IFFHS contradicts FIFA, names Lionel Messi as the best player of the 2026 World Cup

Lionel Messi finished the 2026 World Cup as the tournament’s second-highest scorer and second in assists, doing so at 39 years old while leading defending champion Argentina to a second consecutive final, where the team ultimately settled for the runner-up spot after falling 1-0 to Spain.

FIFA awarded its Golden Ball to Rodri, captain and leader of Spain, the team that conceded just one goal throughout the entire tournament on its way to lifting the trophy at MetLife Stadium.

The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), however, pushed back strongly against that decision, naming Messi the tournament’s best player on its official website.

Beyond leading Argentina to a second straight World Cup final, Messi closed out this tournament by extending several of his own all-time World Cup records for assists, goal contributions, dribbles, chances created and goal contributions in the knockout stages, while becoming the first player in tournament’s history to score against 17 different opponents.

He finished the campaign with 8 goals and 4 assists in 7 matches, and while Kylian Mbappe overtook him as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer along the way, Messi still walked away recognized by the IFFHS as the best player of the 2026 World Cup.

Messi’s 2026 World Cup stats

• Matches played: 7
• Minutes: 626
• Goals: 8
• Assists: 4
• IFFHS average match rating: 8.33
• Award: IFFHS Best Player

IFFHS’s explanation for choosing Messi as the tournament’s best

The case IFFHS built around the award rests on hard numbers. Messi took part in all 7 of Argentina’s matches at the tournament, logging 626 minutes on the field. In that time, he produced8 goals and 4 assists, 12 direct goal contributions in total, output that repeatedly proved decisive at key moments of Argentina’s campaign.

The federation pointed to his 8.33 average match rating over those seven appearances as proof of consistency rather than a handful of standout performances, noting that the level held from the group stage all the way to the tournament’s biggest matches.

According to IFFHS, the decision came “by statistical evidence and the integrity of the performance record, arrived at this conclusion with full confidence. Lionel Messi is the IFFHS Best Player — not by sentiment, not by reputation, but by the unimpeachable authority of the data”.