The 2026 FIFA World Cup is officially over, and Spain are the new kings of football. But they weren’t the only winners. From record breakers to unexpected podium finishes and even Burna Boy getting a global spotlight, here’s everyone who left the tournament with something to celebrate.
Spain: World Champions, Finally Again
Absolutely nobody can say Spain fluked this one.
They were one of the tournament’s most consistent teams and saved their best performance for the final. Against Argentina, they controlled possession, created the better chances and barely allowed Lionel Messi’s side to threaten their goal.
The breakthrough came in extra time at 106th minute when Ferran Torres scored the only goal of the match, handing Spain a deserved 1-0 victory and their first World Cup title since 2010.
For a team built around young stars like Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí, this feels less like the end of a journey and more like the beginning of a new era.
Argentina — Silver
If anyone was going to stop Spain, most people thought it would be Argentina.
Messi entered the final with eight goals and looked set to crown another incredible World Cup campaign with a second title. Instead, Argentina spent most of the match chasing shadows.
The defeat hurts, but it doesn’t erase what Messi has already achieved. He already delivered the one trophy that haunted his career by winning the World Cup in 2022.
England — Bronze
This one caught people off guard. England beat France 6-4 in the third-place match, a result nobody really saw coming given how far France had carried Mbappé and Olise through the tournament. Bukayo Saka scored a hat trick in that game too, becoming only the fourth Englishman ever to do that at a World Cup.
Rodri — Player Of The Tournament
Spain’s captain won the Golden Ball, beating out Messi for it. He anchored Spain’s midfield all tournament, kept the defence organised, and was the main reason Argentina couldn’t create a single clean shot on target in the final.
Pau Cubarsí — Best Young Player
19 years old, and already Spain’s most composed defender. He won the Young Player Award, joining a list that includes Mbappé and Enzo Fernández as past winners.
Kylian Mbappé — Golden Boot
10 goals in 8 games gave Mbappé his second Golden Boot in a row, the first player ever to win it at two straight World Cups. He also broke the all-time World Cup goalscoring record with 22 career goals, overtaking Messi, who’d only just set that record earlier in this same tournament.
Michael Olise — Most Assists, Ever
This is the one people are sleeping on. Olise finished with 7 assists, breaking Pelé’s 56-year-old single-tournament record of 6, set back in 1970. He set up both of Mbappé’s goals in the bronze medal match to get there. Didn’t score a single goal himself the whole tournament, but the service was elite enough to make him arguably the story of France’s run.
Burna Boy — Putting Africa On The Map
Burna Boy performed at both the opening ceremony and the World Cup final halftime show, teaming up with Shakira on their joint single “Dai Dai.” He’s the first African artiste to ever perform at a World Cup final halftime show, sharing the stage with Madonna, BTS, and Justin Bieber in front of a global audience of billions. Whatever happened on the pitch, Afrobeats had its own moment on football’s biggest stage this year.
What Does The Loss Mean To Messi Fans?
Expectations were really high and nobody would have thought Argentina would play the way they did in the finals. Bets were placed, screenshots were saved, and plenty of people had already drafted the tweets they were going to send to Ronaldo fans the moment the final whistle blew, but the heartbreak started long before the final whistle.
This was supposed to be the one that settled every GOAT argument for good…Messi lifting back to back World Cups while Ronaldo retired without one would have ended the debate permanently, and Messi’s fans knew it.
Not only were the fans pained, it was also evident amongst the players:
- Nahuel Molina clashed with Rodri, while Leandro Paredes received a red card after confronting Eric Garcia and Gavi during the celebrations.
- Argentina lost both the trophy and two players to red cards.
- Messi reported Cucurella to the referee for closing his mouth while speaking to him, seemingly believing the Spain defender had said something worthy of punishment, so he would be given a red card, but the referee didn’t take action.
For Messi fans, this one hurts not because it changes his legacy, but because it may become the last chance to watch him compete for football’s biggest prize. At 39, another World Cup run feels unlikely.
The good news? Messi already did what many thought he’d never do by lifting the World Cup in 2022. The 2026 final doesn’t erase that. It just means the dream of ending his international career with back-to-back World Cups will remain exactly that: a dream.
