentina.
Beach is a debutant with the Australian national football team and was surprisingly given the nod over stalwart Mathew Ryan against Türkiye. The 23-year-old made eight saves as the Socceroos claimed a 2-0 victory over the 2002 World Cup bronze medalists. Beach played the rest of the group stage in net in the 2-0 loss to co-hosts United States and kept another clean sheet against Paraguay.
Room did concede seven goals to Germany, but he made sure there was no “Room” for goals in his net as he made a staggering 15 saves against Ecuador and prevented 2.84 expected goals from going in. His performance in that game made him the goalkeeper with the second-highest number of saves since Tim Howard’s legendary 16 saves for the United States against Belgium in 2014. Room did have bragging rights, as he made the most saves of any goalkeeper in World Cup history inside regulation time (90 minutes); USA vs. Belgium in 2014 went to extra time.
Les Bleus is one of only three teams to win all three group stage games. The two-time World Cup winners are big favorites to win this tournament, boasting talents such as Michael Olise, Kylian Mbappé, Désiré Doué, Dayot Upamecano, Rayan Cherki, and many others. With a star-studded attack and a broad bench, the French are a team that everyone fears, and for good reason.
World Cup holders Argentina have set foot on their journey to defend their crown against a host of nations from across the world and so far, they’re on the right track. Winning all three games and conceding just once, the 2022 World Cup champions are a solid team and trying to stop Lionel Messi and co from inflicting damage will take some beating.
A bit of an oddball choice, but Japan is no pushover. Tireless running and sheer determination combined with technical and physical abilities are some of the key attributes that define the Samurai Blues. Clawing back a draw against the Netherlands and holding Sweden to a draw, coupled with a 4-0 drubbing of Tunisia, was enough for the former World Cup co-host to advance to the knockout stage. While they were knocked out by Brazil thanks to a late goal in stoppage time, the Japanese showed heart and fight all the way to the bitter end.
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!