2026 FIFA World Cup Quarterfinal Awards

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - JULY 09: Kylian Mbappe #10 of France celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarter Final match between France and Morocco at Boston Stadium on July 09, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images) | Getty Images

There were just had three action-packed days of World Cup quarterfinals, which included close matches, great goals, heroic defending, and of course, some controversy. Without much surprise the final four teams are the top four seeds for the first time in World Cup history.

Visit amunra.qpon for more information.

Below are the awards for the round. Each category will have a nominee from each match and then a winner for the entire round. Tell us your awards in the comments below!

Most Outstanding Player

Kylian Mbappé, France

Mbappé bossed the Morocco defense for most of the match. He scored the opening goal in the 60th minute and assisted the second goal six minutes later. In total he had four shots and created four chances for his teammates to shoot, causing a lot of work for Morocco’s keeper. Despite ultimately missing the penalty kick, Mbappé also earned a penalty, drawing a foul in the box. He likely should have had a brace, if not a hat-trick!

Lamine Yamal, Spain

The 18-year old wunderkind was special again in this quarterfinal matchup against Belgium. Though he did not score, he had the most shots (six) and had the most touches in the box (twelve) in the match. Every time the ball came to his feet he looked dangerous as he drew the attention of Belgium’s defense and of every viewer. It is hard to believe that he is still so young and putting out performances like this.

Jude Bellingham, England

Bellingham stepped up big for the second straight week. He scored two great goals. The first goal came after a great pass was about to be intercepted inside the box, but he was able to make a great move. His precise shot beat two defenders and slotted right past the keeper’s outstretched leg. His winner — similar to Spain’s — came off of a keeper mistake that he pounced on and put in the back of the net just minutes into extra time. With the brace, Bellingham is the youngest player with a brace in two straight knockout matches.

Lionel Messi, Argentina

Messi had one of those matches where you did not realize he contributed to the match because he did not score for the first time in what seems like forever, but then you look at his stats and realize he contributed the most of anyone. In the match against Switzerland, he had created the most shots (six), took the most shots (four), and completed the most dribbles (five) of any player on either team. He also got an assist on the opening goal from a corner.

Winner: Jude Bellingham

Best Young Player (Ones to watch)

Désiré Doué, France

Doué helped France carve up Morocco’s defense. He had three total shots and created three chances for his teammates to shoot — including the assist on Mbappé’s opener. The 21-year old also helped in defense, running up and down the left side, controlling that side of the field.

Pau Cubarsi, Spain

Cubarsi was busy on both sides of the ball throughout the 90 minutes. He completed an impressive 98% of his pass attempts, misplaying just two passes. Twelve of these passes were played into the final third, starting the attack from the back. He also had two passes that led to a shot, plus a shot on goal from outside the box that created the bobble that led to the late winning goal. From the center-back position he had five clearances, a successful tackle, and two interceptions.

Nico O’Reilly, England

O’Reilly had a great match at left-back for England. He completed 95% of his passes while filling his stats with defensive contributions. Perhaps most importantly, he was a part of the defensive unit that silenced Erling Haaland for the first time this tournament (barring the group stage match against France where Haaland sat out).

Note: The match between Argentina and Switzerland did not have anyone under 24 that contributed anything of significance to the match.

Winner: Pau Cubarsi

Best Attacker

Ousmane Dembélé, France

France’s attack is insane and honestly, it is good that we could give an award to each player in their four-headed monster. Dembélé controlled the right side of the field. His perfectly placed goal from the top of the box put the match away for France, doubling the lead just six minutes after the opener. He had the most shots in the match and created the most chances, helping France advance to their third straight semifinals.

Mikel Merino, Spain

Merino came off the bench and scored a late winner for the second straight knockout round. He was on the pitch for less than two minutes when he found himself in the right place at the right time to pounce on a bobbled ball and put it into the back of the net. He was also very efficient with his touches, completing 100% of his passes and creating a chance for his team to score a third goal.

Bukayo Saka, England

Saka came off the bench at halftime after a lackluster performance by Madueke in the first half. Despite only playing the second half, he had the most touches inside the box and created two chances for his teammates to shoot. He also recorded three shots of his own. Saka was also unselfish and tracked back on defense to help keep Norway off the board in the second half.

Dan Ndoye, Switzerland

The Swiss attack ran through Ndoye. Argentina seemed to know this and their defense shifted to his side of the field but Switzerland still ran their game through him. He had seven touches in the opposition box — most of anyone in the match. His hard work paid off when he finally scored a goal from a tight angle, which leveled the match in the second half and gave Switzerland hope.

Winner: Ousmane Dembélé

Best Midfielder

Michael Olise, France

Bayern Munich fans are very aware of what Olise can do, but now the rest of the world is learning quickly. Though his name did not appear on the scoresheet, Olise was all over the pitch. His heatmap covers most of the field as he contributed on both sides of the ball. He recorded a “hockey assist” on Dembélé’s goal, making a better pass to Mbappé than the latter needed to record the assist.

