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Lionel Messi – The eternal champion
This summer has proven that age does not weary an eternal champion. A winner of eight Ballon d’Or awards, Messi’s contribution to international football continues to be of the utmost quality, even at 39.
A lost final doesn’t change that.
Records that Messi broke at the 2026 World Cup
By virtue of Argentina’s opening fixture preceding Portugal’s by 24 hours, Messi became the first player to compete in six different World Cups. Ronaldo joined him in this achievement a day later.
Most matches played in the competition, performing his magic at the expense of 34 opponents.
Most World Cup matches as team captain.
Most minutes played in the tournament, a wearying 2,814.
Most wins in World Cup history, recording 22 following Argentina’s semi-final triumph over England.
Most Player of the Match awards in World Cup history.
His treble against Algeria made Messi to oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick.
Most goals scored in the group stages, with 14 converted for La Albiceleste between 2006 and 2026.
A brace of assists versus England means he boasts the most World Cup assists with 12.
It naturally follows that his ability to create, as well as score, has led to a record number of World Cup goal involvements, a total of 33. The next on that list is Kylian Mbappe with 27.
Read more about Messi’s record-breaking World Cup here
Kylian Mbappe – Prolific on the biggest stage
Kylian Mbappé’s name has become synonymous with the World Cup, and his story at this year’s tournament only strengthened that connection.
Records Mbappé broke at the 2026 World Cup
He became the all-time top scorer in World Cup history. His remarkable tally of 22 goals, at just 27 years of age, put him ahead of Lionel Messi (Argentina), who has 21.
Mbappé is now one of only four players in history to score 10 or more goals at a single World Cup, joining fellow Frenchman Just Fontaine (13 in 1958), Sándor Kocsis for Hungary (11 in 1954) and Gerd Müller for West Germany (10 in 1970).
The Real Madrid star became the first player to win the World Cup Golden Boot twice, finishing as the tournament's top scorer in both the 2022 and 2026 editions.
His 23 shots on target at this year's tournament are the most by any player in a single World Cup since Eusébio (Portugal), who recorded 29 in 1966.
Despite France losing twice during the tournament, Mbappé remains one of the competition's greatest match-winners. Since making his World Cup debut, he has scored the winning goal in eight different matches - more than any other player in history.
He is now France's all-time leader in World Cup appearances with 22, and the first French player to score five or more goals in two different editions of the tournament (2022 and 2026).
This year's tournament also saw Mbappé overtake Olivier Giroud to become France's all-time leading scorer, with 66 international goals. He is now also one of only 10 players in history to have made more than 100 appearances for the French national team, reaching 106 caps.
Read more about Mbappe’s record-breaking World Cup here
Ousmane Dembélé – A perfect partner in crime
Ousmane Dembélé, the reigning Ballon d’Or winner, enjoyed an outstanding World Cup with France, showcasing the same exceptional qualities that have made him one of Paris Saint-Germain’s standout players this season.
Alongside Kylian Mbappé, he formed one of the most potent attacking partnerships in World Cup history, with a combined total of 16 goals and six assists. The duo are now the only French players ever to score five or more goals in the same edition of the tournament, and the first pair from any nation to achieve the feat since Ronaldo and Rivaldo’s iconic partnership in 2002.
Dembélé’s six World Cup goals have also seen him draw level with nine-time Ballon d’Or nominee Thierry Henry. Among French players, only Kylian Mbappé and Just Fontaine have scored more goals in the competition.
One of the standout moments of his tournament came in the group stage against Norway, when he scored a hat-trick in just 32 minutes. It is the second-fastest World Cup hat-trick on record, behind only Austria’s Erich Probst, who completed his hat-trick against Czechoslovakia in just 24 minutes at the 1954 tournament.
Read more about Dembele’s World Cup feats here
Luka Modric – Class never ages
Among the biggest farewells at this year’s World Cup was that of Luka Modrić, one of football’s most beloved and accomplished veterans.
The midfielder is widely regarded as the greatest player in Croatia’s history. In 2018, he won the Ballon d’Or after leading his country to its first-ever World Cup final.
Modrić leaves this year’s tournament with 202 appearances for the national team, making him the third most-capped international player in history, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (233 appearances for Portugal) and Lionel Messi (207 for Argentina).
Although Croatia were eliminated in the Round of 32, Modrić remained the heartbeat of the team during the tournament, controlling the tempo and orchestrating play. Across just four matches, he completed an impressive 222 accurate passes.
His corner, which led to Nikola Vlašić’s winning header against Ghana, added another milestone to Modrić’s remarkable career. At 40 years and 291 days old, he became the oldest player ever to register an assist at a World Cup.
Read more about Luka Modric’s World Cup feats here
Cristiano Ronaldo – Elite endurance
Ronaldo’s remarkable ability to maintain the highest possible standards across a 23 year career has resulted in a multitude of records falling across the Atlantic.
Records that CR7 broke at the 2026 World Cup
Most appearances for his national team, reaching 233 games for Portugal. In that period he has scored an unparalleled 146 goals.
Becoming one of only three players in history to be called up for six World Cups, alongside Lionel Messi (Argentina) and Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico).
Against Spain, in the round of 16, he became the oldest player to start a match in the history of World Cups (excluding goalkeepers), at 41 years and 151 days.
In addition, he became only the second player in history to start 25 World Cup matches, behind only Lionel Messi (Argentina).
He also became the first player to score in six different World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026).
His converted penalty against Croatia made him the oldest player to score in a knockout stage of the competition.
With 11 goals, he became Portugal's top scorer in World Cups. Eusébio had been the owner of the record for 60 years, with nine.
Finally, he became the only European player to score in 11 major tournaments (Euro Cups and World Cups)
Read more about Ronaldo’s record-breaking World Cup feats here.
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Rodri – The Grandmaster of Passing
In leading his country to World Cup glory La Roja’s midfield metronome becomes only the fourth player to complete a rare quaternary of honours, winning the World Cup, Euros, Champions League and Ballon d’Or.
The other greats to achieve this are Gerd Muller, Franz Beckenbauer and Zinedine Zidane.
The beating heart of Spain’s domination via possession, Rodri demonstrated his high-worth this summer by completing 655 passes.
No player has ever matched that in a single tournament on record.
He additionally, completed more final third passes than anyone else in this year’s edition of the competition.
Rodri has now won back-to-back major honours with his country. He won the Golden Ball on both occasions.
Read more about Rodri’s World Cup feats here.
Harry Kane – Spot-kick king
The England captain’s crucial spot-kick at the Stadio Azteca not only ensured progress to the quarter-finals for the Three Lions. It extended Kane’s record for converting the most penalty kicks (excluding shoot-outs).
He has successfully converted six across three World Cups.
Earlier in the tournament, a typically opportunist header against Panama meant that Kane became England’s all-time record goalscorer at World Cup finals, edging past Gary Lineker’s long-held return.
Lastly, the striker’s semi-final appearance against Argentina must have been an especially proud moment, it making the 32-year-old England’s most capped outfield player (121).
Read more about Kane’s World Cup feats here.
Lamine Yamal – The 21st century wizard of dribble
The teenage Ballon d’Or runner-up was expected to shine bright at the World Cup, repeating his exceptional output at Euro 2024 that saw him named as the Young Player of the Tournament.
In the event, others captured the headlines, the Barcelona winger settling for a goal against Saudi Arabia and an assist versus France in a one-sided semi-final.
That’s taking nothing away from Yamal’s performances, however, nor his endeavour to entertain. No player at the World Cup completed more dribbles (35) than the 19-year-old.
Moreover, he has become the first player under the age of 20 to win both the UEFA European Championship and the FIFA World Cup.
Read more about Yamal's World Cup 2026 feats here
Michael Olise – Creator supreme
In 2025/26, Olise registered 31 assists for Bayern Munich, 21 of which were in the Bundesliga.
Such a high-yield continued into the World Cup this summer, the winger racking up a further seven assists for Les Bleus, a historic tally that included two braces, against Iraq and Sweden.
Notably, four of his assists were for Kylian Mbappe as the Real Madrid forward fired a tournament-high 10 goals.
In setting up Mbappe for his second against England last weekend, Olise overtook a prominent name to secure the record, a certain Pele.
Read more about Olise's World Cup feats here
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