{"id":1470134,"date":"2026-07-20T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?post_type=features&#038;p=1470134"},"modified":"2026-07-20T09:37:39","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T08:37:39","slug":"2026-world-cup-team-of-the-tournament","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/2026-world-cup-team-of-the-tournament\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 World Cup Team of the Tournament: Spain dominate after lifting the trophy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/world-cup-2026-betting-tips-predictions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2026 World Cup<\/a> delivered five incredible weeks of action and Sunday&#8217;s final put an end to the tournament.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/spain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spain<\/a> beat <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/argentina\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Argentina<\/a> 1-0 after dominating them for nearly the whole 120 minutes. It was La Roja&#8217;s second ever trophy, following the 2010 success in similar fashion: late-ish goal in extra time playing against 10 men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their almost flawless run means they owned the Squawka Team of the Tournament. The final was their seventh straight win, with them only dropping points in the Group H opener against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/cabo-verde\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cape Verde<\/a>. A total of seven clean sheets is also a new World Cup record for any side in a single campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Albiceleste finished second but Lionel Messi carried them all the way through. Which, in fact, matches our selections for the XI we came up with. Let&#8217;s dig in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/20035341\/line-up_4-3-3-1-819x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1470137\" srcset=\"https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/20035341\/line-up_4-3-3-1-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/20035341\/line-up_4-3-3-1-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/20035341\/line-up_4-3-3-1-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/20035341\/line-up_4-3-3-1-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/20035341\/line-up_4-3-3-1-214x267.jpg 214w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/20035341\/line-up_4-3-3-1-160x200.jpg 160w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/20035341\/line-up_4-3-3-1-48x60.jpg 48w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/20035341\/line-up_4-3-3-1-120x150.jpg 120w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/20035341\/line-up_4-3-3-1-59x74.jpg 59w, https:\/\/media.squawka.com\/images\/2026\/07\/20035341\/line-up_4-3-3-1.jpg 1620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-goalkeeper-diogo-costa-portugal\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Goalkeeper: Diogo Costa (Portugal)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Diogo Costa had quite a light start in the 2026 World Cup. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/portugal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Portugal<\/a> faced <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/congo-dr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DR Congo<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/uzbekistan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Uzbekistan<\/a> in their first two games and he didn&#8217;t have much to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But as the tournament went on, level of opposition increased and he responded accordingly. Three straight matches with 5+ saves against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/colombia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Colombia<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/croatia\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Croatia<\/a> and Spain meant the Porto shot-stopper finished his campaign with 86% save percentage while making 3.8 per game. He also had a positive impact in the goals prevented metric (+1.6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Honorable mention: Orlando Gill (Paraguay)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-right-back-pedro-porro-spain\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Right-back: Pedro Porro (Spain)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pedro Porro was one of many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/tottenham-hotspur\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tottenham Hotspur<\/a> players that showed out in the World Cup and left many wondering why Spurs struggled so much in the Premier League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After starting the tournament on the bench with Marcos Llorente in Luis de la Fuente&#8217;s preferred XI, he took over in the knockout stages and delivered immediately. But the goal against Austria wouldn&#8217;t be his last, as he saved it to ultimately seal the deal against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/france\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">France<\/a> and send his country to the final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also recorded a second assist against Argentina, crossing the ball to Nico Williams who then set up Ferran Torres for the winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Honorable mention: Daniel Munoz (Colombia)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-centre-back-pau-cubarsi-spain\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Centre-back: Pau Cubarsi (Spain)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pau Cubarsi won the Best Young Player award and was part of the record-setting seven clean sheets Spain produced throughout the World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 19-year-old is another one in a long line of slightly thin, yet incredibly technical centre-backs. But he didn&#8217;t shy away from contact and fierce disputes when called upon. Although his main contributions were keeping the ball in the attacking half to suffocate any opposition and break lines for fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Honorable mention: Davinson Sanchez (Colombia)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-centre-back-aymeric-laporte-spain\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Centre-back: Aymeric Laporte (Spain)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All of the above also applies to Aymeric Laporte. Alongside Cubarsi, he controlled depth and worked well in a high line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many wondered if Laporte still had it in him after going from the English Premier League to Saudi football in 2023. He returned to boyhood club <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/athletic-club\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Athletic Bilbao<\/a> just before last season started and proved he could very much deliver in the biggest stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Honorable mention: Lisandro Martinez (Argentina)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-left-back-marc-cucurella-spain\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Left-back: Marc Cucurella (Spain)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/chelsea\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chelsea<\/a> are probably regretting selling Marc Cucurella to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/real-madrid\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Real Madrid<\/a> between the group stage and the knockout rounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every performance from the left-back from the round-of-32 onwards elevated his market value until it reached an all-time high after helping keep Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi quiet in the semi final and the final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not even an early yellow card stopped him against France and he controlled his match-ups brilliantly. Cucurella&#8217;s best showing came against Austria, when he picked up the assist for the opener and the winner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Honorable mention: Nuno Mendes (Portugal)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-midfielder-rodri-spain\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Midfielder: Rodri (Spain)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Injuries hindered Rodri&#8217;s Ballon d&#8217;Or-level prime in 2024 and it took him a while to find his best form. He had plenty of fitness struggles at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/manchester-city\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Manchester City<\/a> but made it to the World Cup in form and delivered a series of masterful performances to help his country lift the trophy for the second time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Steadiness in possession, energy out of it and everything in between that helped Spain keep the ball for most of the time and recover it quickly after losing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Spain captain won a great 63% of his ground duels and an other-worldy 79% of his aerial battles. No yellow or red cards as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Honorable mention: Stephen Eustaquio (Canada)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-midfielder-jude-bellingham-england\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Midfielder: Jude Bellingham (England)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jude Bellingham racked up a few goals and assists in the group stage, but Harry Kane was clearly the main man. That, however, completely flipped when the knockout stages came.