World Cup 2026 Awards: Rodri Wins Golden Ball, Mbappe Takes Golden Boot, Simon Claims Golden Glove

FIFA handed out its individual awards for World Cup 2026 right after Spain's final win over Argentina, and Spain's players swept most of them.

Golden Ball (best player): Rodri. Spain's captain anchored the midfield all tournament and was the calm head behind their title run. He beat out Messi and Mbappe, who took silver and bronze respectively, to take the top individual honour.

Golden Boot (top scorer): Kylian Mbappe. The Frenchman finished with 10 goals and 4 assists, two clear of Messi's 8. He sealed it with a brace in France's third-place win over England, meaning Messi would have needed a hat-trick in the final to catch him. It's Mbappe's second straight Golden Boot, after also winning it in 2022.

Golden Glove (best goalkeeper): Unai Simon. The Spain keeper was central to their title, conceding just one goal in the entire tournament, in their group game against Belgium, and keeping seven clean sheets in eight matches. No side has ever won the World Cup while conceding so little.

Best Young Player: Pau Cubarsi. The 19-year-old Spain defender was a rock at the back throughout the knockouts and picked up the award given to the standout player born on or after January 1, 2005. He joins past winners like Mbappe and Enzo Fernandez on that list.

Fair Play Award: Netherlands. The team award for the tournament's best-behaved side went to the Dutch.

Spain's clean sweep of the top individual awards, save for the Golden Boot, underlines just how complete their title run was. They didn't just win the trophy, they set the individual standard almost everywhere else too.