The FIFA World Cup 2026 is over. Spain is the world champion. And one nation swept almost every individual award on the night.
After 104 matches, five weeks of football across the United States, Mexico, and Canada, and one of the most dramatic finals in World Cup history, the prizes have been handed out at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Spain beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time in the World Cup final, and FIFA confirmed all post-tournament award winners as La Roja lifted the trophy.
Here is everything you need to know about every individual award from the 2026 FIFA World Cup — from the Golden Boot to the Golden Glove, the Golden Ball to the Best Young Player — along with the full top scorers list, a look at the historic records set, and what made this tournament one for the ages.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup Award Winners at a Glance
| Award | Winner | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Boot (Top Scorer) | Kylian Mbappé | 🇫🇷 France | |
| Golden Ball (Best Player) | Rodri | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| Golden Glove (Best Goalkeeper) | Unai Simón | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| Best Young Player | Pau Cubarsí | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| FIFA Fair Play Award | – | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
Golden Boot: Kylian Mbappé (France) — 10 Goals
France’s Kylian Mbappé walked away with the Golden Boot award for the second consecutive FIFA World Cup, courtesy of his 10 goals during the 2026 tournament. Mbappé pipped Argentina’s Lionel Messi to the post after netting two goals in France’s 6-4 defeat in the bronze-medal match, while he also made four assists during the tournament.
It was a tournament that showcased Mbappé at his absolute, breathtaking best. The PSG captain scored in every knockout round, carried France through a brutally difficult path to the final, and did it with the kind of pace, precision, and composure that no other player on the planet can replicate. His tally of 10 goals across eight games — an average of 1.25 goals per match — is one of the finest individual Golden Boot performances in World Cup history.
Playing in back-to-back finals, Lionel Messi still had a shot at the Golden Boot heading into the final but could not add to his eight goals following Argentina’s 1-0 defeat to Spain. That narrow miss meant Mbappé clinched the award outright — his second consecutive Golden Boot after also winning in Qatar 2022🥾 Top Scorers — 2026 FIFA World Cup
| Rank | Player | Country | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kylian Mbappé | 🇫🇷 France | 10 | 4 |
| 2 | Lionel Messi | 🇦🇷 Argentina | 8 | 4 |
| 3 | Jude Bellingham | 🏴 England | 7 | 1 |
| 3 | Erling Haaland | 🇳🇴 Norway | 6 | 1 |
| 5 | Harry Kane | 🏴 England | 6 | 1 |
| 5 | Ousmane Dembélé | 🇫🇷 France | 6 | 2 |
The Golden Boot race was one of the defining storylines of the entire tournament. At various points, Messi, Haaland, Kane, and Bellingham were all in contention.
Haaland’s stunning 7 goals — including a brace against Brazil in the quarterfinals — made him the tournament’s great individual story. But when France needed Mbappé most, in the bronze medal match, he delivered two more to end any debate.
Golden Ball: Rodri (Spain) — Best Player of the Tournament
The best player on the best team. It was never really in doubt.
Rodri has been crowned the tournament’s best player and awarded the Golden Ball after Spain beat Argentina in the final.
Spain’s captain was the engine, the anchor, and the heartbeat of the greatest team at this World Cup. Playing in front of the most miserly defense in tournament history, Rodri controlled games with a metronome-like precision that made Spain almost impossible to break down. He won the ball, recycled possession, dictated tempo, and protected his backline across eight matches that Spain won without ever truly being threatened.
The Golden Ball podium finished with Rodri taking gold, Lionel Messi silver, and Kylian Mbappé bronze.
For Rodri, this adds a World Cup winner’s medal and the Golden Ball to a trophy cabinet that already includes a Ballon d’Or. After missing almost an entire club season through injury, returning to lead Spain to back-to-back tournament triumphs — Euro 2024 and now the 2026 World Cup — is a story that will be told for generations.
Golden Glove: Unai Simón (Spain) — Best Goalkeeper
Seven clean sheets. One goal conceded. Record-breaking. Peerless.
Simón was awarded the 2026 FIFA World Cup Golden Glove, bowing out of the competition with a record seven clean sheets. The 29-year-old conceded only one goal in eight matches during Spain’s campaign, against Belgium.
No team has ever conceded fewer goals en route to winning the World Cup. Simón kept a remarkable seven clean sheets in eight matches, with a save percentage of 90.9%.
In the final itself, Simón was barely tested — Argentina’s suffocating pressure from Spain meant Emiliano Martínez at the other end was the goalkeeper kept far busier. But throughout the tournament, Simón’s positioning, command of his area, and composure in the biggest moments were flawless. Spain’s historically defensive tournament record was built on his shoulders as much as anyone else’s.
His Golden Glove is the perfect capstone to a tournament in which Spain’s defensive structure was the most extraordinary seen at a World Cup in decades.