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Real Madrid star bagged two braces in a row to send <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/england\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">England<\/a> through to the semi finals. And Thomas Tuchel&#8217;s tactics unfortunately left the main players with their hands tied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bellingham finished his second World Cup with seven goals in eight games. A midfielder, he had positive impact up front and at the back as well. Complete performances and a stunning solo effort to cap it all off in the third-place match against France.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Honorable mention: Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-midfielder-michael-olise-france\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Midfielder: Michael Olise (France)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/champions-league-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Champions League<\/a>, Michael Olise had an up-and-down World Cup. Scoring zero goals certainly stands out, but so does providing a whopping seven assists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The former Reading and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/crystal-palace\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Crystal Palace<\/a> man also averaged 2.0 successful take-ons, 2.0 fouls won and 1.9 tackles per game, showing he gets stuck in and is not just a playmaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Honorable mention: Johan Manzambi (Switzerland)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-forward-lionel-messi-argentina\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Forward: Lionel Messi (Argentina)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking of playmakers, Lionel Messi was the only player to create more clear-cut goalscoring opportunities (8) than Olise (7) in the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 39-year-old finished start what was probably his last edition of the tournament in an insane scoring spree. An immediate hat-trick against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/algeria\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Algeria<\/a> in the Group J opener, followed by two goals against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/austria\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Austria<\/a> and one vs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/jordan\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jordan<\/a>. He also carried that form into the knockout stages, by finding Cape Verde&#8217;s and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/egypt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Egypt<\/a>&#8216;s net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But he also seemed to flip a creative switch, of sorts. While each of his first seven goal contributions were all goals, four of the last five were assists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not only that, but he turned it on with his dribbles. 5\/11 successful take-ons in his first four games, followed by 23\/28 in the last four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Honorable mention: Ousmane Dembele (France)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-forward-erling-haaland-norway\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Forward: Erling Haaland (Norway)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Erling Haaland&#8217;s first World Cup was a huge success. Seven goals in five games, four straight matches on the scoresheet to start his campaign and a historic win over five-time champions <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/brazil\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Brazil<\/a> in the round-of-16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It all came to an end against England as his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/norway\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Norway<\/a> teammates failed to find him in the 106 minutes he played, and his body failed to hold up. But he will certainly be back in 2030 to make even more noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Honorable mention: Harry Kane (England)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"h-forward-kylian-mbappe-france\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Forward: Kylian Mbappe (France)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kylian Mbappe&#8217;s brace in the third-place match and Messi&#8217;s zero goals over his last three games kept the Frenchman first in the all-time World Cup goalscoring chart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Real Madrid forward currently has 22 goals to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/stats\/clubs\/barcelona\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Barcelona<\/a> legend&#8217;s 21 &#8211; and he should play in 2030 as well. Mbappe became the first player to win the Golden Boot twice, doing so in consecutive campaigns (10 goals in 2026, 8 goals in 2022).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There were also four assists to his name, leaving him with 14 goal contributions overall &#8211; the most of any player in the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Honorable mention: Julian Quinones (Mexico)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<h3><strong>Read more:<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/champions-league-tips\/\"><strong>Champions League predictions &amp; tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/outright-markets\/champions-league-outright-odds-qualification\/\"><strong>Champions League outright odds <\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/news\/\"><strong>Latest football news<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best betting sites<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/betting-sites\/best-free-bet-offers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Best free bet offers<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/bet\/football-tips\/accumulator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Football accumulator tips<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2026 World Cup delivered five incredible weeks of action and Sunday&#8217;s final put an end to the tournament. Spain beat Argentina 1-0 after dominating them for nearly the whole 120 minutes. It was La Roja&#8217;s second ever trophy, following the 2010 success in similar fashion: late-ish goal in extra time playing against 10 men&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3354,"featured_media":1470138,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"World Cup","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The 2026 World Cup has come to an end after five incredible weeks of action. Click to find out who made the Squawka Team of the Tournament.","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"features-category":[],"squawka-category":[27631],"class_list":["post-1470134","features","type-features","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","squawka-category-world-cup"],"acf":{"external_featured_image_url":"","hide_featured_image_pattern":true},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.0 (Yoast SEO v28.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>2026 World Cup Team of the Tournament: Spain dominate after lifting the trophy | Squawka | EN<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The 2026 World Cup has come to an end after five incredible weeks of action. 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