Now that the dust is settling on the FIFA World Cup, we’re closing our account on the tournament by giving the explanations to why our panel chose our award winners, for six categories. In case you need reminding, the winners are as follows:
Player of the Tournament: Rodri (Spain, Manchester City)
Young Player of the Tournament: Michael Olise (France, Bayern Munich)
Game of the Tournament: Argentina 3-2 Egypt
Story of the Tournament: Folarin Balogun’s re-instation by FIFA following his red card.
Underrated Player: Mikel Merino (Spain, Arsenal)
Goal of the Tournament: Sidny Lopes Cabral’s equaliser against Argentina in the Round of 32.
Firstly, we kept in line with FIFA’s Golden Ball winner, by selecting Rodri as our Player of the Tournament. The Spanish midfielder won the Ballon d’Or in 2024, and despite suffering a serious injury during the 2024/25 season, he was back to his very best for Luis de la Fuente and Spain, running the midfield area every single game. This is expected for the Spaniard; Pep Guardiola got the very best out of him, and thankfully for de la Fuente, he’s been able to get everything and more out of him as well. History should look kindly on the anchor in both his club and country’s midfield, especially considering he’s won the lot.
Michael Olise may not have scored for France, but his whopping total of seven assists in eight games saw the 24 year old win our Young Player of the Tournament. His move to Bayern Munich from Crystal Palace saw him have a tremendous domestic season, and his stats at the World Cup reflect why he is such a talented player; 18 chances created, 48 duels won, 590 touches, 34 of which were in the opposition box, and 86.6% of his passes found a French player. It will be very interesting to see how he plays for Bayern when the club season begins, especially considering his market value averages around 150 million euros.
When you look for a match that defines a tournament, you look for outstanding goals, goal filled contests, or incredible contests. That’s not saying 0-0’s can’t be great (just look at the 2022 Carabao Cup Final between Chelsea and Liverpool as a wonderful example), but the game that fulfilled all the metrics I’ve listed was Argentina’s 3-2 win against Egypt in the Round of 16. Egypt were 2-0 up thanks to a headed goal from Yasser Ibrahim and a wonderful finish from Mostafa Ziko, and were eleven minutes away from producing a phenomenal shock, before Argentina turned on the style; goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez sealed the comeback of the tournament and punched Lionel Scaloni’s men’s ticket into the last eight. If there was ever a game that showcased the potential of a winning team, and a team of champions at that, it was this one. Argentina’s escapades could’ve depleted the tank however; they were leagues away from their never say die performances in the final, where their timid, unattractive and ineffective tactics cost them the World Cup.
Story of the Tournament went to Folarin Balogun being re-instated back into the USA’s team for their Last 16 tie against Belgium. He was sent off against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Round of 32, but powerful forces worked in mysterious ways, and he was back in the team. The USA then went on to lose 4-1, but this was unprecedented, and received a lot of fair criticism and condemnation from pundits and officials alike. Let’s hope that FIFA won’t yield to those in places of political power going forward, because the World Cup should solely be about the football. No interference, at the very least no human rights scandals over stadiums being built, and for the love of everything that is holy, no half-time shows.
When you think of an underrated player, it would be hard to look past Arsenal’s Mikel Merino, because for the last couple of seasons, he’s flew under the radar for the Gunners. He bailed Spain out of two potential extra-time predicaments, firstly against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the Last 16, and then against Belgium in the quarter-final. For Luis de la Fuente, he was always an option that could be relied on, and he was inches away from scoring a potential winner in the World Cup Final. Mikel Arteta would’ve been watching from afar, and hopefully for Merino’s sake, he can catapult himself into starting in a very competitive Arsenal midfield.
Finally, we voted for Sidny Lopes Cabral’s equaliser against Argentima to make it 2-2 in the Round of 32. The game had gone to extra time, Argentina were 2-1 up, and in a moment of pure footballing genius, Cabral goes past Alexis Mac Allister, keeps upright after the Liverpool midfielder made him stumble, before opening up his body; and on his weak foot, fires one past Emiliano Martinez. It’s the greatest goal Cape Verde have ever scored, and despite the fact they would go home that night, that match will live in the memory for a very long time.
Luke Watson signing off for World cup 2026
