Best of the best: FIFA has unveiled the World Cup Dream XI with 11 players voted as the best of the tournament

ByTech Word News

FIFA announces star-studded World Cup Dream XI featuring Messi, Mbappé and Haaland/ Image: X Spain may have lifted the 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy after beating Argentina 1-0 after extra time in New Jersey, but now the tournament’s best players have also been honored after FIFA revealed its official Dream XI.The Team of the Tournament, selected by a worldwide fan vote, reflects the standout performers from six weeks of soccer in the United States, Canada and Mexico. While Spain, France and Argentina dominate the selection after progressing to the semi-finals, England were rewarded with just one representative for third place.Jude Bellingham is the only England player to make FIFA’s Dream XI despite Thomas Tuchel’s side finishing the tournament on a high with a remarkable 6-4 victory over France in the third-place play-off.

Bellingham flies the English flag

Bellingham’s inclusion comes after another excellent big tournament for the Real Madrid midfielder.The 23-year-old finished with seven goals, the most ever by an England player at a single FIFA World Cup, and helped the Three Lions secure their best finish since winning the 1966 tournament.Although England produced several standout performers, including Bukayo Saka’s historic hat-trick against France and Declan Rice’s record third place in the play-offs, Bellingham was the only England player selected in the final eleven.

The selection is dominated by Spain, France and Argentina

Fresh from captaining Spain to a second World Cup title, Rodri is the main focus after also winning the Ballon d’Or as the tournament’s best player.Spain have three representatives in total, with full-backs Marc Cucurella and Pedro Porro both joining their captain after Luis de la Fuente’s men finished the tournament unbeaten by beating Argentina in the final.France also supply three players despite finishing fourth.Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappé occupies the right side of the attack after finishing the tournament with 10 goals, becoming the first player to win the World Cup Golden Boot twice, while surpassing Lionel Messi’s all-time World Cup goalscoring record of 22 career goals.Michael Olise takes center stage after producing his own record-breaking campaign. The French playmaker finished the tournament with seven assists, the most ever by a player in a single FIFA World Cup.Dayot Upamecano completes the French contingent in central defense.Argentina, beaten by the runners-up after Ferran Torres’ 106th-minute winner, have two players in the XI.Lionel Messi features on the left wing after finishing the tournament with eight goals and four assists, while defender Lisandro Martínez partners Upamecano in the heart of defence.Rounding out the top three is Norwegian forward Erling Haaland, who made his World Cup debut by leading his country to the quarter-finals for the first time in history, scoring seven goals during the tournament.

Cape Verde’s cult hero gets the goalkeeper job

Perhaps the biggest surprise in the Sen XI is the selection of goalkeepers.Rather than Golden Glove winner Unai Simón, England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford or France’s Mike Maignan, fans voted for Cape Verdean veteran Vozinha.The 40-year-old was one of the breakout stars of the tournament during Cape Verde’s memorable run to the round of 32, before narrowly losing 3-2 after extra time to eventual finalists Argentina.Vozinha kept clean sheets against both Spain and Saudi Arabia, making 18 saves during the tournament and exceeding his expected goals by 0.9.His performances have also made him an unlikely social media sensation. The goalkeeper opened Cape Verde’s opening game against Spain with around 50,000 followers on Instagram, according to tournament figures. After making seven saves against the eventual champions and continuing his impressive campaign, that number is said to have risen to 29.5 million by the end of the World Cup.

FIFA World Cup 2026 Dream XI

KeeperDefenders

  • Pedro Porro (Spain)
  • Lisandro Martinez (Argentina)
  • Dayot Upamecano (France)
  • Marc Cucurella (Spain)

Reserves

  • Rodri (Spain)
  • Michael Olise (France)
  • Jude Bellingham (England)

Attackers

  • Lionel Messi (Argentina)
  • Erling Haaland (Norway)
  • Kylian Mbappé (France)

The Dream XI completes the individual awards after the tournament.Rodri won the Ballon d’Or as the best player of the competition after leading Spain to the title, Messi and Mbappé received the Silver Ball and the Bronze Ball.Mbappé finished as the winner of the Golden Boot with 10 goals, surpassing Messi, who finished the tournament with eight goals and four assists, while Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón won the Golden Glove after conceding just one goal in eight games. Teenage defender Pau Cubarsí won the FIFA Young Player Award and the Netherlands were awarded the FIFA Fair Play Award after picking up just three yellow cards during their campaign.