At the end of each season, FIFA honors the best players in the world. The jury takes into account statistics, positions, and on-field performance — regardless of the clubs they play for or the national teams they will represent at this World Cup — to determine who would make up the ideal starting 11, the best possible lineup.
This year, seven national teams have players included among the best, and with them comes the promise of the 2026 World Cup. Spain, England, and Portugal stand out, each boasting two top players. The list does not include a goalkeeper, as Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma misses out with his country failing to qualify for the World Cup
The best on the field: Ousmane Dembélé
The French forward and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) starter was named FIFA’s Best Player in December 2025, as well as winning the Ballon d’Or awarded by France Football. In the voting, Dembélé received support from captains Lionel Messi, Harry Kane, and Marquinhos. According to UEFA data, he scored eight goals for the Parisian club in last season’s Champions League and stands as one of the leading figures for his national team — also among the favorites to win the World Cup.
Spain’s young talents on the pitch
Lamine Yamal and Pedri, both Barcelona players, are among those recognized as top performers. In the FIFA Men’s World 11, Yamal — the breakout star of the 2024 Euros — stands out as one of the favored forwards. Last season, he scored six goals in the 10 matches he played for his club, according to UEFA statistics.
Before his team arrived in the Americas, Yamal suffered a left leg injury, raising concerns that he might miss out. However, in Spain’s opening match, he came on for the final 25 minutes against Cape Verde and, in his second appearance, scored his first World Cup goal as well as Spain’s first of the tournament.
Pedri González, who made his debut at 16, has already played in two European Championships and will feature in his second World Cup with the Spanish national team this year. The coaching staff had envisioned him as an attacking midfielder, but his deeper role at Barcelona prompted head coach Luis de la Fuente to adjust his plans. According to UEFA statistics, he played nine matches and provided two assists. A right leg injury kept him sidelined for a month between January and February 2026, along with two earlier injuries at the end of 2025.
England’s midfielders
Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid’s star, takes one of the midfield spots in FIFA’s selection of top players. The 22-year-old is one of the central figures in the England national team. Another player named by football’s governing body this year is Cole Palmer, but in a controversial decision, England manager Thomas Tuchel opted not to include him in the squad. Palmer was the player who saw the least time on the pitch, logging just 277 minutes across four matches.
Portugal has Vitinha and Mendes on the pitch
The two players, club teammates at Paris Saint-Germain during the regular season, were selected for FIFA’s 11 for their work as a midfielder and a defender, respectively. Vitinha has covered more distance on the pitch than any other player, logging 202.9 kilometers (126 miles), and scoring six goals. He is also among the players with the most appearances in this season’s Champions League.
The Portuguese defender, Mendes, was granted special permission to delay his arrival at the national team training camp, as he and his PSG teammates had just won the Champions League. He joined the squad only five days before the start of the World Cup, although Portugal did not play its first match until June 17.
Van Dijk, the oldest player among the top picks
Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk, 34, is chasing World Cup glory with the Netherlands. The oldest player on the FIFA Men’s World 11, he played in 12 Champions League matches last season and scored two goals for Liverpool. After the team’s opening match against Japan, he became one of the most outspoken critics of the hydration breaks — one of FIFA’s newer measures introduced through each half of games — arguing that they only exist to insert commercials.
The only two players not representing European national teams
Ecuador’s William Pacho and Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi are the only players on the list who are not playing with European national teams. Pacho has also been part of Paris Saint-Germain since 2024 and has won the Champions League twice. The defender, who was born in Quinindé, began his career at Independiente del Valle and made the move to Belgian side Royal Antwerp in 2020. After a year with Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt, he settled at PSG in 2022.
Achraf Hakimi, born in Madrid to Moroccan parents, began his professional career at Real Madrid, the club where he spent his early years as a footballer, before moving to Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 after shorter spells at Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan. Although he was eligible to play for Spain, the defender chose to represent Morocco.
During the Qatar World Cup, his team made a surprise run to the semifinals, before losing to France. Hakimi faces a trial in France on charges of alleged rape, but he played two matches during that World Cup.
The last World Cup for a generation of stars
This is the tournament where the game’s greatest players are crowned, the final marker before their retirement from international competition. In the 2026 FIFA World Cup, some of the top scorers of recent years are saying goodbye to the pitch. The legendary Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are playing in their sixth World Cup, making history at the age of 40.
Messi lifted the trophy as captain in the previous edition. The streets of Buenos Aires were filled with his team’s jersey, and across the world, shirts bore the name of the player born in Rosario in 1987. Up to Argentina’s second match, Messi has set the record for the most goals scored in World Cup history, although the statistics referenced here only include data prior to the World Cup’s opening in Mexico.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, still dreams of winning the trophy for the first time with Portugal, but stands as the top scorer between the two players — icons long idolized and set against each other during their years at rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. Ronaldo currently plays in Saudi Arabia’s professional league, where he leads Al Nassr.
On Croatia’s side, Luka Modrić — also in his 40s — is playing in his fifth World Cup, after his team finished as runners-up to France in 2018, losing the final 4–2. That year, he was awarded the Ballon d’Or for his performances on the pitch, and he has since indicated that the end of his professional career is near.
Meanwhile, Neymar Jr., 34, has said this will also be his farewell to international football with Brazil. His call-up to the national squad came as a surprise even to him, prompting a celebratory reaction when the announcement was made.
Methodology
FIFA selected the ideal XI at the end of 2025. Seasonal data is based on UEFA Champions League statistics, while information on players nearing retirement comes from their career records prior to the tournament.
Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition
