2026 World Cup: Rodri named best player of the tournament, Messi loses third final

The award for best young player went to his 19-year-old teammate Pau Cubarsí from FC Barcelona. Cubarsí, who had started the World Cup as an 18-year-old, followed Lamine Yamal, who had already received this award at the age of 17 at Euro 2024 in Germany.

Unai Simón as a reliable last line of defense

The award for goalkeeper of the tournament also went to the "Furia Roja." Spain's keeper Unai Simón was honored by FIFA as the best goalkeeper of the tournament. Goalie Unai Simón of Athletic Bilbao had conceded only one goal during the World Cup — in the 2-1 victory against Belgium in the quarterfinals — and before that had set a new World Cup record with 949 minutes without conceding.

Lamine Yamal crowned his outstanding career with another historic title: at 19 years and six days, Yamal became the first footballer ever to win both a European Championship and a World Cup at this age. He is one of the youngest world champions in history, alongside Pelé and Ronaldo.

Yamal completes a historic year

The historic dimension of the evening was also underscored by Messi's personal record. At 39 years old, Messi became the oldest outfield player ever to feature in a World Cup final. The Argentine captain had already played in finals in 2014 against Germany (0:1 after extra time) and in 2022 against France (4:2 on penalties), making him the second player in history, after Brazil's Cafú, to appear in three World Cup finals.

Messi's third final without a happy ending

Messi also holds the records for most World Cup appearances (34) and most World Cup wins (23 going into the final). These best marks underscore his status as one of the greatest footballers of all time, even though the third final ended without the hoped-for happy ending.

The final itself was marked by tactical discipline. After 90 minutes without a goal came two 15-minute extra-time halves, in which Spain made use of its numerical advantage following Enzo Fernández's sending-off and scored the decisive goal through Torres. For Messi, his last World Cup final appearance ended without a goal and without a title.

The final received a special note from the presence of Donald Trump, who was personally at the stadium near New York. Trump entered the pitch after the final whistle to take part in the medal ceremony. When Trump was shown on the stadium screens at the New York/New Jersey venue, loud booing could be heard that was not drowned out by the stadium music. The Secret Service had previously taken over security controls around the final.

Trump on the pitch and boos in the stadium

The supporting program of the final was prominently cast: Madonna, BTS, Shakira and Coldplay performed at the halftime show. Despite this star-studded lineup, the sporting focus remained on the final, which was only decided in extra time.

Mbappé overtakes Messi in the goal scorers' list

For France, the tournament ended in the third-place playoff against England with a 4-6 defeat. Kylian Mbappé used that match to overtake Messi in the all-time World Cup goal scorers' list: the striker had moved ahead of Lionel Messi with his two goals in the third-place match against England (4-6) and scored ten goals in total, putting him on 22 World Cup goals, one more than Messi's 21.

The youngest world champions in history remain Pelé and Ronaldo, both of whom triumphed at a young age. Pelé won the 1958 World Cup at the age of 17 years and 249 days, making him the youngest world champion ever. Giuseppe Bergomi won the title in 1982 at 18 years and 174 days. Ronaldo won the 1994 World Cup at 17 years and 298 days and remains the second-youngest world champion ahead of Yamal.

With the 2026 title, Yamal is now the fourth-youngest world champion in history. He had started the World Cup as an 18-year-old and celebrated his 19th birthday only shortly before the day of the final. With his appearances at Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup, he has won two major international titles with Spain in less than two years.

The Spaniards' triumph marks the provisional pinnacle of a golden era of Spanish football. After the European Championship title in 2024 and the earlier Nations League success, Spain has now completed the triple with the 2026 World Cup title. Rodri, Simón, Cubarsí and Yamal symbolically represent a generation that is shaping Spanish football at the highest level.

With the final whistle, a memorable World Cup came to an end — one that stood under the sign of the final encounter not only sportingly, but also politically and culturally. While Messi ended his last World Cup final without a title, Spain celebrated a historic triumph, carried by a mix of experienced forces like Rodri and emerging talents like Yamal and Cubarsí.

The 2026 World Cup final will go down in history as a duel between two generations: the 39-year-old Messi, who crowned his career with another record but remained without a title, and a young Spanish team around Rodri, Yamal and Cubarsí, which looks set to shape the future of world football. The 1-0 scoreline after extra time reflects the drama and intensity of a final that was only decided in the additional 30 minutes.