* Kylian Mbappe heads the ‘Attacking’ category ahead of England’s Jude Bellingham and Argentina’s Lionel Messi
* Michael Olise wins the ‘Creativity’ section and Rodri tops four Spain stars in ‘Defending’
By Duncan Mlanjira
World football governing body, FIFA, introduced Power Rankings for players for the expanded FIFA World Cup™ 2026, which rates the top individual player performances across five distinct tactical categories.
It is a data-led system that utilises advanced algorithms to measure on-pitch impact beyond basic statistics — which was developed under the guidance of former English Premiership side Arsenal manager, Arsène Wenger.
Arsene Wenger
FIFA reports that the system was close to unbreachable, that saw Spain dominating the final ‘Defensive’ rankings with player of the tournament (Golden Ball) Spain’s Rodri ending top of the pile, ahead of three fellow La Roja stars.
In the ‘Attacking’ category, it was a France double as Kylian Mbappe won, ahead of England’s Jude Bellingham and Argentina’s Lionel Messi, while compatriot Michael Olise produced top marks in ‘Creativity’, where he shaded Messi and Mbappe.
Spain’s winning goal scorer in the 1-0 triumph of defending champions, Argentina, Ferran Torres is recorded to have produced a score of 8.55 during the final aa made a remarkable leap into the top 30 of the overall Attacking rankings, rising 94 places.
Ferran Torres
Across both the final and the 3rd place play-off, FIFA reports that “there were numerous others that also gained significant ground on those above them”.
“England forward Marcus Rashford (5.69 overall) jumped up 30 places to 44th, while his team-mate Bukayo Saka (6.50 overall) finished 13th on the back of a 27-place leap following his hat-trick heroics as the Three Lions finished third.
“In terms of Creativity, Spanish players again dominated, producing seven of the top 10 scorers in the final (as they also did in both the Attacking and Defending categories).
“There, Nico Williams’ score of 7.94 placed him ahead of Lionel Messi (7.13) on the day. Defensively, overall winner Rodri was again a standout, mustering a score of 8.22 in the tournament’s showpiece fixture, while Pau Cubarsi (7.41) also put in a fine showing.”
Mbappe ahead of Bellingham and Messi
On Mbappe becoming the leading goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history, FIFA reports that the French had an exceptional tournament as it marked winning the Golden Boot and also finished top of the Attacking category on the FIFA Power Rankings.
“The France forward was involved in a tournament-long tussle with Jude Bellingham and Lionel Messi and, thanks to another fine display in the bronze final, he finished almost a full point clear of Bellingham (8.29), with Messi (8.06) ending up third.
“In a nod to how many individuals from different nations stood out in North America, seven of the remaining slots in the top 10 were occupied by players from five different nations, including fourth-placed Erling Haaland (7.54) and Swiss starlet Johan Manzambi (6.84) who ended up 9th.
Michael Olise
Olise the creator-in-chief
In terms of Creativity, both Mbappe (7.84) and Messi (8.26) were again right in the hunt until the very end, but Michael Olise (8.29) held them off to top the section.
“Whether playing just in behind or to the right of Mbappe, Olise was the creator-in-chief for a France side that finished 4th, thanks in no small measure to his tournament-high seven assists.
“Three other La Roja stars, Lamine Yamal (7.47), Alex Baena (7.14) and Dani Olmo (7.14) also finished in the top ten, along with a pair of Englishmen in Anthony Gordon (7.42) and Marcus Rashford (7.28).
Spain’s steel ring
FIFA further reports that “what Spain did in conceding just a single goal across eight matches, and more than 800 minutes of action, is an extraordinary defensive achievement that will be very hard to top”.
“It was little surprise, then, that a fleet of La Roja stars topped the Defensive category, led by the adidas Golden Ball winner Rodri (8.23).
“The pair of central defenders stationed behind him, Pau Cubarsi (7.60) and Aymeric Laporte (7.14) finished second and fourth respectively.
“Right-back Pedro Porro (7.59) finished third to make a clean sweep of the top four places for this watertight Spain side.
Diogo Costa and Pickford top keeper rankings
Their nations may not have featured in the final of the FIFA World Cup™ 2026 but Portugal’s Diogo Costa and England’s Jordan Pickford have earned individual accolades, finishing on top of the two Goalkeeping categories.
It was Diogo Costa (8.45) who finished on top of the Defending the Goal section, narrowly clear of Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez (8.15).
The Portuguese star made 19 saves across a competition that ended for the Iberians in the Round of 16.
“His tournament was built on repeated high-value interventions in tight matches,” says FIFA. “The 26-year-old’s decisive ranking performance came against Spain in the Round of 16, when he made five saves from six shots faced in a 1-0 defeat.
“Portugal went out, but Costa’s shot-stopping body of work still finished above every goalkeeper in the category.”
Diogo Costa’s underlying metrics include: Goalkeeper (19); Attempts at goal faced (23); Goal preventions (69); Passes completed (98 of 125); Completed line breaks (16); GK throws (20).
“Standing behind a watertight defence, Unai Simon (7.72) finished 6th in Defending the Goal, with the adidas Golden Glove winner (7.88) second in the In Possession category.
“It was a wonderful tournament for Simon, who is now 3rd on the all-time list of clean sheets in FIFA World Cup™ history, with nine in 12 matches.
“Having finished 2nd in possession and 6th for defending the goal, his performance perfectly reflects Spain’s triumph.
“He was rarely asked to dominate matches with spectacular volume, but repeatedly gave Spain security, availability and calm restarts from the back.”
Unai Simon’s underlying metrics: Passes completed )253 of 314); Completed line breaks (50); GK saves: (9); Attempts at goal faced (11); Goal preventions (49); Possession regains (71).
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