Which players are favourites to be FIFA World Cup 2026 award winners?

As the FIFA World Cup draws to a close, 2 nations are vying to assistance the celebrated aureate champions’ trophy, but respective different subordinate and squad awards are besides up for grabs.

Individual brilliance, iconic moments, and squad subject connected the tract are the cardinal factors deciding the end-of-tournament honours handed retired by FIFA astatine the extremity of the final.

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The teams advancing the furthest and their players are starring contenders for the awards, but immoderate are chosen earlier the last gets nether way.

Football giants Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe are among the biggest stars expected to locomotion distant with astatine slightest 1 of the awards, which include:

🏆Golden Boot
🏆Golden Ball
🏆Golden Glove
🏆Young Player
🏆Fair Play
🏆Goal of the Tournament

What’s the FIFA Golden Boot grant and however is it decided?

FIFA’s Golden Boot is awarded to the subordinate with the astir goals astatine the extremity of the tournament.

France’s Mbappe is the existent holder after scoring 8 goals successful Qatar at the 2022 World Cup.

If 2 players are tied connected the aforesaid fig of goals astatine the extremity of the tournament, past the subordinate with the astir assists volition triumph the award.

If those tiebreakers cannot divided 2 players, past the Golden Boot is handed to the subordinate who achieved their goals and assists successful the slightest fig of minutes.

Which players are favourites to triumph the 2026 Golden Boot?

Messi and Mbappe are head-to-head successful the contention for the coveted grant arsenic some captains person 8 goals and 3 assists apiece astatine the tourney truthful far.

The apical goal-scorers truthful acold are:

1. Kylian Mbappe (France) – 8 goals, 3 assists
2. Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 8 goals, 3 assists
3. Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham (England) – 6 goals, 1 assistance each
4. Ousmane Dembele (France) – 6 goals, 2 assists
5. Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) – 5 goals, 1 assist

France’s guardant Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring his team’s archetypal extremity during the World Cup quarterfinal betwixt France and Morocco astatine Boston Stadium successful Foxborough connected July 9, 2026 [AFP]

What’s the Golden Ball grant and who are the favourites to triumph it?

Previous winner: Lionel Messi, Argentina

The Golden Ball celebrates outstanding idiosyncratic show and is fixed to the champion subordinate of the tournament. A shortlist of candidates is decided by FIFA’s method survey radical and voted connected by accredited media covering the tournament. Runners-up successful the ballot are awarded the Silver Ball and Bronze Ball, respectively.

First introduced successful 1978, the grant has often been fixed to players whose teams person not won the tournament, including Zinedine Zidane (2006), Messi (2014, 2022), and Luka Modric (2018), since voting concludes earlier the last begins. Oliver Kahn remains the lone goalkeeper to person won the award, successful 2002.

Messi is the lone subordinate to person bagged the grant twice.

The 39-year-old leads the database of this year’s contenders, alongside Mbappe and his compatriot Michael Olise.

The different contenders see England’s skipper Kane and prima subordinate Bellingham, Norwegian prima Erling Haaland, and Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha.

What’s the Golden Glove grant and who could triumph it?

Previous winner: Emiliano Martinez (Argentina)

This grant is fixed to the champion goalkeeper of the tournament, based connected impact, saves, and the fig of cleanable sheets.

It was introduced successful 1994 and known until 2010 arsenic the Lev Yashin award. Four of the past 5 winners person travel from the eventual champions.

This year’s tourney has seen goalkeepers soak up the spotlight for their superb saves, astir notably Cape Verde’s Vozinha, who changeable to overnight fame connected societal media and is reportedly being considered by Inter Miami.

Other standout performances person travel from Orlando Gill (Uruguay), Diogo Costa (Portugal), Gregor Kobel (Switzerland), Yassine Bounou (Morocco), and Mostafa Shobeir (Egypt).

Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha saves a shot during the Group H lucifer against Spain successful Atlanta, connected June 15, 2026 [Colin Hubbard/AP]

Who is the favourite to triumph the Young Player award?

First introduced successful 2006, this grant “celebrates the standout young subordinate whose performances, skill, and interaction permission a lasting mark”, for a subordinate younger than 21 years of age, according to FIFA.

“More than a designation of achievement, the grant highlights the talent, ambition, and imaginable that proceed to thrust shot forward,” the planetary governing assemblage says.

The 2022 grant went to Enzo Fernandez, who was portion of Argentina’s title-winning squad.

Spanish duo Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi apical the database this year, arsenic they caput to the last arsenic portion of the European champions’ squad.

Other contenders see Mexico’s Gilberto Mora, who was the youngest subordinate astatine the tournament, the youngest subordinate to correspond Mexico astatine the tournament, and the youngest to commencement since Pele successful 1958, erstwhile helium was named successful the starting XI against Ecuador successful the circular of 16.

France’s Desire Doue, who has been cardinal to his side’s wins, is besides successful the running, alongside chap semifinalist Nico O’Reilly of England.

Morocco midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi besides turned heads astatine this World Cup, though the prodigious endowment already made his people successful the French younker ranks. He precocious became the youngest subordinate to grounds 50 appearances successful France’s apical tier of nine shot – Ligue 1.

Morocco’s Ayyoub Bouaddi successful enactment with Brazil’s Bruno Guimaraes successful the Brazil vs Morocco lucifer astatine New York New Jersey Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US connected June 13, 2026 [Caean Couto/Reuters]

What’s the FIFA Fair Play grant and which squad could triumph it?

The Fair Play grant is presented to a squad with exemplary just play behaviour astatine the World Cup. It was introduced successful 1970, and lone teams that beforehand past the archetypal radical signifier and scope the circular of 32 (or the circular of 16 successful humanities formats) are considered.

Brazil person won it a grounds 4 times, followed by England and Spain, 3 times each.

The Qatar World Cup 2022 saw England locomotion distant with the award.

The 2026 variation could spot different European squad triumph it arsenic Spain, France, and Norway are successful the running.

Which subordinate could triumph the World Cup’s Goal of the Tournament award?

While the wide Goal of the Tournament grant is selected from the quarterfinals and semifinals, each preceding circular has its ain winner, decided astatine the extremity of the respective stage. The destiny of this grant is successful the hands of the wide nationalist erstwhile they ticker selected moments from each circular and formed their vote.

The 2022 victor was Brazil’s Richarlison for his stunning scissor-kick extremity against Serbia.

The Goal of the Tournament successful the radical signifier went to Eldor Shomurodov arsenic helium gave Uzbekistan their 2nd extremity successful the World Cup earlier the debutants bowed out.

The round-of-32 grant went to Cape Verde’s Sidny Lopes Cabral, who stunned Argentina with his precocious onslaught earlier the satellite champions clawed their mode backmost to victory.

Norway’s superstar and planetary sensation Erling Haaland had the champion extremity successful the circular of 16, erstwhile his precocious onslaught against five-time champions Brazil sent his squad to their first-ever quarterfinal.

The last Goal of the Tournament Award victor volition beryllium picked from a enactment of six from the quarterfinals and semifinals.

The grant volition beryllium decided earlier the final, arsenic voting ends connected Saturday, June 18, astatine 8am Eastern Time (12:00 GMT).

The contenders are:

• France’s Kylian Mbappe vs Morocco (quarterfinals)
• Norway’s Andreas Schjelderup vs England (quarterfinals)
• England’s Jude Bellingham vs Norway (quarterfinals)
• Argentina’s Julian Alvarez vs Switzerland (quarterfinals)
• Spain’s Pedro Porro vs France (semifinals)
• Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez vs England (semifinals)

Cape Verde’s Sidny Lopes scored 1 of the champion goals of the tourney against Argentina [Marco Bello/Reuters]