Best Young Player: Pau Cubarsí (Spain) — 19 Years Old
Nineteen years old. Eight matches played. World champion. Award winner. Unbelievable.
Spain’s Pau Cubarsí was named the Best Young Player at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. At just 19 years old, the Barcelona defender was imperious at the back throughout the tournament for the world champions.
To be eligible for this year’s award, a player must have been less than 21 years old at the start of 2026. Cubarsí appeared in all 8 matches for Spain. He wasn’t just eligible — he was the standout young player in the tournament by a considerable margin.
What makes Cubarsí’s story even more remarkable is the manner in which he stepped into the World Cup final. Enzo Fernández was sent off in second-half stoppage time after getting his second yellow card for a reckless foul on Pau Cubarsí — a challenge that sent Cubarsí cartwheeling into the air. The teenager got back up, got on with the game, and ended the night a World Cup winner.
The Best Young Player Award was first awarded in 2006 when Germany’s Lukas Podolski won the prize. Previous winners include Thomas Müller, Paul Pogba, Kylian Mbappé, and Enzo Fernández. Cubarsí now takes his place in that illustrious list — the youngest World Cup winner in Spain’s history.
The Final: How Spain Beat Argentina 1-0 (AET)
For context, every award handed out Sunday night was shaped by what happened on the pitch at MetLife Stadium.
Ferran Torres came off the bench and scored in the 106th minute, and Spain — in a match it simply dominated — ended Argentina’s reign with a 1-0 win. Torres, a 62nd-minute substitute for Mikel Oyarzabal, sealed a 1-0 win when he struck from close range in the 106th minute — his first goal of this year’s World Cup.
Denying Lionel Messi a second straight title in what he has indicated would be his final World Cup match, Torres pounced on a bouncing ball in the box and used his left foot to bury a shot just under the crossbar and into the back of the net.
It was a match of extraordinary tension. Emiliano Martínez broke the championship-game record of eight saves, finishing with 11. Argentina defended for their lives, reduced to 10 men after Enzo Fernández’s red card, but ultimately had no answer to Spain’s relentless pressure and Ferran Torres’ decisive moment.
“The goal belonged to 47 million people,” Torres said. “It wasn’t just mine or the 26 players. Destiny was written, and it was meant for us to win far away from our people.”
Spain’s Historic Records at World Cup 2026
This wasn’t just a winning campaign. It was the most dominant defensive performance in World Cup history.
- ✅ 7 clean sheets in 8 matches — World Cup record (Unai Simón)
- ✅ Only 1 goal conceded across the entire tournament — World Cup record
- ✅ Second World Cup title for Spain (2010, 2026)
- ✅ Unbeaten run extending well over two years without a 90-minute defeat
- ✅ Three individual awards — Golden Ball (Rodri), Golden Glove (Simón), Best Young Player (Cubarsí)
Messi’s Final Chapter
No discussion of the 2026 World Cup awards is complete without acknowledging the other side of Sunday’s story.
Lionel Messi, at 39, produced one of the most extraordinary individual tournament performances in World Cup history — 8 goals, multiple assists, dragging Argentina through impossible moments including a 3-2 comeback from 2-0 down against Egypt in the quarterfinals. Lionel Scaloni, Argentina’s manager, called Messi “the best to ever stand on a pitch” in a tear-filled post-match World Cup recap.
If this was his last match — and all indications suggest it was — Messi exits the World Cup stage with two titles (2022), a Golden Ball (2022), and a playing record that no statistical model can fully capture. The tournament’s silver medal and a Silver Ball in 2026 add to a legacy that needs no further validation.
He left MetLife Stadium to a standing ovation from 82,000 fans — including from the Spain supporters who had just seen their team beat him.
That tells you everything.
How to Revisit the 2026 World Cup Highlights
Every match from the 2026 FIFA World Cup is available to stream on demand:
- 🇺🇸 USA: FOX One app, Peacock (Spanish-language), Fubo, YouTube TV
- 🇦🇺 Australia: SBS On Demand
- 🇨🇦 Canada: DAZN, TSN
- 🇬🇧 UK: ITVX, BBC iPlayer
The Bottom Line
Spain dominated this World Cup from start to finish — unbeaten, record-setting, and worthy. Their sweep of the individual awards reflects a team that was not just the best in the tournament, but perhaps the best international side seen in years.
Mbappé’s Golden Boot — his second in a row — cements his status as the greatest goalscorer of his generation. Rodri’s Golden Ball confirms what every football analyst already knew: he is the finest midfielder in the world. Simón’s Golden Glove rewrites the record books. And Cubarsí’s Best Young Player award signals that Spain’s dominance is not ending any time soon.
For five unforgettable weeks across North America, the world watched the beautiful game at its most beautiful. Spain lifted the trophy. The memories will last a lifetime.