Spain is currently ranked by FIFA as the third-best national team in the world.

The country has competed in 17 World Cups and won its first – and to date only – title in 2010.

Belgium, meanwhile, is currently eighth in the FIFA rankings. The ‘Red Devils’ have competed in 13 World Cups, but have never won the tournament.

Their best performance came in 2018, when they finished third.

When it comes to the ‘Ballon d'Or’, Spain also has the upper hand.

In Luis de la Fuente’s squad for the 2026 World Cup, seven players have already been nominated for the ‘Ballon d'Or’, including one winner of the award.

Ballon d'Or nominees and winners in Spain’s squad for the 2026 World Cup:

  1. Pedri (nominated in 2021 and 2025)

  2. Rodri (nominated in 2023, nominated and winner in 2024)

  3. Lamine Yamal (nominated in 2024 and 2025)

  4. Dani Olmo (nominated in 2024)

  5. Nico Williams (nominated in 2024)

  6. Álex Grimaldo (nominated in 2024)

  7. Fabián Ruiz (nominated in 2025)

The Spain squad also includes four Kopa Trophy nominees, three of whom have won the award.

Kopa Trophy nominees and winners in Spain’s squad for the 2026 World Cup:

  1. Pedri (nominated in 2021 and 2023, winner in 2021)

  2. Gavi (nominated in 2022 and 2023, winner in 2022)

  3. Lamine Yamal (nominated and winner in 2024 and 2025)

  4. Pau Cubarsí (nominated in 2024 and 2025)

In addition, two goalkeepers from the Spanish squad at this World Cup have already been nominated for the Yashin Trophy.

Nominees and winners of the Yashin Trophy in Spain’s squad for the 2026 World Cup:

  1. Unai Simón (nominated in 2024)

  2. David Raya (nominated in 2025)

As for Belgium, three players from the squad for the 2026 World Cup have also been nominated for the Ballon d'Or.

Ballon d'Or nominees and winners in Belgium’s squad for the 2026 World Cup:

  1. Thibaut Courtois (nominated in 2014, 2018 and 2022)

  2. Kevin De Bruyne (nominated in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023)

  3. Romelu Lukaku (nominated in 2021)

De Bruyne finished third in 2022, whilst Courtois has already racked up four nominations and one Yashin Trophy win.

Nominees and winners of the Yashin Trophy in Spain’s squad for the 2026 World Cup:

  1. Thibaut Courtois (nominated in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025, winner in 2022)

Spain also boasts superior historical figures in the ‘Ballon d'Or’, with more than three times as many players nominated for the award compared to Belgium since the ceremony’s first edition in 1956.

In total, Spain has had 72 different players nominated for the award since 1956, whilst Belgium’s list totals 20 names.

Spanish dominance of the award is such that there have been only eight years in its history in which no Spanish player was nominated for the award: 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1992, 1993 and 2019.

Belgium, on the other hand, has gone through 34 editions of the awards without a single player being nominated (the most recent being in 2012).

Despite this, only three Spanish players – and just one in the 21st century – have actually won the award.

Spanish players who have won the ‘Ballon d'Or’:

  1. Alfredo Di Stéfano (winner in 1957 and 1959)

  2. Luis Suárez (winner in 1960)

  3. Rodri (winner in 2024)

It is worth noting that, although he played for Argentina, the country where he was born, Di Stéfano became a naturalised Spanish citizen in 1956 and went on to represent Spain for the remainder of his international career.

Although these are the only three Spaniards to have won the award, other legends from the country have racked up numerous nominations over the years and have frequently attended the ceremony.

Spanish players with the most nominations for the ‘Ballon d'Or’:

  1. Raúl – 10 nominations

  2. Andrés Iniesta / Luis Suárez – 8 nominations

  3. Xavi – 7 nominations

  4. Cesc Fàbregas / David Villa / Iker Casillas / Sergio Ramos – 6 nominations

  5. Alfredo Di Stéfano / Paco Gento / Pirri – 5 nominations

No Belgian player has ever won the award, but the country has also had players with multiple nominations at the ceremony.

Belgian players with the most nominations for the ‘Ballon d'Or’:

  1. Kevin De Bruyne – 8 nominations

  2. Paul Van Himst – 6 nominations

  3. Eden Hazard – 5 nominations

  4. Enzo Scifo / Jan Ceulemans / Wilfried Van Moer – 4 nominations

  5. Jean-Marie Pfaff / Jef Jurion / Michel Preud’homme / Thibaut Courtois – 3 nominations

As can be seen, two of the country’s leading players in this World Cup – De Bruyne and Courtois – are also among the most prominent figures in Belgium’s history at the Ballon d'Or.

Manager Rudi Garcia will also have Jérémy Doku, a former Kopa Trophy nominee, at his disposal for the quarter-final clash.

Kopa Trophy nominees and winners in Belgium’s squad for the 2026 World Cup:

  1. Jérémy Doku (nominated in 2021)

Based on Ballon d'Or’s record, Spain clearly has the upper hand.

But football is a game of surprises.

Who knows what might happen?

We’ll soon find out.

Spain or Belgium: which team has the best nominees for the Ballon d’Or?
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