Rodri, Spain

Spain’s captain led his team to semifinals berth with a strong midfield performance. He had the most touches (118) in the match and completed 94% of his passes. He created two chances for his teammates to shoot, had 10 passes into the final third, and completed all but one of his long balls. Rodri also tracked back on defense to hold Belgium to just one goal.

Elliot Anderson, England

Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze both had great halves in the midfield but Anderson played a complete 120 minutes. He had 105 touches, completing 92% of his passes. He also helped control the defense with two successful tackles, three clearances, and nine recovery runs. England’s control of the midfield neutralized Haaland and Norway’s attack and Anderson contributed heavily to that.

Alexis Mac Allister, Argentina

Mac Allister scored Argentina’s opener in the tenth minute from a corner after two chances to score that came in the ninth minute. He also contributed in defense with three successful tackles, four clearances, four interceptions, and two recovery runs. His contributions on both sides of the ball helped Argentina get back to the World Cup semifinals.

Winner: Alexis Mac Allister

Best Defender

Dayot Upamecano, France

Upamecano anchored the defense with the only shutout of the round. He had the most defensive contributions out of everyone on either team. He had three successful tackles, a blocked shot, four clearances, and a recovery run. Upa also completed 95% of his passes as France played from the back. Morocco had been dangerous this tournament, but Upa and France’s defense neutralized them.

Pedro Porro, Spain

Porro controlled the right side of the field with a great performance. He had two successful tackles, a headed clearance, an interception, and four recovery runs. He also got forward and created a chance for his teammates to shoot and had a shot of his own. His heat map shows a commanding performance, dominating the right side of the field.

John Stones, England

Stones had a great defensive performance in England’s central defense. He stood up Haaland and kept him from scoring for the first time this tournament in a match that he played. Outside of a great goal, that might have been a cross, Stones and the England defense kept Norway off the board. Anything that came close to Stones was dealt with and sent away.

Nico Elvedi, Switzerland

Elvedi had the most defensive contributions of anyone in the match. He helped keep the match close until the end of extra time. He had eleven clearances, as the Argentina attack kept sending balls into the box to be dealt with. Elvedi and the Swiss defense were the first in a record nine matches to hold Messi to zero goals, despite all of his contributions in the attack.

Winner: John Stones

Best Goalkeeper

Yassine Bounou, Morocco

Although France’s Mike Maignon recorded the shutout, he only needed one save to do so. Bounou made six saves on the day, his biggest coming on Mbappé’s penalty in the first half. His six saves were the most of the any keeper in the round. Holding this France team to two goals is nothing to be ashamed of. Unfortunately for him, his team was not able to back up his performance with any goals of their own.

Thibaut Courtois, Belgium

Courtois had the most saves of the three keepers that appeared in this match with four, holding Spain to just one goal before he had to be subbed out in the 71 minutes he played. He played through pain for most of this tournament but a diving save ended up taking him out of the match, a gamble by Belgium’s manager that did not pay off. His replacement bobbled the ball in front of goal, leading to Spain’s winner.

Jordan Pickford, England

Pickford had three saves and earned another one-goal win. One great shot — or maybe a cross — was the only thing that got past him. His counterpart recorded double the saves but also had a terrible error that led to England’s winner. Pickford had a drama free match, helping England return to the semifinals for just the fourth time in their history.

Emi Martínez, Argentina

Martínez recorded four saves and conceded just one goal over the entire 120 minutes. Last World Cup’s Golden Glove recipient continues to do what we have become accustomed to. After Argentina scored early, their attack did not show much desire to score another. Martinez was able to keep his team in it until they were able to pull away at the end of extra time.

Winner: Yassine Bounou

Best Team

France

France cruised to a 2-0 win with a complete match. Their attack broke Morocco down over 90 minutes and their stifling defense held the high-flying Morocco to a shutout for the first time in the World Cup since the last time they beat them by the same score in the 2022 semifinals. Will Spain be able stop them from a third straight final appearance?

Spain

Spain left it late again in this round. Despite conceding a goal for the first time in this tournament, Spain did enough to win and move on. The reigning European Champions are deep enough that they can bring a game-winning goal scorer off the bench while sustaining a great defensive record. Their matchup with France will be a great test of strength and depth.

England

This might not have been England’s best performance, but it was good and it was enough to get back to the semifinals. The defense took Haaland out of the match, the midfield controlled the match, and the attackers helped Bellingham score his two goals. Like Haaland, Harry Kane was virtually out of this match, but Bellingham and crew made up for it.

Switzerland

Switzerland played the better football throughout its match and was on the wrong side of an unfortunate call that took them down to ten men. They pushed the reigning champions to the brink for the third straight match and looked the most likely to score until they went down to ten men. Argentina could not even get a shot off until the second half after their goal and did not get a shot on goal until deep in stoppage time of the second half. Switzerland can be proud of what they have accomplished in the quarterfinals and in this World Cup.

Winner: FranceJoin the conversation!

Sign up for a user account and get:

• New, improved notifications system!
• Fewer ads
• Create community posts
• Comment on articles, community posts
• Rec comments, community posts

Read full story at source