Rodri Hernández was crowned the best player of the 2026 World Cup after receiving the Golden Ball of the tournament for leading Spain to the title in New Jersey, where the team defeated Argentina 1-0 in the overtime of the final held this Sunday.
The midfielder played all eight matches of the tournament as a starter and set a historic record by completing over 650 passes in a single World Cup edition, with an accuracy rate of nearly 93%.
With those figures, Rodri surpassed his own record from Qatar 2022 and that of Xavi Hernández from South Africa 2010, in addition to leading the tournament in completed passes in the final third of the field with 170 passes in that area.
The award comes after the Manchester City midfielder overcame a serious injury that sidelined him for almost the entire 2024-2025 season, entering the tournament amidst uncertainties about his performance level.
His performance in the championship dispelled any questions: "He has delivered eight outstanding displays throughout the tournament, reaffirming his status as the best in the world in his position in case anyone had any doubts before the World Cup," noted the sports newspaper Marca.
Rodri also became the fifth captain in history to lift the World Cup.
All the individual awards of the 2026 World Cup
The FIFA recognized the most outstanding figures of the tournament with the following awards:
- Ballon d'Or (best player): Rodri Hernández (Spain)
- Golden Boot (top scorer): Kylian Mbappé (France)
- Golden Glove (best goalkeeper): Unai Simón (Spain)
- Best young player: Pau Cubarsí (Spain)
- Fair Play Award: Netherlands
Mbappé, historic goal scorer
Kylian Mbappé won the Golden Boot with 10 goals in eight matches, becoming the first player since Gerd Müller in 1970 to achieve that number in a single tournament edition.
The French forward surpassed Lionel Messi, who finished with eight goals, and Erling Haaland, with seven, and became the first footballer to win the Golden Boot in two different World Cups, having also achieved this in Qatar 2022.
With 22 goals scored in three World Cup appearances, Mbappé is now the all-time top scorer in World Cup history, ahead of Messi (21) and Miroslav Klose (16).
Unai Simón and Pau Cubarsí, the other major award winners from Spain
Unai Simón won the Golden Glove after keeping seven clean sheets in the tournament and conceding only one goal throughout the championship.
Pau Cubarsí, central defender for FC Barcelona at just 19 years old, received the award for best young player after achieving a 98.3% pass completion rate (290 out of 295) and being the only player under 20 to play every minute of the tournament.
In the final, the MVP of the match was Ferran Torres, the scorer of the only goal of the game in the 106th minute of extra time, which awarded Spain its second World Cup star, 16 years after the first one in South Africa 2010.
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